History

During its 9000 years of history, Cyprus’ enviable geographic position has been responsible for its long succession of conquerors and has helped colour its fate as a veritable treasure trove for historians and archaeologists. Geographically, it is as much a part of the Middle East as of Europe.

Cyprus is the legendary birthplace of the goddess of beauty and love, the beautiful Aphrodite. Cyprus has one of the richest cultural heritages in the world and blends seamlessly with the comforts of contemporary European lifestyle. It is no wonder that men from the ancient past, to today, have always been captivated by owning a little of its beauty and land. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Venetians, Ottomans and British empires have all left their mark on this enchanting island.

For 800 years, beginning in 364 AD, Cyprus was ruled by Byzantium. After brief possession by King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) of England during the Crusades, the island came under Frankish control in the late 12th century. It was ceded to the Venetian Republic in 1489 and conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1571. Most of the Turks who settled on the island during the three centuries of Ottoman rule remained when control of Cyprus--although not sovereignty--was ceded to Great Britain in 1878. Many left for Turkey during the 1920s, however. The island was annexed formally by the United Kingdom in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I and became a crown colony in 1925.

Cyprus became an independent Republic on 16 August 1960 on the basis of the 1959 Zurich and London Agreements negotiated by Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities had no substantial role in their drafting or in the drafting of the constitution and were never given the opportunity to vote on them.

In effect, both the agreements and the constitution of the nascent republic were imposed on the people of Cyprus. The Constitution emphasised differences between Greek and Turkish Cypriots thereby encouraging divisive rather than integrative tendencies between the two communities. Greek Cypriots were determined to strengthen the unity of the state but the Turkish side sought ethnic segregation and geographic separation. There were sporadic intercommunal clashes in 1963-1967 and air attacks and threats to invade by Turkey. Turkish Cypriots ceased to participate in the government. UN sponsored intercommunal talks to reach a settlement were held during 1968-1974; intercommunal tensions subsided and violence virtually disappeared during this period. Progress was reported in the talks but the process came to an end due to the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974

A Greek army coup overthrew President Makarios amd replaced him with a puppet leader. Turkey invaded and forced 180,000 Greek Cypriots to abandon their homes and in 1983 the Turkish Cypriots declared a separate State, calling it the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Although no other country has recognised it as such and Nicosia remains divided between the Greeks and the Turkish Republic.

The southern part of the island however has become legendary not merely as a restful sun-warmed paradise of great natural beauty, but also as an offshore and business centre for international investors.