Cyprus — a great place to spend a couple of weeks on vacation there, lying on the sand and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. This is a calm, quiet island, interesting and safe. However, his virtues are not limited to the sea alone — here you can see with your own eyes a myriad of samples of ancient Roman and ancient Greek culture.
Interesting facts about Cyprus
- Like in many other former British colonies, left-hand traffic in Cyprus.
- The name of the island comes from the cypress trees that grow everywhere here.
- The Republic of Cyprus controls only 60% of the island — a couple of percent is occupied by British military bases, and the rest of the territory is occupied by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — partially recognized state.
- The capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, is divided in two by the border.
- There is practically no theft in Cyprus.
- Due to the expensive electricity for heating water, most residents here install water tanks on the roofs of their houses, and they are heated by the sun.
- Cypriots call themselves Cypriots, not the Greeks.
- Cyprus has its own Mount Olympus. Another, the most famous mountain of the same name is located in Greece. On the planet Mars, by the way, there is also Olympus — the highest mountain in the solar system (interesting facts about Mars).
- Locals usually don’t turn on their car headlights during the day, as they think it drains the battery.
- Most shops in Cyprus close between 4-6 pm, and on Sundays, many do not work at all.
- One of the holidays here is the Day of the Flood, or Cataclysmos.
- As in Malta, in Cyprus, houses often do not write the street number and name on the signs, but the name of the house (interesting facts about Malta).
- Judging by archaeological finds, the first settlers from the mainland appeared in Cyprus about 12-13 thousand years ago.
- The only railway in Cyprus was closed and abandoned in the middle of the last century.
- Cyprus ranks first in the world in terms of the ratio of the number of cars to the population.
- The local cuisine consists mainly of meat in one form or another. An extremely popular dish is «suvla», which is actually an ordinary barbecue.
- All the beaches on the island — free because they belong to the state. Roads, by the way, are also — there are no paid sections here.
- Cyprus is a member of the European Union, but is not included in the Schengen zone. It is here that the southernmost point of the European Union is located.
- The divorce rate in this country is one of the lowest in the world.
- Government offices here usually close no later than two in the afternoon.
- Cypriots love cats. But there are no stray dogs here.