From: admin,   Added: 30 June 08,   Views: info-52   Edit    Delete    

Turkey is 75 kilometres (47 mi) north; other neighbouring countries include Syria and Lebanon to the east, Israel to the southeast, Egypt to the south, and Greece to the westnorthwest.

However, historically, politically and culturally Cyprus is closely aligned with Europe  the Greek Cypriots with Greece and the Turkish Cypriots with Turkey. Historically, Cyprus has been at the crossroads between Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa, with lengthy periods of mainly Greek and intermittent Anatolian, Levantine, and British influences. Though these influences may cause some to consider Cyprus as a transcontinental island, such a term is properly applied only to nations whose boundaries straddle more than one continent e.g. Turkey, Russia and Egypt.

The central plain, the Mesaoria, is bordered by the Kyrenia and Pentadactylos mountains to the north and the Tro�dos mountain range to the south and west. There are also scattered, but significant, plains along the southern coast. The islands highest point is at the summit of Mount Olympus 1,952 metres (6,404 ft), in the heart of the Tro�dos range.

The major cities in Cyprus are the capital Nicosia (Lefkosia in Greek, Lefkoa in Turkish), Limassol (Lemesos in Greek), Larnaca, Paphos, Famagusta (Gazimausa or Mausa in Turkish, Ammochostos in Greek), and Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish, Kerynia in Greek).