Globerovers Magazine, July 2019

Cyprus
A divided island
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is a divided island where the Turkish Cypriots live
north of the demilitarized zone, and the Greek Cypriots to the south.
Welcome to a guitar-shaped
island that claims to be the
birthplace of Aphrodite, the
Greek goddess of love! An
island with an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine,
commandaria, recognised as the world’s oldest
named wine, dating back to the 13th century. Here,
ancient tombs are carved from solid rock and decorated
with among the world’s best Roman mosaics.
Located a mere 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of
Turkey and 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Syria,
Cyprus is a glowing gemstone in the turquoise
waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Travellers are attracted to the island for many
reasons. Some come here for the world-class scuba
diving and wide
sandy beaches.
Others come for the
mountains, turquoise
seas, the food and
people in quaint villages.
Many are attracted to the ancient historic sites,
remnants of bygone civilisations.
Turkey, however, considered Cyprus an “extension
of the Turkish Anatolia Peninsula”, so in line
with a 1950s policy of the Turkish Cypriot leaders
and the Turkish government, it was partitioned to
create a Turkish state in the north of the island.
After Cyprus was granted independence from
Britain on August 16, 1960, eleven years of intercommunal
violence between the Greek Cypriots and
the Turkish Cypriots followed.
The predominantly Greek population of the
Republic of Cyprus live uncomfortably, and with regret,
south of their Turkish neighbours.
During the 70s and early 80s, Cyprus went through a
tumultuous time when hundreds of thousands of Greek
Cypriots fled the northern areas occupied by the Turkish
troops while tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots were
transferred from the south. These forced displacements
left people on both sides of the dividing line with a
never-ending bitterness. The Cyprus divide, also known
as the “Cyprus problem”, still remains unsolved.
How the “Cyprus problem” was created: Britain
took over Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire as a
protectorate back in 1878, then annexed it in 1914.
After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in
1925, the island was made a British Crown Colony.
The Turkish military invaded the island on 20 July
1974, and by August they had annexed over 40% of the
island. After a ceasefire, the Green Line demilitarized
zone was established between the Turkish north and
the Greek Cypriots in the south. In 1983 the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) declared independence,
with Turkey
the only country to
recognise this illegitimate
new government.
Travelling is easy
except for taking a rental car across the dividing
Green Line. Car rental companies do not allow
cross-border driving so we will stay in the south and
explore the Greek Cypriot part of the island, officially
known as the Republic of Cyprus, or just Cyprus.
As the crow flies, the distance between Paphos in
the west to Cape Greco in the east is 153 kilometres
(95 mi) with a driving distance of about 186 kilometres
(116 mi). We start in the divided city of Nicosia
in the north, then travel southeast to Cape Greco.
From here we go southwest to the city of Larnaca,
then Limassol in the far south, west along the southern
coast and all the way to the historic city of Paphos
in the far west. We return to Nicosia by crossing the
scenic hills and valleys around Mount Olympos.
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