Cyprus (Greek: Κύπρος, transliterated: Kýpros, IPA: [ˈkipɾo̞s]; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, [kipɾiaˈki ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon.
Cyprus is the Mediterranean's third largest island, and one of its most popular tourist destinations, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year. A former British colony, it became an independent republic in 1960[6] and a member of the Commonwealth in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is one of the advanced economies in the region, and has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004.
In 1964, Turkey attempted to invade Cyprus[8] but was stopped by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 5, 1964
In 1974, Turkey, using a coup d'état instigated by the Greek Junta as a pretext, invaded and occupied the northern portion of the island. The Turkish invasion led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north recognized only by Turkey. This event and its resulting political situation are matters of ongoing dispute.
The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters except small portions that are allocated by treaty to the United Kingdom as sovereign military bases. The Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts, the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island's area and the Turkish-occupied area in the north,[10] calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 37% of the island's area and recognised only by Turkey.
Article Source: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus
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