CYPRUS

Cyprus, formally the Republic of Cyprus, is a Mediterranean island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is the Mediterranean's third-largest and third-most populous island, located south of Turkey and west of Syria.

Nicosia is the country's capital and largest city.

The island's first human activity originates from around the 10th millennium BC. The well-preserved Neolithic town of Khirokitia is one of the oldest water wells in the world, and Cyprus is home to some of the world's oldest water wells. In the second millennium BC, Mycenaean Greeks settled Cyprus in two waves. It was subsequently occupied by various significant nations, including the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Persian empires, from whom Alexander the Great took the island in 333 BC. Between 1571 and 1878, Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empires, Arab caliphates for a brief period, the French Lusignan dynasty, and the Venetians ruled (de jure until 1914).

Geography

After the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, Cyprus is the third biggest island in the Mediterranean Sea (both in terms of area and population). It is also the 80th largest by land and the 51st largest by population in the globe. It is 240 kilometers (149 miles) long and 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide at its widest point, bordering Turkey 75 kilometers (47 miles) north. It is located between 34° and 36° north latitude and 32° and 35° east longitude.

The Troodos Mountains and the lesser Kyrenia Range, as well as the middle plain they surround, the Mesaoria, dominate the island's physical relief. The Pedieos River, the island's longest, drains the Mesaoria plain. The Troodos Mountains cover the majority of the island's southern and western regions, accounting for nearly half of its total size. Mount Olympus, at 1,952 meters (6,404 feet), is Cyprus' highest point, located in the Troodos range. The Kyrenia Range, which runs along the northern shore, is much smaller and has lower altitudes, reaching a maximum of 1,024 meters (3,360 ft). The Anatolian Plate contains the island.