Cyprus is an island popular with Russian tourists with an area of 9, 25 thousand square kilometers. Within its framework, there are three small states at once - Cyprus itself, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as well as the country of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
A little about the history of the island
The first traces of civilization that were found on the territory of Cyprus date back to 8000 BC. Moreover, they are 9000 years old. These are traces of the Stone Age, the Copper Age, and then the Bronze Age.
The golden period in the development of Cyprus is the settlement of it by the ancient Greeks in the 12-11 centuries BC. It was the Hellenic civilization that determined the direction of the culture that began to develop within the island - this is the Greek language, their art, religion and other traditions.
The Greeks also founded ancient cities in Cyprus, some of which still exist today.
Many peoples and civilizations tried to conquer Cyprus - Assyrians, Egyptians, peppers and others, but no one could take possession of it for a long time. As a result, the army of Alexander the Great liberated the island from foreign invaders, after which the philosopher Zeno (a student of the famous Ptolemy) founded the famous philosophical school of Stoicism in Cyprus.
For many centuries, Cyprus was part of Greece and then the Roman Empire. But in 1571 it was conquered by the Ottomans, after which Cyprus was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, which cut off the island's connection with the rest of Europe. Then, already in 1869, after the opening of the Suez Canal, the British Empire began to show interest in the island, under whose control Cyprus came in 1878.
Already in the 20th century, many countries claimed possession of Cyprus, and even now, a relatively small island in its territory is often simply torn apart by conflicts between Christians and Muslims.
Mediterranean Sea
The only sea that is washed by Cyprus in the northeastern part is the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, this island is the third largest in this salt basin. Cyprus is 380 kilometers from Egypt, 105 kilometers from Syria and 75 kilometers from the Turkish border.
The geographical location of Cyprus places it in the Asian part of the continent.
The very name "Mediterranean" was first introduced into circulation by the ancient writer Gaius Julius Solin, who called it "the sea in the middle of the earth." It was the Mediterranean Sea that was connecting for such different European and North African civilizations.
Within this basin, a number of smaller and not always officially recognized seas are also distinguished - Alboran, Balearic, Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, Cretan, Libyan, Cyprus and Levantine. The same basin with the Mediterranean Sea also includes the Marmara, Black and Caspian Seas.
