50 Fun Facts About Cyprus

What is the capital and largest city of Cyprus?

It is the last divided capital in Europe, split by the UN-patrolled Green Line since the 1960s.

Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean after which two?

It ranks third in both area and population, and lies off the coast of the Levant in West Asia.

Cyprus gained independence in 1960 from which country?

Britain kept two Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which it still controls.

The island's capital city holds what unhappy distinction in Europe?

The Green Line runs through its old town; Ledra Street's crossing only reopened in April 2008.

The orange-coloured shape on the Cypriot flag depicts what?

The colour nods to the copper deposits that may have given the island its name; two olive branches beneath symbolise peace between the two communities.

Which metal, mined on the island since the Bronze Age, may have given Cyprus its name?

The Late Bronze Age kingdom of Alashiya grew rich on ore dug from the Troodos Mountains.

Which Greek goddess is said in mythology to have been born off the coast of Cyprus?

The sea stack Petra tou Romiou near Paphos is her legendary birthplace; Adonis and Pygmalion also belong to the island's myths.

Halloumi, the Cypriot cheese that can be grilled without melting, is traditionally made from which milks?

Its high melting point makes it a vegetarian favourite; industrial versions increasingly add cow's milk.

Commandaria, a sweet Cypriot dessert wine, holds what distinction?

Its style is documented back to 800 BC and its name to the Crusades; Richard the Lionheart reputedly called it the king of wines at his wedding in Limassol.

Which English king captured Cyprus in 1191 during the Third Crusade?

He took it from the Byzantine rebel Isaac Komnenos and sold it a year later to the Knights Templar.

Which French dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Cyprus for nearly three centuries after the Templars?

The line ended with James II in 1473; his Venetian widow Catherine Cornaro then reigned as a figurehead until Venice annexed the island in 1489.

Which empire ruled Cyprus for over three centuries from 1571 to 1878?

A 60,000-strong assault in 1570 overcame stiff resistance at Nicosia and Famagusta.

The British took over administration of the island in 1878 under what arrangement?

Britain leased the island as a base to guard the Ottomans against Russia, annexed it in 1914 and made it a crown colony in 1925.

The 1950s armed campaign against British rule that led to independence was led by which organisation?

Its goal was enosis, union with Greece, which 96% of Greek Cypriots had backed in a 1950 church-run referendum.

The Greek Cypriot goal of uniting the island with Greece was known by what name?

Turkish Cypriots answered with taksim, the demand for partition and a Turkish polity in the north.

The first president of Cyprus, Makarios III, held what religious office?

He led the Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977 and started out as a monk at Kykkos Monastery in 1926.

Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974, five days after a coup backed by whom?

The coup aimed to unite the island with Greece; Turkey cited its right to intervene under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, declared in 1983, is recognised by how many countries?

Only Turkey recognises it; the declaration was led by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş.

Roughly what share of the island does the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupy?

The UN buffer zone between the two sides covers another 2.67% of the island.

The 2004 UN reunification plan rejected by 74% of Greek Cypriots was named after which secretary-general?

Turkish Cypriots backed it 65% to 35%, but the island joined the EU a week later still divided.

Cyprus joined the European Union in which year?

It adopted the euro four years later, replacing the Cypriot pound at a fixed rate of about 0.585 to the euro.

Which currency did Cyprus use from 1879 until the euro arrived in 2008?

The British introduced it; it was also called the lira in Greek and Turkish and circulated in the Sovereign Base Areas.

The 2013 Cypriot bailout was notable for seizing a share of what?

The €10 billion rescue closed Laiki Bank and took 47.5% of large deposits at the Bank of Cyprus, many held by Russians.

Cyprus is one of only three EU countries where vehicles do what?

It is a remnant of British rule, shared with Ireland and Malta.

The highest point of Cyprus, at 1,952 metres, shares its name with which famous Greek mountain?

It sits at the centre of the Troodos range, whose copper drove the island's Bronze Age wealth.

