Cyprus
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50 free Cyprus trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Cyprus trivia quiz covers the third-largest island in the Mediterranean from its Neolithic villages and copper mines to the Crusader kingdom, Ottoman and British rule, EOKA, independence, the 1974 invasion and the Green Line that still splits Nicosia. It also takes in the things visitors actually notice: halloumi and meze, Commandaria wine, Aphrodite's Rock, the flag with a map on it, driving on the left, and Marcos Baghdatis' run to the 2006 Australian Open final. The early questions suit anyone who has holidayed in Paphos or Ayia Napa; the later ones test people who know who sold the island to the Knights Templar and what a mouflon is. Every question is multiple choice with a short explanation after you answer. Every answer has been checked against a primary source, and each question links to the page that confirms it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital and largest city of Cyprus?
Nicosia
Nicosia, inland on the central plain, has been the island's capital since the 10th century and is ringed by Venetian walls built in the 1560s.
Q 02Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean after which two?
Sicily and Sardinia
Only Sicily and Sardinia are larger; Cyprus covers about 9,250 km² and lies off the Levant coast in the eastern Mediterranean.
Q 03Cyprus gained independence in 1960 from which country?
Britain
Britain granted independence on 16 August 1960 but kept two Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as British territory.
Q 04The island's capital city holds what unhappy distinction in Europe?
Last still-divided one
The Green Line runs through its old town; Ledra Street's crossing only reopened in April 2008.
Q 05The orange-coloured shape on the Cypriot flag depicts what?
Its own map
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.
Q 06Which metal, mined on the island since the Bronze Age, may have given Cyprus its name?
Copper
Copper was dug from the Cypriot hills from the Bronze Age, when the island may have been the wealthy kingdom of Alashiya; the Latin cuprum, 'metal of Cyprus', gave English its word copper.
Q 07Which Greek goddess is said in mythology to have been born off the coast of Cyprus?
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is said to have risen from the sea foam at Petra tou Romiou, a sea stack on the south-west coast; Adonis and Pygmalion also belong to the island's myths.
Q 08Halloumi, the Cypriot cheese that can be grilled without melting, is traditionally made from which milks?
Goat and sheep
Halloumi is traditionally made from a mix of goat and sheep milk, set with rennet and folded with mint; its high melting point lets it be grilled or fried.
Q 09Commandaria, a sweet Cypriot dessert wine, holds what distinction?
Oldest named one still produced
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.
Q 10Which English king captured Cyprus in 1191 during the Third Crusade?
Richard I
Richard I seized the island from the Byzantine rebel Isaac Komnenos in 1191 and sold it to the Knights Templar, who gave it up within a year.
Q 11Which French dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Cyprus for nearly three centuries after the Templars?
Lusignan
The Lusignans ruled from Guy of Lusignan's purchase in 1192 until the infant James III died in 1474; his mother Catherine Cornaro then reigned until Venice annexed the island in 1489.
Q 12Which empire ruled Cyprus for over three centuries from 1571 to 1878?
Ottoman
The Ottoman conquest of 1570–71 ended Venetian rule; the island stayed Ottoman for three centuries until the 1878 handover of its administration.
Q 13The British took over administration of the island in 1878 under what arrangement?
The Cyprus Convention
Q 21Cyprus joined the European Union in which year?
2004
Cyprus joined the EU on 1 May 2004 in the bloc's ten-country enlargement, a week after the island's reunification referendums failed.
Q 22Which currency did Cyprus use from 1879 until the euro arrived in 2008?
Cypriot pound
The Cypriot pound, introduced under British rule in 1879, was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2008 at a fixed rate of 0.585274 pounds per euro.
Q 23The 2013 Cypriot bailout was notable for seizing a share of what?
Uninsured bank deposits over €100,000
The €10 billion rescue closed Laiki Bank and converted 47.5% of uninsured deposits over €100,000 at the Bank of Cyprus into shares, hitting many Russian account holders.
Under the Cyprus Convention of June 1878, the Ottomans let the British occupy and administer the island in return for support against Russia; it became a crown colony in 1925.
Q 14The 1950s armed campaign against British rule that led to independence was led by which organisation?
EOKA
EOKA, led by Colonel Georgios Grivas, fought a guerrilla campaign against British rule from 1955 to 1959 seeking union with Greece.
Q 15The Greek Cypriot goal of uniting the island with Greece was known by what name?
Enosis
Enosis, Greek for 'union', was the Greek Cypriot demand to join Greece, championed by the Church of Cyprus and the focus of the 1950s anti-British campaign.
Q 16The first president of Cyprus, Makarios III, held what religious office?
Archbishop
Makarios III was Archbishop of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977, and president from 1960 until his death; he had entered Kykkos Monastery as a novice in 1926.
Q 17Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974, five days after a coup backed by whom?
The Greek military junta
The Greek military junta in Athens backed the 15 July 1974 coup by the Cypriot National Guard against Makarios; Turkey invoked the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee to intervene.
Q 18The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, declared in 1983, is recognised by how many countries?
One
Only Turkey recognises it; the declaration was led by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş.
Q 19Roughly what share of the island does the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupy?
About a third
The Turkish Cypriot north covers about a third of the island, roughly 36%; the UN buffer zone takes up another 2.7%, and the British bases about 3%.
Q 20The UN reunification plan rejected by three-quarters of Greek Cypriots was named after which secretary-general?
Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan's plan for a federal Cyprus won 65% of Turkish Cypriot votes but was rejected by 76% of Greek Cypriots in the April referendums held a week before EU accession.
Q 24Cyprus is one of only three EU countries where vehicles do what?
Drive on the left
Cyprus drives on the left, a legacy of British rule shared within the EU only with Ireland and Malta.
Q 25The highest point of Cyprus, at 1,952 metres, shares its name with which famous Greek mountain?
Olympus
Mount Olympus, also called Chionistra, rises to 1,952 m at the heart of the island's main southern range and carries a ski resort in winter.
Q 26Which two mountain ranges dominate Cyprus, enclosing the central Mesaoria plain?
Troodos and Kyrenia
Troodos and Kyrenia are the two ranges: the Troodos massif fills the south-west, while the narrower Kyrenia range runs along the north coast.
Q 27The abandoned resort of Varosha, fenced off since 1974, was once the tourist quarter of which city?
Famagusta
Varosha was Famagusta's beachfront resort quarter, with celebrity guests such as Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot, until its Greek Cypriot residents fled the 1974 invasion.
Q 28The Cyprus mouflon, the island's national animal, is a wild relative of which animal?
Sheep
The Cyprus mouflon is a wild sheep, the island's largest wild mammal, now confined to the forests of the western mountains around the Stavros tis Psokas reserve.
Q 29Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis reached the final of which Grand Slam in 2006?
Australian Open
Marcos Baghdatis reached the 2006 Australian Open final unseeded, losing to Roger Federer in four sets, and went on to a Wimbledon semi-final that summer.
Q 30Who sang 'Fuego', which finished second for Cyprus at Eurovision 2018?
Eleni Foureira
Eleni Foureira, a Greek-Albanian singer representing Cyprus, took 'Fuego' to second place in Lisbon in 2018, the country's best placing to that date.