October 2020 Cyprus

Cyprus by Ayse Ferengizblige

Language(s); National languages are Cypriotic Greek & Turkish but English is widely spoken.

Traditional music; Traditional music on Cyprus is similar to the traditional music of Greek and includes dances like the tatsia, sousta, syrtos, ballos, zeibekiko, karotseris, sinalik, chiftetteli, arabiye, mandra dance and the karsilama suites.

Food; Traditional Cypriot foods include souvlakia, shaftalia, afella, fried halloumi cheese, olives, pitta bread, kolokasi, lamb, artichokes, chickpeas and rabbit stews.

Traditional dance; Syrtos the tsifteteli and zeimbekiko are the most popular traditional dances.

Clothes; Traditional Cypriot women's clothing includes the "saiya," a dress worn with a shirt, a formal dress and "the urban": a wide silk shirt, a short-sleeved jacket and a fez or shawl.

National Animal; The national animal of Cyprus is a donkey.

National Anthem; The "Hymn to Liberty" or "Hymn to Freedom" is a poem written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 that consists of 158 stanzas, which is used as the national anthem of Greece and Cyprus. It was set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros, and is the longest national anthem in the world by length of text.

Cyprus Culture Example; Cypriots are extremely respectful of hierarchy, which can be traced through back to their two main religions, Islam in Turkish Cyprus and Greek Orthodox in Greek Cyprus. People are respected because of their age and position. Older people are viewed as wise and are granted respect.

President; The president of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, since 28 February 2013.

History; Cyprus was part of the British Empire, under military occupation from 1914–1925, and a Crown colony from 1925–1960. Cyprus became an independent nation in 1960.

Joined the EU; Cyprus joined the EU on the 1st of May 2004.

Where is it? Cyprus is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey; west of Syria and Lebanon; north of Egypt, Israel and southeast of Greece.

Population; The population of Cyprus since 2019 is roughly 875,899.

Capital; Nicosia