Cyprus

The island of Cyprus is the result of of the Anatolian tectonic plate and the African plate colliding.

The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sold her kingdom to Venice on March 14, 1489.  She ceded her rights as ruler of Cyprus to the Doge of Venice—and by extension the Venetian government as a whole—as she had no heir.

The Ottoman empire invaded Cyprus in 1570. The capital Nicosia and several other towns fell quickly to the considerably superior Ottoman army. Famagusta eventually fell in August 1571 after a siege of 11 months. In response the Republic of Venice and the Holy League, a coalition of Christian states formed under the auspices of the Pope, declared war.

The 1571 Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement between allied Christian forces and the Ottoman Turks.

A peace treaty signed on March 7, 1573 brought the Ottoman–Venetian War to an end with Venice ceding Cyprus to the Ottomans and paying a tribute of 300,000 ducats.

The Republic of Cyprus was established on August 16, 1960, following three years of negotiations between the United Kingdom, Greece, and Turkey. The agreement was signed in London on February 19, 1959, and it was ratified by the respective parliaments.

The new republic was a bi-communal state, with Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots sharing equal political rights. The president was to be a Greek Cypriot and the vice president was to be a Turkish Cypriot. The House of Representatives was to have 78 seats, with 35 Greek Cypriots, 24 Turkish Cypriots, and 9 others.

The national flag of Cyprus came into use on August 16, 1960, the day the Republic of Cyprus was established. It was designed by artist İsmet Güney. The flag features the shape of the entirety of the island, with two olive branches below (a symbol of peace between the island's two communities) on white (another symbol of peace). The design of the flag deliberately employs peaceful and neutral symbols in an attempt to indicate harmony between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, an ideal that has not yet been realized.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded on November 15, 1963.The self-declared state comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus, but is recognized only by Turkey. Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

The flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was adopted in 1983. It is based on the flag of Turkey with the colors reversed and two horizontal red stripes added at the top and bottom.

Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Wikipedia

Geographically, Cyprus is part of Asia and in the Middle East, but for political reasons, it is sometimes counted as being part of Europe.

Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean; Only Sicily and Sardinia are larger.

Cyprus is one of only two island nations in the Mediterranean (the other is Malta).

There are two states on the island: The Republic of Cyprus and The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey. These states are separated by a buffer zone, which is controlled by the United Nations.

Voting in European elections is compulsory in Cyprus.