Where is Cyprus? Cyprus location on the map

Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Its location is in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, near the Middle East. Politically and geographically, Cyprus is a part of Europe. It is the further east / southern-east point of Europe. Cyprus is an independent country since 1960. It is a member of the United Nations and the European Union. Also, as an ex-colony of the UK, it is a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. 

 

Where is Cyprus located on a map of Europe 

Cyprus is the farther east / southern-east point of Europe. Being an island in the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus is in the crossroads of three continents, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and Africa. This strategic location of Cyprus, in the crossroads of three continents, defined its fate and history through the centuries and the millenniums. It does so even today.

 

Map of Cyprus and surrounding countries

As an island, Cyprus does not have borders with other countries. It does have, however, maritime boundaries with the neighboring (bordering) countries. These countries are Turkey to the north, Syria and Lebanon to the east, Israel to the south-east, Egypt to the south, and Greece (island of Crete) to the west.

 

 

Interesting key facts about Cyprus

Cyprus official name: Republic of Cyprus

Short form‎: Cyprus, ‎Kipros (Κύπρος in Greek), Kibris (Turkish)

Nationality‎: ‎Cypriot, Cypriots

Capital of Cyprus: Capital and largest city of Cyprus is Nicosia

Population of Cyprus: the population of Cyprus was a bit less of 1.2 million, as of 2008.

 

 

The currency of Cyprus is ‎Euro (€)

Telephone Country calling code‎: ‎+357

Internet TLD: .cy

Local Time: Eastern European time, GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)  + 2 hours. Time in Cyprus is two hours ahead of the time of Western European time and one hour ahead of Central European time.

Driving side: Cyprus follows the British driving style, You drive on the left side of the road, and the cars coming from your right-hand side of the road have the priority. The wheel of the car is on the right side of the car. In general, driving in Cyprus is the opposite of the driving style in the rest of Europe and the US, so please be very careful in case you rent a car.

 

Cyprus flag

The flag of Cyprus was designed by the Turkish-Cypriot Ismet Güney. He was an artist and art teacher. Cyprus has this flag since its independence in 1960.  

Design of the flag: The Cypriot flag features the shape (outline) of the island, with two olive branches below it, on a white background. The map on the flag is in copper-orange colour. This symbolizes the large copper reserves of the island, for which it was famous in the ancient times. During that period Cyprus used to export copper to the entire ancient world. Even the name of Cyprus is considered to derive from the ancient Latin word for copper, cuprous. 

 

 

 

 

Area‎

Cyprus covers an area of 9,251 km². Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, smaller only to Sicily and Sardinia. It also has the third biggest population of the Mediterranean islands, again behind Sicily and Sardinia.

 

Land

On the west and central part of the island, the range of Troodos marks the area and creates the mountainous spine of Cyprus. At its highest point, Mount Olympus, Troodos reaches 1952 meters. Troodos mountains are covered by pine forests and many times during winter its higher peaks are snow-covered.

To the north, there is another, much smaller mountain range, the Kyrenia range. The highest peak of the Kyrenia range is 1024 meters. The eastern part of Cyprus is a huge plain, the Mesaoria Plain. For centuries it was the granary of Cyprus. 

Cyprus does not have year-round running waters and rivers, nor natural lakes. It depends heavily on the water rainfall for irrigation water, and for its big array of water dams to fill for the summer.

 

Climate
Cyprus enjoys a wonderful Mediterranean climate. The long, dry summer and the short, moderately wet winter are separated with short spring and autumn.  One of the reasons Cyprus is so popular is the fact that it enjoys more than 300 sunny days every year. Read here more about the climate of Cyprus.

 

Airports of Cyprus

Cyprus has two international airports. Larnaca International airport is the main entry point to Cyprus with hundreds of flights every week. The second airport in Cyprus is the Paphos International airport. 

Most of the European countries and countries of the Middle East have multiple weekly connections with Larnaca airport and Paphos airport. To find out more information regarding flight connections with Cyprus, visit the official website of Cyprus Airports.

 

 

Cyprus people - Ethnic groups, religions, and languages spoken in Cyprus

Ethnic groups of Cyprus

Because of its position on the map, many rulers passed from Cyprus through the ages. As a result, many different ethnic groups live in Cyprus. Greek-Cypriots remain the bigger ethnic group, amounting to about 77% of the population. The second big ethnic group is the Turkish-Cypriots, amounting to about 18% of the population. All other groups total the remaining 5%.

These two ethnic groups have the status of a community. There are also three much smaller groups that have the status of minorities. These are Armenians, Maronites, and Latins. All these three minorities have decided and are attached to the Greek Cypriot community. They speak Greek as well as their respective languages. Each one of these minorities consists of a few thousand people.

Armenians are a community in Cyprus with Armenian origin, as their name suggests. They are in Cyprus for hundreds of years, thriving in trade, arts, and literature among others. 

The Maronites in Cyprus are members of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus whose ancestors migrated from present-day Lebanon during the Middle Ages. They came to Cyprus because of the problems they faced in their then home country in four waves, between the 8th and 13th centuries AD. Since then they are a distinctive part of the society of Cyprus. Maronites' religion is a version of Catholicism and they are part of the Catholic Church.

