Facts about Cyprus
Church attendance is relatively high, and Cyprus is known as one of the most religious countries in the European Union.
Graduates of public schools are required to take an entrance examination in order to enroll at the University of Cyprus or other universities in Greece.
The Mycenжan culture seems to have reached Cyprus at around 1600 B.C.E., and several Greek and Phњnician settlements that belong to the Iron Age can also be found on the island.
Cyprus was visited by the Apostles Paul, Barnabas, and Mark the Evangelist who came to the island at the outset of their first missionary journey in 45 C.E.
Cyprus became part of the Byzantine Empire after the partitioning of the Roman Empire in 395, and remained so for almost 800 years, interrupted by a brief period of Arab domination and influence.
After it became clear that neither the Greeks nor the Turks on Cyprus supported the coup, the new regime was resolved.
Cyprus was formally annexed by the United Kingdom in 1913 in the run-up to the First World War, since their former British ally, Turkey, had joined the Central Powers.
After their defeat, the Greeks mounted various expeditions in order to liberate Cyprus from Persian rule, but these efforts gained only temporary victories.
Turkish Cypriots proclaimed a separate state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) under Rauf Denkta? on November 15, 1983.
Cyprus has been sought as a basis for several offshore businesses, due to its highly developed infrastructure.
Cyprus has four exclaves—territories geographically separated from the main part.
The economic policy of the Cyprus government has focused on meeting the criteria for admission to the European Union.
The constitution of the new state divided the people of Cyprus into a majority and minority, based on national origin.
Many Cypriots, now British subjects, signed up to fight in the British Army, promised by the British that when the war finished, Cyprus would be united with Greece.
Richard became the new ruler of Cyprus, gaining for the Crusade a major supply base that was not under immediate threat from the Turks, as was Tyre.
The Turkish population of Cyprus, however, rejected the proposal, arguing that the amendments would have restricted the rights of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Both Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic of Cyprus and Greek Cypriots in Turkish areas report discrimination directed towards them.
During the Bronze Age, the people of Cyprus learned to work the rich copper mines of the island.
Around 1200 B.C.E., the Sea Peoples, groups of seafarers who invaded eastern Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, and Egypt, may have arrived in Cyprus, although the nature of their influence is disputed.
Seven days after these events, Turkey invaded Cyprus by sea and air, on July 20, 1974.
Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus's authority over the whole island and refers to it as the Greek Cypriot administration.
Historically, Cyprus has been at the crossroads between Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa, with lengthy periods of mainly Greek and intermittent Anatolian, Levantine, and British influences.
The 2005 report also restated Amnesty International's long standing concern over discrimination towards the Roma peoples in Cyprus.
Throughout the period of Venetian rule, Ottoman Cyprus was vulnerable to Turkish raids.
Recently, oil has been discovered in the sea south of Cyprus between Cyprus and Egypt and talks are under way with Egypt to reach an agreement as to the exploitation of these resources.
Turkey is the only country to date that recognizes the administration on the northern third of Cyprus.
After its independence, the Republic of Cyprus became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement despite all three guarantor powers (Greece, Turkey, and the UK) being North Atlantic Treaty Organization members.
Most Greek Cypriots, and thus the majority of the population of Cyprus, belong to the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus (Cypriot Orthodox Church), whereas most Turkish Cypriots are Sunni Muslims.
Turkey claimed this action was conducted to uphold its obligation under a 1960 treaty commitment, "to reinstate the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus."
After World War II, Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule and a democratic constitution was enacted.
Cyprus has a well-developed system of primary and secondary education offering both public and private education.
Private school students usually study in Britain and the United States, although some of them go to the University of Cyprus or Greek universities.
The third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia), Cyprus is geographically situated in the eastern Mediterranean and just south of the Anatolian peninsula (or Asia Minor).
Today the Republic of Cyprus is a developed country and a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004.
Both Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic of Cyprus and Greek Cypriots in Turkish areas report discrimination directed towards them.
Unable to reach a solution, the government of the Republic of Cyprus brought the matter before the United Nations.
Cyprus left the Non-Aligned Movement in 2004 to join the European Union, although it retains special observer status.