The third largest of the Mediterranean islands, Cyprus is one of the most popular holiday destinations with Britons. Families go for the beaches, couples to get married and/or honeymoon and older folk to retire in the sun. Good weather year round, nearly five hundred miles of coastline, with sandy beaches and rugged outcrops, olive and citrus groves, and a history that can be traced back over 10,000 years combine to make the island in the Aegean a welcoming place.
Cyprus's past has been turbulent, with invasions by the Greeks, Romans, Ottoman Turks and British among others. The country still faces struggles in the present, with the island partitioned into north and south. Most holiday resorts are in the southern, Greek-Cypriot Republic, and flights to Cyprus arrive here. Turkish-Cypriot North Cyprus is more remote and less visited by tourists, though independent travel is possible.
But millennia of invasion have left a rich cultural mosaic. There are ruins of ancient temples, Crusaders Castles and ornate Byzantine churches. Legends also cling to Cyprus – Aphrodite was supposed to have risen from the sea by the island, perhaps one of the reasons it is so popular with honeymooners today.
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