From minute 33 in the documentary, that is how my grandfather also remembered his homeland Cyprus. He being a Turkish Cypriot, his friends being Greek and his wife a Italian Catholic. Peace, quiet and personal freedom were according to him, the key of happines. Sad by the tragic events where both Greekish and Turkish Cypriots lost lifes, lands and loved ones.

Went there twice. In 2000 the North was closed but went to the Famegusta viewpoint where I learned the invasion took place the day I was born. Such an eerie feeling looking at the ghost town. Such a pity for this island to be in turmoil. It truly is beautiful.

My favourite place that I've visited so far. Exceeded expectation ten fold. What an amazing place and peace to all Cypriots.

The Mediterranean is truly magical. all of it.

GREEK ISLAND

As a Greek Cypriot I have to say the following: There is a lot that this documentary does not exhibit. And at certain points it is filled with inaccuracy. Let me give you two examples: First, at 6:50, the Republic of Cyprus, the only internationally recognised country on the island, is portrayed as having sovereignty only over the southern part of the island, and while it is granted that this is the only part of the island that it currently controls due to the Turkish invasion and occupation of the north, the Republic of Cyprus is recognised by the international community and conventions as having sovereignty over the island *in its entirety*. The way in which this documentary portrays the different portions of the island at 6:50 seems to be misrepresenting the afore mentioned facts. Secondly, at 15:11 it is mentioned that since the 1960s tensions between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots often erupted intro violence and from what I have been told by members of both communities, this is true but this documentary does not mention who was responsible for pitting them both against each other inciting said violence... I'll give you a clue... THE BRITISH EMPIRE 👎. At 15:21 it is claimed that the invasion of the Turkish army in 1974 was a God-sent for the harassed Turks, when in fact it was both sides that harassed each other after being incited to do so by the British. And yet, by the way it is worded, this documentary seems to be biased against the Greeks here, making them seem as oppressors to the Turks on the island and yet if you skip forward to 33:33 up to 35:10 you will see that Turkish Cypriots themselves attest to a time before 1974 when Greek and Turkish Cypriots could live side by side peacefully and harmoniously. To its own merit at least this documentary mentions this fact as well, *albeit in fleet of foot*. On the one hand the Turkish Cypriots were oppressed and harassed by the Greek Cypriots and on the other both people were living harmoniously with one another in bi-communal villages and towns. These two excerpts from this very documentary are in direct contradiction of one another. I am told by Turkish Cypriots that they are finding it easier to talk to me, a Greek Cypriot, than they do with the illegal Turkish immigrants and the Turkish military that are supposedly there, in the north, to protect them from us. I was also told by the Turkish Cypriot girl that spoke to me (whose name I will not mention for her own safety) that Turkish immigrants are illiterate to the extend that they think that you can get from Cyprus to Turkey by bus and that the treatment of Turkish Cypriots by the Turks is atrocious at best. Who was oppressing/harassing whom again? The fact of the matter is that if the British with their divide and conquer politics had not interfered in the relationships of the two communities on the island, Cyprus would probably be united now, without the territorial problem of Turkish occupation and both its peoples continuing to live together harmoniously. It is also worth mentioning that there were many Turkish Cypriots who had properties in the south that also suffered in the exact same way as the Greek Cypriots who had to leave their homes in the north. This goes towards saying that both communities suffered and are still suffering the results of the Turkish invasion that supposedly took place to protect the Turkish Cypriots from the Greek Cypriots. The true intentions of Turkey, given its expansionist tendencies, are probably to get the so called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus recognised as a sovereign state first and then annex it as part of Turkey itself, thereby serving only the interests of Turkey and not the Turkish Cypriots. This final part would be very easy for Turkey to accomplish given that they already have their troops installed on the northern part of the island. And after that, it wouldn't be farfetched to estimate that probably the rest of Cyprus (the southern part) would also be invaded as well. Enough said.