Latins come from different European countries. They are the descendants of the people from various European countries that ruled Cyprus through the centuries. What they have in common is their religion. They follow the Roman-Catholic church.

In today's complex world, with people traveling everywhere, there are four more notable group of people: The first group is European citizens, as Cyprus is a full member of the European Union. There are also large communities of British and Russian people who live permanently on the island. The last group is foreign workers from third countries. Today, all these groups combine to about 20-25% of the population of Cyprus.

 

So, to summarize, Cyprus society comprises officially of two communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and three small minorities, Armenians, Latins, and Maronites. Additionally today there are large groups of European citizens, UK and Russian citizens, and foreign workers. Add to these the millions of visitors and tourists from many different foreign countries, and you have an open, multinational and multicultural society. 

 

Official languages of Cyprus

The official languages of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish.

Other, widely spoken languages are English and Russian.

In addition to them the three minorities in Cyprus have their own languages:

Minority languages in Cyprus
There are 3 recognized minorities in Cyprus, Armenians, Maronites and Latins. Each of them accounts for very few thousands of people. All three minorities decided to join the Greek Cypriot community. They use the Greek language into their day to day lives, but they do have their own languages, customs and religions as well, which define them as minorities.
Armenian people's language is Armenian.

Maronite language is a variety of Arabic, called Cypriot Maronite Arabic. It is spoken for more than 800 years and is an ancient branch or Arabic, with elements from the now-extinct Aramaic language, which was the language spoken in the Middle East when Jesus Christ was on Earth.

Latins come from different European countries with Latin origin, like Spain, Portugal, Italy etc. Their religion is Christian Catholic.

 

Religions of Cyprus

The religions worshiped in Cyprus are Greek Orthodox Christian by the Greek Cypriots, Muslim by the Turkish Cypriots, Maronite (Catholic Church) by the Maronites, Roman Catholic by the Latins, and Armenian Orthodox by the Armenians.

 

Cities of Cyprus

There are six major cities in Cyprus. Each one of them is the capital of one of the six districts of Cyprus, with the same name. The list of the biggest cities of Cyprus is according to their population:

Nicosia
The capital and largest city of Cyprus, Nicosia is the only city of Cyprus that is not located on the seashore.

Limassol
Its location is on the south coast of Cyprus. Limassol port is the biggest and busiest of Cyprus. Limassol is a holiday resort, and also a business and cultural center.

Larnaca
Located on the east part of the south coast. It is the entry point to Cyprus and Larnaca international airport is the biggest and busiest in Cyprus.

Famagusta
Since 1974 is under illegal Turkish occupation. Today Famagusta (Ammochostos in Greek) is, unfortunately, a ghost city as their inhabitants had to leave their homes and their properties and become refugees. It is located on the east coast of Cyprus.

Paphos
Located on the west coast of Cyprus, Paphos is the top holiday resort of Cyprus and houses the second and smaller international airport of Cyprus.

Kyrenia
Kyrenia is under Turkish occupation since 1974. Its Greek inhabitants had to leave. Today only Turkish Cypriots and Turkish settlers leave in the city. Its location is on the north coast of Cyprus.

In addition to the cities of Cyprus, there are also many very interesting towns and villages in Cyprus. For more information about the cities and towns of Cyprus, please read this article about the cities of Cyprus.

 

 

Few frequently asked questions regarding Cyprus and its position on the map

 

Is Cyprus in Greece? Does Cyprus belong to Greece?

No. Cyprus is an independent country, member of the United Nations and the European Union among many other international organizations. The misunderstanding comes from the fact that 85% of the Cyprus population is of Greek origin. Cyprus and Greece, like countries, have excellent relations, but Cyprus is a different, independent country.

 

How is Cyprus for holidays?

With more than 300 sunny days every year, Cyprus is one of the premium holiday destinations in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite its small size, every part of Cyprus offers different types of holidays. What have in common all the coastal holiday resorts are the beautiful, clean beaches (some of the best in Europe), excellent accommodation, many options for food and drink, water and other activities, tradition, fantastic nature, history and historical sites dating back as many as ten thousand years ago.

At the same time, the inland of the island, with the Troodos Mountains range, offers a totally different type of holiday, based on traditional, serene holidays in the small, beautiful, traditional mountain villages, hidden in the pine woods that cover the mountains.

 

How safe is Cyprus?

In general, Cyprus is a very safe place to be. Despite its position in the middle of a very complicated area, Cyprus enjoys a safe environment, in both personal crime and outside security/terrorism issues. For this reason, the countries that usually are the targets of attacks, like the USA, the UK, Russia, and France to name a few, have designated Cyprus as the place that is the safe-haven for their citizens during crises in the wider area of the Middle East.

To see what the UK Government gives as travel advice when traveling to Cyprus, see this article, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cyprus

In a similar way, read information from the USA Government when Traveling to Cyprus: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Cyprus.html