Many Cyprus holidays are taken on this beautiful island located off the southern coast of Turkey and off the western shore of Syria. The highest mountain peak is called Mount Olympus with its highest point being six-thousand-four-hundred feet. At this time it is a Republic but the United Nations continues to reunify the Turkish and Greek sides so that it is under a federated system of government.
Over time the rule of this island went through many hands with Greek and Phoenician colonies being the earliest of its inhabitants. In 1517, it fell into the hands of the Turks and so a large Turkish colony then settled there. The land area a bit over thirty-five hundred miles and the population is estimated in 2010 to be 1,102.677. Life expectancy on this island is 77.6 years. The capitol and the largest city is Lefkosia and the monetary unit is the Euro.
On August 16, 1960, this island became an independent nation once the Turkish Cypriots and the Greeks agreed on a constitution. In April of 2008, an important symbolic step toward reunification took place when the Ledra Street crossing was torn down. It was here where the checkpoint that divided this island was located, in the capitol city of Nicosia.
