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Cyprus is the third
largest island in the Mediterranean and is located in the
northeastern area of the Mediterranean Sea. With a population of
only 800 000, large areas of the island remain completely unspoiled.
However, as a result of the Turkish invasion of 1974, 37% of the
island remains under Turkish rule. The so-called 'Green Line' border
that cuts directly through the capital, Nicosia divides the country,
now the last remaining divided capital in Europe. Cyprus is an
island steeped in history and has a rich cultural heritage. Visitors
and tourists that travel to Cyprus have an overwhelming choice of
ancient monuments and archaeological sites to visit. The majority of
the population is Greek Cypriot, and they follow the Christian
Orthodox religion. The main language spoken is Greek but English is
widely spoken, along with German, in the tourist areas. The unit of
currency is the Cyprus pound, but as from January 2008 the unit of
currency will change to the euro (an exchange rate of 0.58 cyprus
pounds to 1 Euro has been fixed),all major credit cards are
accepted. Other neighbouring territories include Syria and Lebanon
to the east, Israel 200 km to the southeast, Egypt 380 km to the
south, 400 km to Rhodes, and 800 km to the Greek mainland. |
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