Cyprus- Interesting Tidbits

Interesting Tidbits About Cyprus

1. You Could See Aphrodite-  Legend says that the Greek goddess Aphrodite was born off of Aphrodite's Beach.  The waves breaking over the rock create pillars of foam that the islanders say that it looks like Aphrodite herself!  
2. Tombs-  Apparently the UN says that most of the tombs are made out of rock.  So they feel rock solid, also these are from the 4th-century. 
3. You can dive to the 1980s- There is a shipwreck off the coast of Larnaca.  The shipwreck is often listed as one of the worlds top 10 dives.  The shipwreck that everybody dives to is called the Zenobia.  People who dive to the ship say that they can still see vending machines and also they can see the decaying carpet that was one very lush on the boat.  
4. Cyprus makes real cheese-  There is one very important type of cheese from Cyprus that is recognized as Hauloumi and its known to be real cheese.  Its not the kind of cheese that you can go to the store and by, its homemade.  A lot of people from Cyprus make this cheese at home and is very popular in Cyprus.  
5. One city, many centuries- There are 4th-century Roman ruins that are rich with ancient tombs and palaces.  There are tons and tons of ruins that you may visit that can be from centuries ago. 
6. Commanderia, world's oldest wine-  Commanderia may be the worlds oldest wine in the world.  Is thought to have christened by crusading 13th-century knights.  Also it may have been made for 5,000 years.
7. Sheep-  Sheep is Cyprus' national symbol.  

Cyprus- Current Events

Current Events

The government of Cyprus wanted to raid personnel bank deposits to get money to bring the country out of poverty. Many people responded with massive street protests against what the government was thinking of doing.  A lot of people had fears of losing money from there banking accounts, the money that they worked hard for, not the government.  I mean yeah, the government needs out of the little rescission that they are having but they shouldn't raid someones bank account they should probably go and ask if they can get money to get them out of this little rescission that they are in.  

Cyprus- Citations

Citations

 Aust, Jerold, JA, and John Ross Schroeder, JRS. "Current Events & Trends: Cyprus Crisis' Impact on Europe." United Church of God. Beyond Today, 23 May 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Bowerman, Karen, KB. "10 Unique Things about Cyprus - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.  

Np, Np Np. "Cyprus Cuisine." Cyprus Island. Iioannou, 17 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. 

Np, Np Np. "Cyprus Demographics Profile 2014." Cyprus Demographics Profile 2014. Index   Omundi, 30 June 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. 

Np, Np Np. "Religion in Cyprus - Living in Cyprus." Living in Cyprus. Np, np. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. 

Np, Np Np. "Timeline: Cyprus." BBC News. BBC, 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.  

 Np, Np Np. "Where To Go." Where To Go. Rough Guides, np. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. 

 

  

Cyprus- Tourism

Tourism

The vast majority of tourists begin there trip on the narrow coastal strip in the south, which hosts the two main towns Larnaka, Lemesos, and Pafos, each with a historic old town and popular beaches.  Beyond them, to the north, foothills rise to the island's mountain range, the Troodos Massif, dotted with villages, churches with monasteries.  To the west of the island is a plateau covered in vineyards, the great wilderness forest of Tiliria to the Akamas Peninsula.  Coral Bay is packed with resorts offering a wide variety of activities to do.   Cyprus has many beaches that are usually very packed full of tourists and people who are from Cyprus. 

