Cyprus

Cyprus, officially, the Republic of Cyprus is an Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean south of Turkey, west of the Levant, north of Egypt and east south east of Greece. Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia) and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. A former British colony, it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and became a Commonwealth republic in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004. It adopted the euro on 1 January 2008.

Cyprus has two international airports: Larnaca International Airport and Paphos International Airport.

In 1974, following a period of violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and an attempted Greek Cypriot coup d'état aimed at annexing the island to Greece, Turkey invaded and occupied one-third of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north - the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey).