The People, Politics and Language

The official languages are Greek and Turkish, with Armenian, Arabic and increasingly Russian being spoken as well. Due to its recent colonial links with the UK, English is the second language. Of the 750,000 people of the Republic of Cyprus – the Greek Cypriot part - some 70,000 are British, and 40,000 Russian. Russian immigrants are becoming an important element in the population.

Cyprus has a record of human habitation going back some 9,000 years, and the people are very proud of their cultural heritage. It has been fought over, conquered by many nations over the years, partly because of its position and mostly over its natural resources, of which copper played a large role. Cyprus has many reminders of the island's history. Relics abound from every era – Greek temples, Roman mosaics and 15th century frescoes.

After a failed military coup in the 70’s to oust President Makarios in Cyprus, by the Greek military junta, the northern part of Cyprus was invaded by Turkey. Some 200,000 Greek Cypriots, who formed the bulk of the population there, were displaced, and Turkey now occupies some 37% of the landmass of Cyprus. Greek Cypriots always refer to this area as ‘The Occupied Territories’ in conversation.

So since 1974, the island has been divided into the

north (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or TRNC) and the south (Republic of Cyprus). Just over two thirds of the land and is predominantly inhabited by Greek Cypriots, and the North is largely populated by Turkish Cypriots and Turkish nationals. This division of the island of Cyprus from Turkey dates back to 1914 when the British formally annexed Cyprus (prior to that, for 300 plus years, Cyprus was controlled by the Turks as a part of the Ottoman Empire).

Officially, the Cypriot Government’s official stance is to effect a re-unification of the divided island. There has been no real progress towards this in thirty years however. The Greek Cypriots themselves rejected such a move recently in a referendum, because they felt the terms were unjust. The question of returning land and property, or the value of land and property to their original owners remains a stumbling block. There is a growing sentiment that the only way forward is to accept the concept of two sovereign nations sharing the same island.

The Turkish occupied part of the island (called by its government the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus TRNC) is not internationally recognised as a legal territory. Despite various legal means of buying land there, the fact remains that buying in an area where land rights are disputed and not recognised internationally is a major barrier for many investors.