History History

In 2011, a team of French-Cypriot archaeologists will make a fundamental discovery in the commune of Agios Tychonas, on the south coast, 10 km north-east of Limassol. The site called Klimonas reveals the oldest human settlement in Cyprus, dating back some 11,000 years. Until then, the oldest sites found on the island were about 9,000 years old. Klimonas contains traces of circular constructions, terraced arrangements, ornamental objects, and projectile points. However, no pottery fragments have been found. The men who lived here were no longer really hunter-gatherers, but sedentary people who had mastered agriculture. It is not clear from this discovery exactly where the first inhabitants of Cyprus came from, but it is assumed that they came from the region, i.e. from the Near East. Man then had a considerable impact on the ecosystem. Around the same time as the occupation of the Klimonas site, the dwarf elephants and hippopotamuses of Cyprus disappeared. They are replaced by new species brought in from the Near East, such as the wild sheep that later became the Cyprus sheep. At the same time, Cyprus is also one of the world's first centres for the domestication of dogs and cats. In short, with Klimonas, the pieces of a big puzzle began to fall into place. However, there is still one big puzzle: why has the island been so long without men?

The archaeological site of Choirokoitia (pronounced "chi-ri-ki-tia"), halfway between Limassol and Larnaka, is open to visitors and classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Discovered in 1934, it is considered essential for the understanding of human societies in the Mediterranean during the Neolithic. Thus, researchers have given the name of "Choirokoitia culture" to all sites of the same period in Cyprus. The village of Choirokoitia was itself occupied between the 8th and^5th millennia BC with a long interruption before being completely abandoned. One finds there circular dwellings as in Klimonas, but especially ramparts of more than 2 m height. For the archaeologists of the French School of Athens, in charge of the site since 1977, this defensive system indicates a new organization, undoubtedly the beginnings of the State. But, towards 3800 BC, a volcanic eruption causes the disappearance of the man in Cyprus during three centuries.

Here begins a period of four millennia that will be decisive not only for Cyprus, but for all the civilizations of the region. The island has in fact in the Troodos the most important copper deposits of the Mediterranean. This metal will revolutionize the equipment and the organization of the armies, but also attract covetousness. Its exploitation begins towards 3500 BC thanks to the installation in Erimi (in the north of Akrotiri) of colonists come from Anatolia (current Turkey). Then, around 3200 BC, the inhabitants discovered bronze, an alloy obtained by adding tin to copper. From then on, the Bronze Age was a long period of prosperity for the island. The years 2000-1500 B.C. were marked by unrest, but also by sustained commercial exchanges with the Minoans of Crete, the Hittites of Anatolia, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians and the Egyptians. The latter created an important trading post at Enkomi (near Famagusta) to export copper, while Minoan settlers were at the origin of the first Cypriot alphabet, the Cypro-Minoan syllabary, around 1550 BC. The island, then named Asalya, is integrated into the Hittite Empire, but it continues to be peacefully colonized by the Phoenicians, then by the ancestors of the Greeks: the Mycenaeans, the Achaeans and the Dorians.

From the 11th century BC, the island was structured into a dozen independent cities. Most often founded by the Greeks and controlled by nobles, they draw their wealth from copper and the fertile plain of Mesaoria. The magnificent ruins of Salamine (Famagusta),Amathonte (Limassol) and Kourion (Akrotiri) are still standing. Subdued by the Assyrians in the VIIIth century BC, the city-kingdoms find their independence one century later. But they remain marked by this Eastern presence. Thus, the Greek goddess Aphrodite was first venerated in the island under the features of the Babylonian deity Ishtar or the Phoenician goddess Astarte. In the 6th century BC, after a short Egyptian period, the city-kingdoms were dominated by the Persian Empire, forced to pay a tribute in exchange for their independence. This leads them to get closer to the enemies of the Persians, the Greeks. The influence of the latter becomes preponderant, in particular in arts. In 499 BC, the whole island, except Amathonte, revolts. But the Persians prevail as of the following year. They destroy the city of Soli (Morphou), then support the rise of Amathonte and Kition (Larnaka) by entrusting them the control of copper. Salamine, for its part, binds itself with Athens. And it is through the intermediary of its great king Evagoras that the Greek alphabet arrives in Cyprus at the beginning of the IVth century BC.

