Make love Not war

Guarantee Agreement"). In addition, the Kingdom of Greece and Turkey acquired the right to keep their military contingents on the island - 950 and 650 men, respectively ("Treaty of Union"). Great Britain retained in Cyprus under its full sovereignty an area of 1,999 square miles, on which two Sovereign Military Bases are located - Akrotiri and Decelia, and also secured the right to use other "small areas" and infrastructure in connection with the activities of the bases and objects In addition to these bases, there are several other military facilities and structures of Great Britain and the United States.

On August 16, 1960, the island, which was part of the British colonial possessions, gained independence. Orthodox priest Makarios III became the first president. Nicosia became its capital in the same year. The Zurich and London Agreements of 1959 imposed on the Cypriots became the legal formalization of the granting of independence, which significantly limited the sovereignty of the republic. According to these agreements, Great Britain, the Kingdom of Greece and Turkey became guarantors of the "independence, territorial integrity and security" of Cyprus, which gave these countries the opportunity to interfere in its internal affairs ("

Cyprus is home to a variety of living creatures. 168 species of birds, 12 species of mammals and 20 species of turtles live here. However, sea turtles annually make their nests on Lara Beach on the Akamas Peninsula. This is the mouflon, a mountain ram with thick twisted horns that lives in a reserve in the Troodos Mountains

1,900 species of flowering plants grow in Cyprus, of which 140 do not grow anywhere except this island. On the Akamas Peninsula alone, 700 species of plants grow, of which 40 are exotic, that is, they are common only in this area. From February to April, at the foot of the rocky hills and on the lush green meadows, pink cyclamen make their way. The pink oleander is common throughout Cyprus and is often grown as an ornamental plant along roads and highways. From March to April, pink orchids (Orchis Italica) with wavy leaves appear near Paphos.

Cyprus is characterized by a wealth of flora and fauna, a variety of marine life. Many plants that grow in natural conditions in Cyprus have medicinal properties, and in the past were used by villagers to prepare a universal home potion against a number of common ailments. For example, peonies, which were used in the Middle Ages as a pain reliever, grow in abundance in the Troodos Mountains at an altitude of over 1,000 meters.

The island is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean.[13][14][15] With a developed[16] high-income economy and a very high level of human development,[17][18] the Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1961, and was one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined on 1 May 2004 to the European Union.[19][20][21] On January 1, 2008, the republic officially became a member of the Eurozone

De jure, the territory of the republic includes 98% of the territory of the island of Cyprus, including its territorial waters, exclusive economic zone and the adjacent islands of Agios Georgios, Heronisos, Glukiotissa, Kyla, Chiedes, Cordelia and Mazak. The remaining 2% is occupied by the British military bases of Akrotiri and Decelia, which are under the control of Great Britain. However, de facto, the island is divided into two parts: 59% is controlled by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus (mainly inhabited by Greeks),[11] the other part is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (inhabited by Turks), which occupies about 36% of the island's territory. TRKP is recognized only by Turkey, the international community considers this territory occupied by Turkey.[12] The remaining 4% of the island's territory is a buffer zone under the control of UN peacekeeping forces.

Cyprus was placed under British administration on the basis of the Cyprus Convention of 1878, and was officially annexed by Great Britain in 1914. Since Turkish Cypriots constituted 18% of the population, in the 1950s the partition of Cyprus and the establishment of a Turkish state in the north became the policy of the leaders of the local Turkish community and of Turkey itself. Turkish leaders for a certain period advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey, as they considered the island an "extension of Anatolia"; while since the 19th century the majority of the Greek Cypriot population and their Orthodox Church advocated union with Greece, which became the national policy of Greece in the 1950s.[9] As a result of the liberation struggle of 1955-1959, Cyprus gained independence in 1960

The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to about 10,000 BC. c. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic settlement of Hyrokitia, and Cyprus itself is home to one of the world's oldest water wells.[7] Cyprus was inhabited by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. Because of its strategic location in the Middle East, the island was subsequently occupied by several regional powers, including the empires of the Neo-Assyrians, the ancient Egyptians, and the Persians, from whom the island was captured in 333 BC. Alexander the Great. The island was later ruled by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Roman and Byzantine Empires, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians, followed by three hundred years of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914).

Cyprus (Sluhatii[ˈsaɪprəs]; Greek. Κύπρος; Tur. Kıbrıs), official name - Republic of Cyprus[a][b] is an island state in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus is the third largest[5] and most populous[6] Mediterranean island, located 113 kilometers south of Turkey and approximately 120 kilometers west of the coasts of Syria and Lebanon, north of Israel, the Palestinian Territory of the Gaza Strip and Egypt, as well as southeast of Greece.