THE CYPRUS IS NUMBER ONE .LOVE YOU CYPRUS

My parents and family (of Greek/Cypriot decent) lost their homes in the Northern Cyprus, during the 1974 uprising. They arrived in the US just before 1970. I was born in the US and have never visited my parent's home. My mother still holds deeds, many acres on the northern coast. My father passed many years ago, in the US. To this day, my mother still wants her property back. This occupation is illegal.

lets see:1)Cypriots have the same language with grekks 2)Cypriots have the same religion with greeks 3)Cypriots have the same national hymn 4)Cypriots always use greek flags (they didnt alow as to use it so we had to make the "island flag" i dont say give cyprus to greek or turkish just let the island alone and let them believe what they want

Wow...i was "moved" by this documentary!....I was a young greek cyrpriot when we moved to Canada in '69,,,to this date I am a believer that there is room for "everyone" to co-exist on the island..it is a shame that after all these yrs, no one can come up with a resolution!

CYPRUS IS GREEK

This tiny island means the world to me. My entire maternal side of the family are Maronites(Phoenicians) From Cyprus! God Bless Cyprus, may she remain free and just

As a cypriot I would like to say that both of the sides have mistaken . We are all cypriots and we deserve for once to leave in our country all united with out other countries or people who don't know how both sides feel to interfere in our relationship.Blaming one the other we will gain nothing in the end

I have Cypriot ancestry along with African ancestry....I want to learn about my people and where I come from, learning your history helps you understand who you are and I am proud of my lineage! One day, I will visit Cyprus and truly experience their beautiful culture, and I can't wait!!!

Stop acting as if the island was evenly split. 80% greeks, 20% turks

There are quite a lot of unfortunate errors at the above so call documentary. .please watch with caution

My wife spotted my cousin (3:01). I said what ever. So she paused it and said look again. There she was.

Cyprus was divided into a Turkish Cypriot state in the north and a Greek Cypriot administration in the south after a 1974 military coup was followed by violence against the island's Turkish population, and the subsequent intervention of Turkey as a guarantor power.

Yes, actually, here in Cyprus, we did not know how to communicate with each other. We were doing just some sounds in order to communicate, and we were writing in hieroglyphics. Because of you, now we have civilization. Thanks British, you have saved us. And, we are sure that you loved us!! especially after killing many Cypriots, because they wanted to be free!

That's a beautiful thing to say. I'm visiting Paphos in September and hope to visit the northern part of the island. We all need to learn to live together, regardless of race or religion. Best wishes from England.

lol , people , calm down , there is no such thing as bad people , every civilization has done bad things , But the thing is , the turkish military did indeed do bad things , Why don't we just forget about politics and armies , and bring peace to this beautiful island,Cyprus doesn't belong to greece neither to turkey, but the people that live in here... Cypriots , greeks and turks need to live toghether in harmony , in peace ...

When I, as an American, see the kinds of things some Greek and Turkish Cypriots are saying to each other here, it makes me sad, because I recognize it. The racial insults look too familiar to someone who has studied US history and seen the problems that were once so common between Americans of African and European descent. The wounds here are a bit older--our Civil War was in the 1860s, not the 1970s--so they have had more time to begin to heal. For example, it is no longer acceptable here to call people names based on their race. I think that this will happen in Cyprus over time as well. Perhaps the existence of a claimant separatist state will impede things a bit, but it took about 100 years for the USA to go from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement, so perhaps things will go better in Cyprus. One thing that Americans have come to understand through experience is that if someone is born in a country, and raised in that country, and has only lived in that country, then he or she has no other home. This is true whether that person's ancestors have lived in that country for 3000 years, 400 years, or even 40 years. In America, during the days when racism was not frowned upon as it is now, it was common for white people to tell black people that they should "go back to Africa." The black people to whom they were saying this had never been to Africa, or learned about African culture, or spoken the language of their ancestral African tribes. They had never had a home but here, so they could not go "back" to anywhere else. Most of my ancestors were from Germany (a few were Scottish, which is where I get my last name). My ancestors have not lived here in America for much more than 150 years, far less than either the Greek or Turkish Cypriots have lived in Cyprus. There a few Native Americans (what we Americans call the tribes of people whose ancestors lived here before Europeans began to move in) who would say that my ancestors took their land and everything, and I should go back to Europe. But I have never had a home in Europe. I have never even been to Germany, and do not speak the German language. If America were not my home, I would not have a home, or a place to go. I believe this is the way it is now with most Cypriots, regardless of their Greek or Turkish ancestors. I know your wounds are much fresher; there are many people alive who remember the killing that happened only 40 years ago. But still, you must not blame every Turk, or every Greek. Many of them did not do any killing. I would especially encourage the young people who have been born since the divide to avoid blaming other young people for a problem that happened before you, or they, were born. I call on all Cypriots who read this, whether you are Greek, Turkish, or from somewhere else: Do not make the same mistakes that were made in the history of my country in the days of the Jim Crow laws. Do not hate someone because of their ancestors or skin color. Do not think that their "true home" is a place they have never been, just because their ancestors came from there 400 years ago, or even 40 years ago. If you avoid making these mistakes, you can bring about healing in your land. The healing will not be instant, just like the healing of those who still grieve for family members who were killed in the violence, but there is hope.

having served, as a Canadian, with the U.N on Cyprus in the 70's I do not or will not qualify myself to "take sides" in the debate as to who are the legitimate inhabitants of this piece of rock. The "problem" is with the politics of religion and the fear, greed and mis-trust both have for one another

Cyprus is Cyprus and "Cyprus is ONE".

After watching a bunch of documentaries on multiple countries, I am saddened to see how many conflicts are dividing and killing people everywhere on the planet. It's always based on the same divisions: religious, ethnic, language, gender, etc... When will humans will behave peacefully, and in unity, for the sake of purely appreciating life?

I am an American who visited Cyprus in 2002. 8 months after 9-11. I stayed in the Village of Episcopi where there was a British military base very close. I vacationed in what is call ArgoTourisum, where you live among the locals and not in a hotel with a Restaurant and pool.I had the best 2 weeks of my entire life living among the kind and couteous people of this majestic Island.I dared not cross into the usurped Turkish side of the divided capital city of Nicosia.What good is the U.N.? Not!

Greece shouldn't have attempted a coup d'etat..

A lot of emphasis was put on the religious aspects especially of the greek cypriot community, like it was religious adherence which divided the island! Another issue is the portrayal of the Greek-Cypriot enclaved people in the Karpasia Peninsula. They are shown to be living happily under a very benevolent regime that does not infringe on their rights to practice their relighion. Unfortunately this is not the case.

Hope the young generation of both Turkish & Greek Cypriot realize that what have happened in the past was just for individual benefits & it has nothing with the ethics. I have lived for 4 years in Cyprus & i got many Cypriots friends and all were telling me the same. Both ethics used to live together with no problems. All these things has made up by the British.

I really never thought that I would ever hear a one sided unbiased argument on national geographic, there are a lit of inaccuracies, but one bothered me the most, that according to you the ottomans brought Islam to Cyprus even though it is well known that the early arabic islamic conquest took hold of cyprus more than 700 years before that, and although they didn't last for too long there but an agreement was reached between the caliphate and the Byzantine empire that Cyprus would remain a neutral zone where different people with different backgrounds could work and live in peace, there was a muslim population living there until they where terminated by the crusades.

Nice, but I just can't understand (neither accept) why the narrator keeps mentioning every time Turks before Greeks: 1) We (Greeks) were and still are the majority of the population of the island 2) The Republic of Cyprus, inhabited by Greeks, is the only sovereign and internationally recognized state on the island 3) We have been living on this island since 1500 BC (almost 3500 years!) whereas Turks have been here only 400 years. 4)Even G comes before T in the alphabet!

Thank you for your sincerity... you are welcome at any time to visit my country...

Η αμήχανη στιγμή που περιμένεις ένα ιστορικό ντοκιμαντέρ από μια σοβαρή πηγή και τελικά είναι ακόμη μία γλοιώδης προπαγάνδα...

9 years later still both sides are divided, I left my country Cyprus for Sweden now, it holds no good future and a lot teenagers end up leaving..

The island needs to put their problems aside and give the island back to the proper owners.

Dear Nat Geo, Please keep to the natural beauty of the island and leave politics aside. You are obviously uninformed or willingly misleading. Thanks

Beautiful country i like it.....

I certainly did my research very well in that issue. Also I know what it feels like to be driven from your home. When you say the island is Greek it is a spit on the faces of Turkish Cypriots who Greek EOKA-B gathered violently killed. You had responsibilty to protect those people as you protect your own. The minute you turned blind to ethnic cleansing in the island the minute you choosed your side. Republic of Turkey used their right of being a "Guarantor State" period do your own research

Cyprus is for Cypriots who are strong and fearless to defend what they believe in against the Politicians, Religious establishments, and those who become very rich at the expense of all the innocent Cypriots whether Greek or Turk after what happened in 1974. Greeks toppled their own President Makarios to unite the island with Greece (ENOSIS) and they gave a chance and a reason for Turkey to come and invade the island to save the Turkish population. Lots of people died on both sides who had nothing to do with what happened but hey great American civilization calls it collateral damage and it is because of their greed that people all over the world suffer every day. Soooo SAD.

Everyone is a settler in the island First settlers in Cyprus went there 9000 years ago.

My best friend Panicos is from Cyprus.. he’s such a great guy!

Very informative, thank you for sharing. Observing what is happening in Turkey and other places in the world, the words of those that wield power, references to rule of law, lets me understand a little more of the nature of humans to use law, or lack of it to get what they desire. I hope peace prevails, without anymore bloodshed, anywhere.

Why didn't you talk about the EOKA and ENOSIS

most turkish cypriots are not religious

THIS IS BIASED TOWARD THE ANNAN PLAN (and makes no serious attempt to weigh the points of each side) The whole documentary was too focused on life in the north and south, failing to establish the situation. As far as I understand, Turkey up and invaded Cyprus. Was the intercommunal violence something that could not be dealt with diplomatically? I don't know; this video made no inquiry. The fact is, the true story is undoubtedly in favor of the GCs, and NatGeo didn't want to sound biased.

I don't agree with the man talking at 9:30. There are Cypriot nationals. I am one of them. We are the one's (from both 'sides') who believe in a single Cypriot nationality - no Greeks, no Turks - just Cypriots. It's because of nationalist idiots (from both 'sides') that it all got ruined for all of us! With the help of the British of course. Let's never forget that.

În anul 1972 arată așa dr frumos oare cum ar fi arătat în 2015 dacă nu se intampla ceia ce sa întâmplat

I've heard from my parents and our elderly friends in Bosnia-Herzegovina who visited the island in 1960's, that Cyprus was a copy of Lebanon in terms of modernity, tourism, freedom, education. People who can't afford luxury Lebanese tourist destinations go to Cyprus. The Island of Cyprus was a great tourism destination for middle class peoples, unlike Lebanon which was a destination for rich people across the Globe. Yet, when the war broke, the island became divided, and officially Turkey occupies Northern third of the Island of Cyprus since 1974 under the excuse of protecting Muslim Turks, yet most Cypriot Turks immigrated to the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere. Northern Cyprus is an unofficial province of Turkey, though Turkey is the only country in which recognizes the Northern portion as a sovereign independent state. The Northern Cyprus only does its trade, mail, education, army, with the rest of the World via Turkey. Northern Cyprus uses the Turkish currency, New Turkish Lira, & the Northern Cypriots carry Turkish citizenship, and carry also a local ID of Northern Cyprus. The Northern Cypriot ID/Passports only useful to travel to Turkey. I've been to Southern Cyprus & Northern Cyprus in 2012. The Southern Cyprus is more advanced in terms of everything. Historically, Cyprus was a Phoenician island, due to that, there were 50,000 Maronite Lebanese living in 60 villages in the entire island in prior to 1974. Only one Maronite Eastern Roman Catholic Lebanese village still exist in Northern Cyprus, it is called in Turkish Kormacit/Koruçam, and it is called in Greek Κορμακίτης, and it is called in Syriac ܟܘܪܡܐܟܝܬܝܣ. The majority of the Maronite Lebanese immigrated to Europe or to Lebanon.

Very true. It is sad what is happening there. Beautiful country with so much history.

I don't get it! Since it's been 39 years ago the Island got divided. It's just a Greece and Turkey issue. Why can't Cyprus just be Cyprus . People who live next to and with eachother. I live in a country where there are 177 different nationalities and we all try to get along.. We don't divide our country into 177 pieces because of our differences.. Everyone is different..It would be kinda boring if we were all the same ;-) But we can all put in some effort to live in a peacefull place.

How foolish and ignorant can you be. Open the books of history and read.Cyprus was and always will be a Greek island,even if now is formed to a country, the majority of population are Greek Cypriots and there are some minorities such as Turks and others.

