The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (1983-) is a country located on the northern parts of the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Divided from Cyprus mainly in terms of its religion and ethnicity (Turkish Cypriots are almost all Sunni Muslim), North Cyprus was created after the 1974 Operation Atilla invasion of Cyprus by Turkey. Its capital is North Nicosia.
History[]
Location of North Cyprus
On 20 July 1974, following a coup d'etat on the island of Cyprus engineered by Greece's military junta (they placed a pro-union candidate Nikos Sampson as president in hopes of reuniting Cyprus with Greece), Turkey invaded the island to settle a dispute over its ownership. Cyprus was mostly Greek Orthodox Christian, but the northern parts of the island were influenced by Islam from the Levantine coastline and Asia Minor and the majority of the people were ethnically-Turkish Sunni Muslims. By 18 August 1974, the Greek military junta fell and Northern Cyprus was in Turkish hands. In 1983 it declared independence from Turkey and Cyprus and was recognized as independent by Turkey, although no other country recognized it. Turkish Army soldiers were stationed on Northern Cyprus in an illegal occupation, denounced by many countries. In 2008, Northern Cyprus and Cyprus began to talk about having closer relationships and in early 2014 relations were warmed as Turks and Greeks talked once more.
Culture[]
Turkish troops on Cyprus
Like Turkey, Northern Cyprus was mainly a Turkish Sunni Muslim country. 99% of the people were Muslim, .5% were Orthodox Christian, and the other .5% were Roman Catholic, Maronite Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Jewish, and other religions. Today, there are 300,000 people living in North Cyprus. As stated before, there are Turkish military personnel stationed in North Cyprus to prevent Cyprus or Greece from recapturing their territory.
North Cyprus' GDP comes 40% from education, its largest income. Tourism also plays a major role, although as the two airports on North Cyprus are not recognized by other nations, people have to fly to Turkey and from there to North Cyprus in order to visit the island. North Cyprus' marinas are common yacht stops for tourists on the Mediterranean.