Interesting places in Cyprus:

Lordos Beach Hotel

Cyprus (Greek: Ku%pro*s, Kýpros; Turkish: Kibris), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Kupriaky% Dyµokrati'a, Kypriakí Dhimokratía; Turkish: Kibris Cumhuriyeti) is a Eurasian island in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea south of the Anatolian peninsula (Asia Minor) or modern-day Turkey. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts ^: Nicosia (the capital, Greek: Lefkosia, Anglicised: Nicosia), Ammochostos (Famagusta), Keryneia (Kyrenia), Larnaka (Larnaca), Lemesos (Limassol), and Pafos. A former British colony, the Republic of Cyprus gained independence in 1960 while the United Kingdom retained two Sovereign Base Areas. Following 11 years of alternating intercommunal violence and peaceful attempts at reconciliation, including the establishment of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in 1964, Turkey launched a two-stage invasion of the island in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup which overthrew the legitimate Cypriot government of President Makarios. The invasion led to the internal displacement of thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots and the subsequent establishment of a separatist regime to govern the invaded area, currently styling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, separated from the south by the UN-controlled Green Line and recognized only by Turkey. The Republic of Cyprus has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004 after overwhelmingly rejecting a United Nations referandum to unify the divided island. Turkish Cypriots, on the contrary, had voted in favor of the referendum^

• the many archaeological and antiquities sites scattered around the island, dating from the New Stone Age through to the Roman Empire
• the beautiful coastline of the island - still quite unspoilt in many places - is well worth exploring
• Nicosia, the capital as it has a wealth of history, preserved Venetian walls surrounding the city, some wonderful bars and restaurants within the old walls of the city and of course the 'green line' - the dividing line with the Turkish part of Cyprus, which cuts through the centre of Nicosia, now the only divided capital in the world apart from Jerusalem
• the Troodos mountains, rising as high as 3,000 metres, offering some beautiful trail walks and also quaint little villages such as Platres and Phini. In winter there is the chance to ski there and the ski resort is being developed