All I am saying is that there are 2 type of ethnic Turkish people living in the island now. 1 is the original Turkish Cypriots who have been living in there all along since the empire. The other one is the settlers. Saying that TMT killed the TC is an incredibly serious acusation which must be investigated in the Rep. of Turkey and International courts as a warcrime. Though I haven't seen or heard of any TC testimony about this in my entire life. However I have seen many about the EOKA-B

that is true, but how many indigenous people died? They created Australia but wiped out 90% of the Aboriginal population. They lived for 40,000 years in Austalia and wiped out in under 200 years. Next stupid comment please...

i voted yes for the annan plan but from what i understand from friends that voted no they thought that TC needs would be satisfied within a few weeks but some of the greek cypriot refugees would not get their property back threfore they thought it favoured the TC. they also thought a solution would come later on that favoured the GC better. like u said a solution that satisfies all the GC needs is impossible. they were quite confident about another solution.

Beautiful place

cyprus is hellenic forever

MeAmbros."The Cost Of The Combined Greek Bailout Just Rose To €320 Billion In Secured Debt" so what's so great about the 1 billion ($ Euros?) that Turkey receives from who?? There's a big difference between investments or short term loans and a huge bailout that can NEVER be repaid. That means you are enslaved to the creditors terms.They dictate how your economy and govt is run.That's why the EU deposed Papandreou and Berlusconi. Greece, Italy, and Cyprus lost their democracy for the bailout.

Well another fact about Cyprus is that most airlines based there go bust. First Cyprus airways and then Cobalt

🏝️🗺️ 🤝 🇹🇷🇮🇱🇨🇾🇬🇷 Let's unite together, let's strengthen socialism with Turkish, Greek and mixed races, true humanity, expand the quota, and make Varosha district an autonomous region. Varosha should not be left alone for 3000 to 4000 years.

It really did favour the TC less than the current situation really. If I am not it included -Majority of the settlers from Turkey to go back where they come from. -GC gain almost half of the lost territory at TC expense. -Ports in the North of Cyprus. I also think that would normalize the relations between Turkey and Cyprus. Most of the Turkish people in Turkey doesn't know about Cyprus anymore than this "Evil Greeks killed Turks therefore Turkey took the North of Cyprus" nothing else about it.

You know what is the problem, firstly i would like to say that Cyprus has been under the greek empire for a long time and many of our cultures are similar to that of Greece. However, Cyprus is not just greek, theres turkish cypriots, maronites, armenians and latin-cypriots. Furthermore, i would like to say that Cypriot is not a dialect but a language, along time ago the languages ancient greek and proto-cypriot were along the side we had our own writing and our own words but cypriot dialect was considered similar to ancient Greek and was converted by alexander the great. Just look at it as being spanish and catalan. From after we were invaded by many other civilisations. i would also like to state turkey was never turkey it was persia before any other person says its turkish which is not and turks originated from Asia so that concludes that cyprus has never been yours. Furthermore before people say cyprus comes from turkey in terms of geology that is still unknown, it has also been shown that the island cyprus is a segment of the sunken island 'Atlantis' you can google this. Now about the latest problems of cyprus as we can see there has been alot of problem with cypriots due to brainwashed helenizism and attomanism propaganda. It has created confusion of how cypriots have been portrayed. we may have greek, turkish, spanish this and that DNA so what, it has come to a realisation that now we are an own ethnicity and this is proven in genetics. It has been proven that turkish and greek cypriots have similar DNA that to Greeks or turks, so what does that tell you, furthermore while researching diseases mutations of specific diseases vary according to race, from what i have seen that greek cypriots have different mutations to that of a greek and turkish person of the same disease in fact. Greeks and turks carry mostly the same mutations for specific disease, take note!!!! Now in terms of politics in cyprus it has been trying to get independence because not being funny Greece hasn't looked after cyprus properly, There was a greek-cypriot and a turkish cypriot genocide. Greek-cypriot was worse due to a larger population and because turkish army are like dogs sorry to say but thats the truth. No army has massacred races like the turkish army, despite that i dont have anything again turkish community. Now the genocides that occur on cyprus were based on ideology of greek and turkish nationalism, which we can see had corrupted and caused many issues in cyprus, cyprus needs to bring this barrier down. I believe the best way is for everyone to learn how to speak cypriot and i think its good idea to make cypriot an official langauge and know how to write it, i believe in that way it would make everyone feel they belong in the island. The turkish army needs to get lost as well, but also if for harmony to occur people need to respect each other religions and religious monuments, the hala sulta teke has not been harmed where as many orthodox churches have been broken down, used as ways of getting money and i think its ridiculous. People need to realise that we have our own government, and own way of speaking and our own people and its time for us to be independent and not sucking on the tits of the motherlands. And on the contrary i would look to say that turkish and greek people will never consider ourselves as being like them, they take the piss of how we speak, how we do things, i am not saying all do but those nationalistic nazis doooo. Yes bloody nazis because thats whats caused this mess. And if Cyprus to be reunited it should be a state that is well educated with learning many languages and cultures while holding to our roots which we have had as well, well the goods of those roots.

Ottoman Empire received Cyprus from Genoese, not from Greece

I do not dissagree with you about our first president and the role of church my friend, but I think that you are smart enough to understand that your empire ruled the world by sword. Yes I also agree that you spread all the above you mensioned, but again you also "devide and conquer" and this is how you devided my island. What you have never understood is that we still like the British and we still use some of the ways you used to use, to run the country.

Cyprus must have had a similar experience to what many of the Palestinians did, when, without much warning the state of Israel was reestablished. That story is rarely realized by those in the Western World. The Hebrews, Isralies, and Jews, needed a homeland again and the Palestinians needed their homes and land that had been their for over 2 thousand years. I sympathize with both, and I know the resolution can only be reached through the Higher Mind, Communication, and a Desire to experience Harmony. The Public gets manipulated by the few for their desires and Profits.

I thought a bit of recorded fact might help the "debate" (Source Wiki) The Greek Cypriots trace their origins to the descendants of the Mycenaean Greeks who settled on the island during the second half of the second millennium BC. The island gradually became part of the Hellenic world as the settlers prospered over the next centuries. Alexander the Great conquered the island from the Persians in 333 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in 285 AD, Cypriots had home rule for almost nine centuries under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire, something not seen again until 1960.[citation needed] Perhaps the most important event of the early Byzantine period was the local church's independence from the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East in 431. The bishop of the ancient capital Salamis (renamed Constantia by Emperor Constantius II) was constituted metropolitan by Emperor Zeno, with the title archbishop. The Byzantine era profoundly molded Greek Cypriot culture. The Greek Orthodox Christian legacy bestowed on Greek Cypriots in this period would live on during the succeeding centuries of foreign domination. Because Cyprus was never the final goal of any external ambition, but simply fell under the domination of whichever power was dominant in the eastern Mediterranean, destroying its civilization was never a military objective or necessity. The Cypriots did however endure the oppressive rule of first the Lusignans and then the Venetians from the 1190s through to 1570. King Amaury, who succeeded his brother Guy de Lusignan in 1194, was particularly intolerant of the Orthodox Church. Greek Cypriot land was appropriated for the Latin churches after they were established in the major towns on the island. In addition, tax collection was also part of the heavy oppressive attitude of the occupiers to the locals of the island, in that it was now being conducted by the Latin churches themselves. The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571 delivered the Greek population from serfdom and servitude to the Latin church. Cypriot Greeks were now able to take control of the land they had been working on for centuries. The local Christians resumed practicing their religion in the only acceptable way they knew. The patriarch serving the Ottoman sultan also acted as ethnarch, or leader of the Greek nation, thus enabling the local Orthodox representative to practice decidedly secular powers, for instance in adjudicating justice and in the collection of taxes. Despite the inherent oppression of foreign subjugation, the period of Ottoman rule (1570-1878) had a limited impact on Greek Cypriot culture. The Ottomans tended to administer their multicultural empire with the help of their subject millets, or religious communities. The tolerance of the millet system permitted the Greek Cypriot community to survive, administered on behalf of Constantinople by the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, who became the community's head, or ethnarch. Although religiously tolerant, Ottoman rule was generally harsh and inefficient. Turkish settlers suffered alongside their Greek Cypriot neighbors, and the two groups together endured centuries of oppressive governance from Constantinople. A minority of Greek Cypriots converted to Islam during this period, and are sometimes referred to as "neo-Muslims" by historians.[10][11] Cypriot cuisine, as with Greek cuisine, was imprinted with the spices and herbs made common as a result of extensive trade links within the Ottoman Empire. Names of many dishes came to reflect the sources of the ingredients from the many lands under the Ottoman rule. Coffee houses pervasively spread throughout the island into all major towns and countless villages. Politically, the concept of enosis - unification with the Greek "motherland" - became important to literate Greek Cypriots after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. A movement for the realization of enosis gradually formed, in which the Church of Cyprus played a dominant role (see "Cyprus dispute"). During British rule (1878-1960), the British brought an efficient colonial administration, but government and education were administered along ethnic lines, accentuating differences. For example, the education system was organized with two Boards of Education, one Greek and one Turkish, controlled by Athens and Istanbul, respectively.[citation needed] The resulting education emphasized linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences and ignored traditional ties between the two Cypriot communities.[citation needed] The two groups were encouraged to view themselves as extensions of their respective motherlands, and the development of two distinct nationalities with antagonistic loyalties was ensured.[13] The importance of religion within the Greek Cypriot community was reinforced when the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, Makarios III, was elected the first president of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. For the next decade and a half, enosis was a key issue for Greek Cypriots, and a key cause of events leading up to 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern part of the island. The island remains divided today, with the two communities almost completely separated. Many Greek Cypriots, most of whom lost their homes, lands and possessions during the Turkish invasion, emigrated mainly to the UK, USA, Australia, South Africa and Europe. There are today estimated to be 335,000 Greek Cypriot emigrants living in Great Britain. The majority of the Greek Cypriots in Great Britain currently live in England; there is an estimate of around 3,000 in Wales and 1,000 in Scotland. By the early 1990s, Greek Cypriot society enjoyed a high standard of living. Economic modernization created a more flexible and open society and caused Greek Cypriots to share the concerns and hopes of other secularized West European societies. The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, officially representing the entire island, but suspended for the time being in the Turkish occupied north.

