Cyprus Officially the Republic of Cyprus, Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti, is a Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of its most popular tourist destinations. A highly developed country, the Republic of Cyprus was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.
The island has known human activity since around the 10th millennium BC and contains the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Tombs of the Kings. It is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world, and is the site of the earliest known example of feline-human association. At a strategic location in the Middle East, Cyprus has been occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Hittites, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans. It was placed under British administration in 1878 until it was granted independence in 1960, becoming a member of the Commonwealth the following year. In 1974, following 11 years of intercommunal violence and an attempted coup d’état by Greek Cypriot nationalists.
The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters except small portions that are allocated by treaty to the United Kingdom as sovereign military bases. The Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts, the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island’s area and the Turkish area in the north, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 37% of the island.
The quality of food in general in Cyprus is very good. The vegetables are fresh, plentiful and varied. We have not yet discovered the ‘benefits’ of irradiation’ and fresh local produce can be bought in carrier bags as they begin to ‘turn’ for about £1 a bag, no matter what the contents. This is very handy for preparing such long lasting staples as tomato sauce and various other pickles and jams. It is also a good reason to purchase a fruit juicer and freezer. Please note that for ease of use, the local names we use here are not necessarily spelled correctly, but if you say them as they are written, you should be understood. If you are a vegetarian, you will find meat on every menu, but you will also be delighted with the salads and the vegetables you will also find, some are prepared in the oven with unusual dishes such as large butter beans casseroled with vegetables in the oven, Cauliflower oven baked in tomato sauce with Commanderia, green beans also in a tomato sauce, a vegetable named kolokasi, ( which needs to be broken into pieces and not sliced or it will become slimy,) again cooked with tomato’s, different types of bean (fasolia) haricot beans cooked with carrot, potatoes, celery, onions and tomato, black eyed beans cooked with lahana (a type of spinach) and all manner of stuffed peppers, courgette, mushrooms and aubergines. Pourghouri (pronounce it poor gory) is a nice dish, cracked bulgher wheat with vermicelli cooked with onion and tomatoes. Similar to a cous cous, although not really, but often called cous cous here by mistake.