Which two mountain ranges dominate Cyprus, enclosing the central Mesaoria plain?

The Kyrenia range is the smaller of the two, running along the north coast.

The abandoned resort of Varosha, fenced off since 1974, was once the tourist quarter of which city?

Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Brigitte Bardot holidayed there before its residents fled the invasion.

The Cyprus mouflon, the island's national animal, is a wild relative of which animal?

About a metre tall at the shoulder, it is the largest animal on the island and survives only in the Paphos mountains.

Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis reached the final of which Grand Slam in 2006?

He also made the Wimbledon semi-finals that year and was excused national service to focus on tennis.

Cyprus's best Eurovision result came in 2018 with 'Fuego', sung by whom?

It finished second; the country had only returned to the contest in 2015.

The philosopher Zeno of Citium, born on Cyprus, founded which school of thought?

He taught in Athens from about 300 BC; his home city, Kition, lies beneath modern Larnaca.

The Neolithic village of Khirokitia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dates to roughly when?

Farming communities had reached the island by about 8500 BC, and one Neolithic grave held an eight-month-old cat buried with a human.

Which conqueror seized Cyprus from the Persians in 333 BC?

The island later passed to the Ptolemies of Egypt and then Rome.

Hala Sultan Tekke, one of Islam's important shrines, stands beside a salt lake near which Cypriot city?

It honours Umm Haram, foster sister of the Prophet's mother; flamingos winter on the lake from November to March.

Which Cypriot city was a European Capital of Culture in 2017 alongside Aarhus?

It is also the island's most seismically active region and home to the Tombs of the Kings.

Kykkos Monastery in the Troodos mountains is famed for an icon of the Virgin said to be painted by whom?

Tradition says the icon came from the imperial palace in Constantinople; the future president Makarios began there as a monk.

Cyprus is divided into how many districts, including those now under Turkish Cypriot control?

They are Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.

At independence in 1960, roughly what share of Cyprus's population was Turkish Cypriot?

The constitution nonetheless gave the minority 30% of parliament and administration posts and a permanent veto.

The 1974 invasion displaced roughly how many Greek Cypriots?

Some 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced in the other direction.

The Cypriot dish sheftalia consists of what?

It sits alongside souvlaki and lountza, smoked pork loin, on the traditional charcoal grill.

Within the EU, only cheese made in certain parts of Cyprus may be sold as halloumi thanks to what?

The PDO was held up for years by rows between cattle, sheep and goat farmers over how much cow's milk to allow.

The Cyprus national football team recorded its biggest ever win, 5-0, in 2000 against which country?

It came in Limassol during 2002 World Cup qualifying; the team has never reached a major tournament.

According to the 2023 IMF estimate, Cyprus's GDP per capita is the highest in which region?

At about $54,600 it recovered dramatically after the 2013 banking crisis, though it remains slightly below the EU average.

The offshore gas field in Block 12, named after a goddess, lies about 175 km south of which Cypriot city?

Drilling began in September 2011 with the backing of the US, EU and UN.

The 1974 invasion prompted which US response against Turkey in 1975?

Congress objected to Turkey's use of US-supplied equipment during the invasion.

What share of Greek Cypriots voted for union with Greece in the Church-run 1950 referendum?

The vote was supervised by clerics and had no Turkish Cypriot participation.

The Turkish Cypriot counter-demand, calling for partition of the island, was known as what?

The word means division; a Turkish polity in the north was the goal from the 1950s onward.

Cyprus was formally annexed by the British in which year?

It happened as Britain went to war with the Ottomans; Turkey renounced its claim at Lausanne in 1923.

Who was sworn in as the eighth president of the Republic of Cyprus in February 2023?

The republic's presidents have run from Archbishop Makarios in 1960 to the present day.

Cyprus's independence in 1960 was set out in agreements signed in London and which other city?

Britain, Greece and Turkey became guarantor powers, a status Turkey later cited to justify its 1974 intervention.