Watch 1974 cyprus conflict Ambiguous differences a real eye opener.

Before Cyprus was ceded to Britain fit had been under Ottoman rule for more than 300 years. Prior to that it was Lusignan, Venetian, Roman.The Greek presence has been negligible even during Byzantine times. It was the British who encouraged Greek immigration due to some twisted ideas of Greece being the origin of Western civilization. Greek xenophobia which fueled their EOKA terror campaign against Britain and later against the Turks ensured they would lose 1/3 of the Island. Poetic justice.

Greeks wanted it all and only misery and shame. Greeks started the 1974 war, they refused the faire and balanced Anan Plan in 2004.

I think the best way to separate two countries the hate war two different religions, impossible to solve

These devils will pay for their crimes praise Christ who sees and will deal with them in his time

Okay, someone please, you must tell me, what is that grooviness being played at 5:00? Seriously, I'm bored to death here and I want to get down to that in its entirety.

You no nothing of the Cyprus Dispute

Read a book called The Genocide Files. This will unveil the truth of what went on in Cyprus. It is also unbiased. The book is spot on. Some who read it will find it hard to accept and some will get very upset. Bottom line a Genocide was taking place in Cyprus since the 1950's. I'll let those interested in the truth to read the book

so what about turkey and the genocides???? against greece armenia kurds??? your a funny man

My beautiful mother

Lebanon must join the European Union 🇱🇧🇪🇺

The reason why Turkey cannot join the EU because Turkey does not match with any standard that EU require. It is not Cyprus. Cyprus issue started to be dedabted in 2003 in admittion to EU. It has nothing to do with you sorry. Alright obviously you are a child who think history is what you read in high school. It is OK we have all been there until a certain age! Lets say Turkish Army packed and left the island for good. Then what? What would you do to the Turkish Cypriots they left behind?

rambot1992 obviously doesn't know anythng but u cant demand from him to respect u when the only thing you've done is lay the blame at greek cypriots. not all the greek cypriots took part in eoka b and not all all the turkish cypriots were in tmt but the way u talk about greek cypriots its like for u the tmt was a holy organisation and it was all the greek cypriots fault the tmt played a major role in dividing the island by killing turkish cypriots to frame eoka b and make the situation worse

I hope one day the differences between the two ethnic groups fade and Cyprus could be a united nation again.

