AN HISTORICAL GLIMPSE OF CYPRUS

The civilisation of Cyprus dates back to the 6th millennium BC, beginning with the Neolithic Age. Archaeological excavations at numerous localities have brought light to the different stages in its development.
Today history is everywhere – remains of ancient cities, temples, theatres, gymnasia, palaces, mosaics, Byzantine churches with fresco paintings, medieval crusader cathedrals, castles and walled cities, etc. In recorded history Cyprus was first occupied by the Egyptians in 1,450 BC after which came the Assyrians, Persians, Ptolemies, Romans, Byzantines, Isaac Comenus, Richard I of England, Templars, Lusignans and Venetians respectively, up to 1571. In that year the Turks captured the island. It was a Turkish province until 1878. In that year began the British occupation, which continued until 1960 when the island became a Republic.

Although we cannot give a long and detailed account of the whole of the Island’s history covering almost eight thousand years, we will mention the highlights since the beginning of the Christian era.
The outstanding event in the Roman Period (58 BC – 395 AD) and later under the Byzantines (395 – 1191 AD) was the establishment and growth of Christianity in Cyprus. Paul, Barnabas and John Mark visited Cyprus in 45 AD. It was then that the Roman Governor, Sergius Paulus was converted, and Cyprus became the first country to have a Christian ruler.

In 1191 the Anglo-Norman crusading fleet led by Richard I of England started for the Levant. There was a storm and some of the fleet was shipwrecked at Cyprus. The Ruler of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenus, ill-treated the crusaders and Richard waged war against Isaac. Isaac was subdued. Richard then married Berengaria of Navarre on Cyprus.

Realising the need of men-at-arms in the Holy Land and money, Richard sold the Island for 100,000 pounds to the Order of the Knights Templar, took a deposit from them, and left the island.
The Templars held Cyprus chiefly as a source of revenue. The Cypriots plotted to fight against the Templars because they used such harshness. On Easter Day 1192 a massacre took place which put the Templars into a bad position. Their debt to Richard was also a problem.

In 1192 King Richard transferred the island to Guy de Lusignan, the ex King of Jerusalem. The reign of the Lusignans (1192 – 1489) is considered the Golden Age of Medieval Cyprus. Today the beautiful cathedrals and castles still stand. Merchants flocked to Cyprus and Famagusta flourished and was regarded as the principal port of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Lusignan power began to wane and the Venetians occupied the island (1489 – 1571).
The Venetians neglected everything. They imposed heavy taxes and constructed the strong military fortifications such as those around Nicosia and Famagusta.

In 1570 Sultan Selim II of Turkey decided to bring Cyprus under Turkish Rule. After a bloody fight the Turks captured the island in 1571. In 1878 hostilities between Russia and Turkey came to an end. The Russian claims upon Turkey aroused the opposition of Great Britain and reacted in favour of Turkey. As a result the Sultan permitted Cyprus to be administered by Great Britain. In 1925 the Island became a Crown Colony of the British Empire.

Following a four-year armed campaign for ENOSIS (Union with Greece) by the Greek-Cypriot underground EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Combatants), a conference on Cyprus took place in Zurich in January 1959. This was followed in February 1959 by the London Conference where the Zurich Agreement on Cyprus was signed. The agreement declared that Cyprus should become an Independent Republic in one year’s time.
At 00:01 on August 16th 1960 Cyprus became an independent sovereign republic.
The peace so longed for by the Cypriots was not to last.

In April 2003 a very interesting development took place. For the first time since 1974 the borders were open for the benefit of the Cypriots. This allowed the Greek Cypriots to visit the North of the island and the Turkish Cypriots to visit the South of the island.

Most Cypriots have welcomed the opportunity to visit their old homes and meet with their old friends.
You may well notice that the weekends are busier in the harbour and in Bellapais with Greek Cypriots and many are once again making the pilgrimage to St. Andreas in the Karpaz.

Cyprus became a full member of the EU on May 1st 2004 but was not acceptable as an island of halves. To try and reunite the island the United Nations, led by Kofi Annan, put together a plan. This became known as the Annan plan and over many months the two leaders meet with Kofi Annan and his advisors to try and reach a compromise. The plan was re-written 5 times and the 5th and final revision was put forward to the people of Cyprus by way of a referendum. April 2004 the people voted. The Turkish Cypriots were overwhelmingly in favour of reunification, even though it meant that some of the land in the north would be returned to the Greek Cypriots, meaning that some Turkish Cypriots would once again be made homeless. The Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly voted against. This means that it is only the south of the island that has joined the E.U.

All E.U passport holders visiting the north can now cross to the south. You may only cross on foot as no agreement has been reached on hire vehicles. The crossing point is called Ledra Palace and is in Lefkosa. There are no time restrictions as the border is open 24hours. Take your passport with you. You will be required to fill out a visa slip, this will be stamped by the Turkish Cypriot police. Keep this visa safe, as you will need it for re-entry into the north. After passing the Turkish checkpoint you will walk through ‘no mans land’ before arriving at the Greek checkpoint. Here the Greek Cypriot police will check your passport and then off you go. There are normally plenty of taxis waiting here. The currency is the Cypriot Pound and it is a good idea to change your money before you go. They do not like payment in Sterling and certainly will not accept Turkish Lira! Credit cards are welcome. Among the places of interest in South Nicosia are the Cyprus Museum situated in Museum Avenue and signposted from the Paphos Gate roundabout. Filled with artefacts from the many excavations that have taken place on Cyprus it is well worth spending a couple of hours browsing through the display rooms.

Take the left turning at the roundabout and you will find yourself along narrow dusty streets exactly the same as those on the north. However once you get to Ledra Street things take a massive change and you will find lots of international shops. There are also many ancient churches, mosques and museums. It’s a good idea to try and get a map.