Cyprus- Demographics

Demographics

The population of Cyprus is 1,172,458 (July 2014 est.).  The age structure for kids from 0-14 years old is 15.7%, 15-24 is 15.3%, 25-54 is 46.9%, 55-64 is 10.8%, 65 years and older is 11.2%.  That is what most of the population is made up of.  The Dependency Ratios -  Total Dependency Ratio is 41.4%, Youth Dependency Ratio is 23.7%, Elderly Dependency Ratio is 17.7%, and Potential Support Ratio is 5.6 (2014 est.).  The Median Age of Cyprus is total: 35.7 years, Male median age is 34.4 years, and Female is 37.4 years old (2014 est.).  The Population Growth Rate is 1.48% (2014 est.).  The Birth Rate of Cyprus is 11.44 births/1,000 population (2014 est.).  The Death Rate 6.57/1,000 population (2014 est.).  The Life Expectancy at Birth for total population: 78.34 years, male is 75.54 years, and female is 81.27 years (2014 est.).  The Ethnic groups are Greek 77%, Turkish 18%, and other is 5% as of 2001.  

Cyprus- Economy

Economy 

Cyprus' capital is Nicosia.  The government type is Republic.  The currency for Cyprus is the Euro.  The adopted the Euro in January of 2008.  Also Cyprus is a part of the European Union.  The economy of Cyprus was bad for a while, the economy went into a rescission.  The economy came out of the rescission a couple of years later, now the economy is doing good.  

      

Cyprus Foods

Cyprus- Food

Cyprus Cuisine (Cyprus main dish) involves appetizers, salads, delicacies and sweets.  

Appetizers

• Tahini- crushed sesame seeds with olive oil, lemon and garlic.
• Taramosalta- Fish roe, pureed potatoes with olive oil, parsley, lemon juice and onion.
• Hummus- chichpeas and tahini 
• Haloumi- soft cheese usually grilled, made from either goat or sheep milk and sometimes spiced with peppermint.

Main dishes (Food)

• Soulva- lamb, pork, chicken cooked on a skewer, garnished with oregano, salt and lemon
• Mousaka- baked lamb and eggplant covered with bechamel sauce. 
• Fasolada- dry white beans, olive oil, and vegatables

These are just a few of the main popular dishes

Delicacies

• Tsamarella- dried goat meat in coriander seeds and wine.
• Chiromeri- pork meat in wine and smoked.
• Zalatina- gelatine and boiled pork.

Sweets

• Finikia- walnut cakes
• Melomakarona- honey cakes

These are just a few of the main popular deserts

 

 Salads

Any of salad really is what they have. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion of Cyprus

            Cyprus was divided along ethnic lines in 1974 into a Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north after Turkey invaded following a coup aiming to unite the island with Greece. The majority of Cyprus' religion is that of Greek Orthodox Christianity.   About 74% of people in Cyprus consider themselves to be Greek Orthodox .   Since this statistic covers the whole island, and there are few Christians in the North, this means that probably 80% of people in the South are affiliated in some way with the Greek Orthodox Church.  This is part of the Eastern Orthodox communion.  The services in Ancient Greek, and are often relayed on loudspeakers outside the buildings.  People come and go as they wish- the services can last two hour or more, but it's not unusual for people to be coming and going throughout.  Men and women sit on different sides of the church.   There is also Roman Catholic Churches, Islam is the dominant religion in the North of Cyprus, there are very few Muslims in the south.  There is also Judaism and General. Cyprus has complete freedom of religion, despite Greek Orthodoxy being the majority of faith. 

Travel to Cyprus

History-

              In 1914 Cyprus annexed Britain, after more than 300 years of Ottoman Rule.  For years countries battled for who had control and had many peace talks that didn't work.  If the peace talks worked it seemed like we would take a couple steps back (one step forward, two steps back).  In 1960 Cyprus gained independence after Greek and Turkish communities reach an agreement on a constitution for Cyprus.  The Treaty of Guarantee gives Britain, Greece and Turkey the right to intervene with Cyprus.  In 1960 the national flag of republic Cyprus was adopted after gaining independence.  Cyprus is the only country to display its land area on its flag.  The white and olive trees on the flag mean peace, while copper means that the historical attachment of Cyprus to this metal (independence).

Historical Sites-

1. Tombs of the Kings.
2. Nissi Beach
3. Kolossi Castle

These are just some examples of Historical Sites in Cyprus.