What's this gem of information to do with Cyprus?

why don't you talk about the british influence ? Conflict was created between the 2 sides by the UK, who still own %4 of the land where you find Royal Air Force Bases who are still being used today. At first EOKA was against the british on the island, and so the british put together a police task force that they chose from Turkish Cypriotes, this is very typical british colonial politics (india-pakistan, Canada french-english, etc ... ). Cyprus is a beautiful Island with beautiful people. Turks and Greeks have been living together for more then 1000 years in Turkey in Greece and on this island in Peace, conflicts have been created in this region ever since the discovery of PETROL!

You can see the problem as soon as a local person spoke. He claims there is no such thing as cypriot but only Greeks and Turks that live on the island. This is why there will never be a unified cyprus. Genetically Cypriot greeks and Cypriot Turks are closer to each other then either one being Turkish or Greek. These people should show nationalism toward cyprus and not for Turkey or Greece. But history is never wrong. People from Cyprus are use to taking on other identities to survive. Sad really. Its been fifty years and still no answers. Still no plan to unite. The poor youth of the north, cant participate in any competitions, and they had nothing to do with the same group of nationalist that wanted cyprus to be united with Greece back in 1974. Also i find it hard why people cant see why Turkey got involved. And for that i guess they need to read about the greko turkish war that had all the turks in crete displaced. There is only around 1500 left and they are labeled at muslim and not turkish. Also on the strategic point. All the islands areound turkey are greek why would they allow the same to happen to Cyprus.

I am from Cyprus!

Cyprus should stay the way it is. Greeks in the south and Turks in the north, it's not a good idea to stir problems. The two communities want to live separately and it's better that way to keep the peace.

WHAT SORRY YOU CAN'T SEE THE GREEK POLITISM THE GREEK GODS ARE YOU KIDDING ME JEWS HAHA OMG WHAT ELSE I WILL LISTEN ARABS JEWS SHUT UP CYPRIOTS ARE GREEKS AND PROUD OF THAT

Cyprus is divided cause turkey invaded. Nobody else invaded cyprus, only turkey did. They will go a way.

If you really have land in Turkish side of Cyprus you can always sell it to Turkish authorities. 1- You can exchange your land in north with a Turkish person who has land left in south 2- You can sell it through court if you find the price worth it. 3- I am not sure but probably if your land is on a beach or something you can also rent it. But I am not sure. Both GC and TC can pass each others land

Cyprus is Greek, The turks made a mess of Cyprus and the Balkans.

Yannis Achilleos(1900-1991)🇨🇾a Greek Cypriot jurist(judge)RIP.

Hey my greek fellas, Russians with you! Cyprus was and will be greek 4ever!🇷🇺🇨🇾🇬🇷

Great! At least you see the strategic interest of Russia in all of this.

when cypriots(no greek and no turkish) think only we are cypriots. problem will be finished

Recognize Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus ❤

Olives are disgusting and therefore, I'm blaming them for part of the problem. You will need to destroy all olive trees . 1. If you're bestowed with boobs and wear a bikini (or anything, really), no need to prove your beauty by swimming around a rock. 2. Only one linguistic solution: Turkeek. When you can't think of a word in Greek, you just use the Turkish word in a Greek sentence and vice versa. I suggest Greek verb and Turkish Nouns and adj. while reversing them to make it more interesting and less coherent. Also, since Turkish is a SOV language and Greek isn't, just use which ever you prefer. In fact, you could go Object-Subject-Verb, Verb-Object-Subject or Subject-Object-Verb. Just do whatever you feel like. Kind of like Pilipino, where entire chunks of a sentence are just English spoken often with an American or English accent and randomly inserted. In fact, feel free to use Chinese, Japanese, English, JavaScript, C++, Fortran and Spanish - just to name a few - to augment this new language. LOL. Greek would sound better with 4 tones that aren't merely levels of anger.

done a holyday in cyprus its a nice island and very hot summers, have some videos and pics on my channel about cyprus - Saint Hilarion Castle.

there south and north winds Cyprus Cyprus is the one and only

I really was crying at the end of that

Turkish Cypriots were imprisoned by Greek national guard on 20 July 1974 so we had no choice but to go along with the population exchange as there was no safety for us to stay in the South so it was not only Greek Cypriots that were expelled we were imprisoned and expelled too so we left South and settled in the North

Thank you for the upload! :D

I was referring to the settlers after 1974. most GC have nothing against the Turkish population that was here before the division.its their home too.i doubt we'll get another chance to send them back. The Annan plan in my opinion was the best both sides could do and most of the GC blew it