Cyprus

an island in europe which rightfully belongs to the greeks
i’m going to cyprus and greece this summer.
cyprus is an island country in the east mediterranean which is populated by a majority of greek and a minority of turkish people. after what can be claimed to be a cia coup in the 70s, through which greece tried to take control of the country, turkey invaded and set up a puppet state on the north which is still not admitted into the un.
the donkey is one of the most characteristic animals of cyprus.
cyprus is a beautiful greek island, south east of the greek mainland. it is situated in the mediteranean sea and is a member state of the european union. it’s religion is christianity (greek orthodox church) and the currency in use is the cyprus pound (will be the euro soon). cyprus gained independance from the uk in 1960. the greek spoken in cyprus is similar to that of mainland greece, but with a few differences. cyprus is to greece what sicily is to the italian mainland.
cyprus is a greek island
contrary to popular belief (and in some cases propaganda), cyprus has been a greek and turkish island since the ottoman empire conquered it from the venetians in 1571. h-ll, you could even call the people there cypriots. it is an independent, sovereign, nation; not an island ‘belonging’ to greece or turkey. cyprus is an island that was never meant to be divided… what happened there is a truly horrible occurence in modern history.
timeline of the ongoing conflict
(mostly of the ignored turkish cypriot view)

#1 firstly, you must understand that turkish cypriots and greek cypriots have a different language, religion, and culture and there has never been a single cypriot ident-ty.

#2 the ottoman empire conquered the island in 1571. the turkish and greek cypriots, who were the two main ethnically distinct communities on the island, both flourished independently under ottoman rule.

#3 in 1878 the ottoman government handed over the administration of cyprus to britain, whilst retaining its sovereignty of the island. this period saw the first major british involvement in the affairs of cyprus, and it is around this time that the present day problems began.

#4 the british annexed the island after 1914 and discrimination against the turkish cypriots began in earnest. this period was marked by a major agitation by greek cypriots for enosis (the union of cyprus with greece), and under the indifference of the british, turkish cypriots were treated by the greek cypriots as inferior second cl-ss citizens in their own country.

#5 in 1960 together with a treaty of guarantee backed by britain, turkey and greece, cyprus gained its independence and a const-tution was formed, which recognised a joint and equal partnership between the two communities. the greek cypriots however were determined to overthrow the newly independent republic of cyprus from the very outset.

#6 in december 1963, the greek cypriots launched the akritas plan with a series of co-ordinated attacks on turkish cypriots throughout the island. the aim of the plan was to terrorise turkish cypriots into accepting minority status. the turkish cypriots were forced to live in barricaded and armed enclaves for their own security and endured inhuman blockades.

#7 the present cyprus situation was effectively sealed when on 4 march 1964 the united nations, against the 1960 treaty and const-tution, accepted a government solely formed by greek cypriots as the legitimate government of the republic of cyprus. turkish cypriots were ejected from all positions of government, and were subjected to repeated violence and great hardships until 1974.

#8 on 15 july 1974, the greek cypriot government led by archbishop makarios was deposed by a terrorist organisation eoka-b and the greek army, who declared enosis (union with greece) and began to attack and kill turkish cypriots with a renewed vigour. turkey intervened on 20 july 1974 following appeals by the turkish cypriot community and the deposed archbishop makarios, who pleaded at the un for one of the other two guarantor powers to rescue cyprus and its people, as required by the 1960 treaty of guarantee. in doing so, turkey created a safe haven for the turkish cypriots in the north of the island. turkish cypriots felt safe for the first time since 1963.

#9 from this point the turkish cypriots tried to negotiate a political settlement with the greek cypriots, applying the principles of the 1960 const-tution to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution. the failure of numerous un-sponsored talks between the two sides eventually led to the declaration of the turkish republic of northern cyprus in 1983. yet this did not resolve the cyprus situation as only the greek cypriot state in south cyprus received international recognition.

#10 turkish cypriots have become isolated politically, socially and economically since the events of 1964. the greek cypriots have erroneously been treated as the sole government and administrators for the island, and have gained all the benefits that come with being accepted and integrated within the family of nations.

#11 from 2001 the united nations began more intensely to address the “cyprus question”. the new initiative culminated in two separate simultaneous referenda on the annan plan on 24 april 2004 in north and south cyprus, which was formulated after protracted negotiations with both sides as well as with greece and turkey. the plan was approved by 65% of the turkish cypriots, whereas 76% of the greek cypriots rejected it.
a modern laboratory where they conduct experiments on h-m- sapiens regarding:

a. maximum amount of heat they can endure without evaporating
b. maximum amount of cab fare they can pay without a fist fight
c. maximum amount of distance they would be willing to go back when they confront an imp-ssable-looking, smelly trash pile
d. maximum amount of war stories they can listen
e. maximum amount of booze intake before they die of dehydration
f. maximum amount of drug dealers they can ask where to get marijuana
g. maximum amount of car accidents they can have in a day
h. maximum amount of ugly wh-r-s building a wall in front of a one s-xy wh-r-
– i hear gambling is not prohibited in cyprus.
+ yeah, russian roulette is awesome.
a mediterranean island situated south of turkey. inhabited by mainly cypriots, the island has been divided since 1974 by completely racist greeks who wanted cyprus to unite with greece and by fascist turks who invaded the north of the country to protect the turkish community. neither side of the argument is without fault, but it cannot be denied that cyprus is a beautiful country. before joining the european union the south of cyprus was a large tourist destination and locations such as ayia napa were very popular among brits. but typically the greeks shot themselves in the foot again and put up all the prices, scaring aware their huge tourist industry. fortunately the north of the island has not been ruined by the turkish population but is still not a major tourist destination as the occupation is recognised by the un to be illegal. maybe one day turkey will realise that woman are people too, and maybe the greeks of cyprus will realise that the turks have always lived amongst them and that greece is rubbish.

nb: the food is the best in the world.
brit 1: hey wanna go cyprus this year?

brit 2: nah, its way too expensive now.

brit 1: why don’t we go to the north then?

brit 2: i don’t like turks, they’re s-xist.

brit 1: ok we can let them sort their sh-t out, we’ll just go spain again.
contrary to popular belief (and in some cases propaganda), cyprus has been a greek and turkish island since the ottoman empire conquered it from the venetians in 1571. h-ll, you could even call the people there cypriots. it is an independent, sovereign, nation; not an island ‘belonging’ to greece or turkey. cyprus is an island that was never meant to be divided… what happened there is a truly horrible occurence in modern history.
timeline of the ongoing conflict
(mostly of the ignored turkish cypriot view)

#1 firstly, you must understand that turkish cypriots and greek cypriots have a different language, religion, and culture and there has never been a single cypriot ident-ty.

#2 the ottoman empire conquered the island in 1571. the turkish and greek cypriots, who were the two main ethnically distinct communities on the island, both flourished independently under ottoman rule.

#3 in 1878 the ottoman government handed over the administration of cyprus to britain, whilst retaining its sovereignty of the island. this period saw the first major british involvement in the affairs of cyprus, and it is around this time that the present day problems began.

#4 the british annexed the island after 1914 and discrimination against the turkish cypriots began in earnest. this period was marked by a major agitation by greek cypriots for enosis (the union of cyprus with greece), and under the indifference of the british, turkish cypriots were treated by the greek cypriots as inferior second cl-ss citizens in their own country.

#5 in 1960 together with a treaty of guarantee backed by britain, turkey and greece, cyprus gained its independence and a const-tution was formed, which recognised a joint and equal partnership between the two communities. the greek cypriots however were determined to overthrow the newly independent republic of cyprus from the very outset.

#6 in december 1963, the greek cypriots launched the akritas plan with a series of co-ordinated attacks on turkish cypriots throughout the island. the aim of the plan was to terrorise turkish cypriots into accepting minority status. the turkish cypriots were forced to live in barricaded and armed enclaves for their own security and endured inhuman blockades.

#7 the present cyprus situation was effectively sealed when on 4 march 1964 the united nations, against the 1960 treaty and const-tution, accepted a government solely formed by greek cypriots as the legitimate government of the republic of cyprus. turkish cypriots were ejected from all positions of government, and were subjected to repeated violence and great hardships until 1974.

#8 on 15 july 1974, the greek cypriot government led by archbishop makarios was deposed by a terrorist organisation eoka-b and the greek army, who declared enosis (union with greece) and began to attack and kill turkish cypriots with a renewed vigour. turkey intervened on 20 july 1974 following appeals by the turkish cypriot community and the deposed archbishop makarios, who pleaded at the un for one of the other two guarantor powers to rescue cyprus and its people, as required by the 1960 treaty of guarantee. in doing so, turkey created a safe haven for the turkish cypriots in the north of the island. turkish cypriots felt safe for the first time since 1963.

#9 from this point the turkish cypriots tried to negotiate a political settlement with the greek cypriots, applying the principles of the 1960 const-tution to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution. the failure of numerous un-sponsored talks between the two sides eventually led to the declaration of the turkish republic of northern cyprus in 1983. yet this did not resolve the cyprus situation as only the greek cypriot state in south cyprus received international recognition.

#10 turkish cypriots have become isolated politically, socially and economically since the events of 1964. the greek cypriots have erroneously been treated as the sole government and administrators for the island, and have gained all the benefits that come with being accepted and integrated within the family of nations.

#11 from 2001 the united nations began more intensely to address the “cyprus question”. the new initiative culminated in two separate simultaneous referenda on the annan plan on 24 april 2004 in north and south cyprus, which was formulated after protracted negotiations with both sides as well as with greece and turkey. the plan was approved by 65% of the turkish cypriots, whereas 76% of the greek cypriots rejected it.