In 334 B.C., two years after Alexander ascended the throne of Macedonia, the Cypriots joined him in defeating the Persians. The most famous conqueror in history used their seafaring skills to capture Syria (332 BC), Egypt (331 BC) and sail to India (326 BC). The Cypriot nobility derived some benefits from this. But the independence promised to the city-kingdoms remained very theoretical: Alexander imposed a single currency and appropriated the copper mines. When he died in 323 BC, Cyprus found itself at the heart of the war between his generals Ptolemy, who had settled in Egypt, and Antigone the Borgne, the new king of Macedonia. The city-kingdoms clashed in fratricidal battles. Ptolemy's army and fleet are defeated in Cyprus at the decisive battle of Salamis in 306 B.C. But Ptolemy returns to the island twice, winning definitively in 294 B.C. The Hellenistic dynasty he founded in Egypt, known as the Ptolemies or Lagides, controlled Cyprus until the death of his last heiress, Cleopatra, in 30 BC. For three centuries, the island was completely Hellenized. But its resources are overexploited. So much so that when the Romans arrived, its copper mines were almost empty.

Classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the sumptuous mosaics of the 2nd-4th centuries in the archaeological park of Paphos bear witness to the fact that Cyprus was one of the richest Roman provinces. In spite of the clear slowdown of the mining activity, the local elite managed to diversify with olive oil, cereals, wine, wood, glass, shipbuilding and trade. Decorating the rich villas of the provincial capital, these mosaics decorated with scenes of Greek mythology and discreet Christian symbols are also the reflection of a new society where the Cypriot and Roman ruling classes share the same values of Hellenism and Christianity. But behind this facade, Cyprus was rife with tensions. Since the reign of Ptolemy, the island has had a large Jewish minority. However, relations between the Jews and the Greco-Romans of the Empire continued to deteriorate, particularly after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70. In 116, they were reopened in Cyprus with a violence of an unprecedented scale: in a few days, the Jewish rebels massacred half the population. A legion had to be dispatched to reconquer Paphos and the island was henceforth forbidden to Jews. The theme of the "betrayal of the Jews" is abundantly repeated in Christian texts, forgetting to specify that the Jews constituted the first circle of Cypriot converts. Little by little, the ancient gods were no longer honored and the cult of Aphrodite "the Cypriot" disappeared in the 4th century.

For Cypriots, the transition from the Roman Empire to the Byzantine Empire never took place. It is the same empire, whose capital was transferred in 330 from Rome to Byzantium, on the Bosphorus, and soon renamed Constantinople in honor of the first Christian emperor, Constantine. And those who would much later be called "Byzantines" always referred to themselves as "Romans". If Greek became the official language of this new Eastern Roman Empire, it had already supplanted Latin in the eastern provinces for centuries. Finally, Christianity, the sole religion of the Romans since 392, was already widespread, especially in Cyprus. But, for the time being, little changes in Cyprus. The construction of churches and monasteries accelerated, most often on the site of ancient Greek temples. Like many cities, Salamis was destroyed by earthquakes at the end of the 4th century. Rebuilt, it becomes the provincial capital under the name of Constantia. The Roman administration remains as for it always as effective. And, whereas the copper mines are abandoned, the trade imposes itself as engine of the Cypriot economy. The Empire is however threatened by the birth of a new religion, Islam, in 611. As early as 640, Islamicized Arab troops seized Egypt. Weakened, Cyprus fell in turn in 649. During the conquest of the island, Umm Harâm, the Prophet Mohammed's nurse, died near Larnaka. Her mausoleum of the superb tekké Hala Sultan is today one of the main holy places of Islam. But apart from that, the Arab-Muslim heritage in Cyprus today is relatively weak. Indeed, in 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd Al-Malik reached an agreement to manage the island together. For three centuries, Cyprus was a unique case: while the Arabs controlled the army and taxation, the Byzantines retained religious and administrative power. In 911, the island completely reintegrated the Byzantine Empire while continuing to maintain close ties with the Arab world. And, in 1185, after an attempted coup d'état by the last Byzantine governor, Issac Comnenus, Cyprus found itself isolated, an easy prey for the conquerors of the West.

Now decorated with the flags of Turkey and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the two large mosques of North Nicosia and Famagusta look good. They are also the most visible symbols of French heritage in Cyprus. These Gothic buildings of honey-coloured stone were originally Catholic cathedrals, erected by some of the workers who had worked on the erection of Notre Dame de Paris. It all began during the time of the Crusades, when the English King Richard the Lionheart landed on the island almost by chance in 1191. After a swift victory over Issac Comnene, Cyprus is in his possession. And since he did not want to keep it, he sold it to the Templars the following year. But the Catholic soldier-monks meet strong opposition from the Orthodox population. In May 1192, Cyprus fell to the powerful Count of Poitou, Guy de Lusignan, who had already taken the title of King of Jerusalem in 1186. He founded the kingdom of Cyprus and 11 French kings succeeded him. For three centuries, the Lusignans subjected the island to a brutal feudal system, where Latin nobles and Catholic religious orders appropriated the best lands. From this divided and unequal society, however, an astonishing Franco-Cypriot and even Franco-Arab-Cypriot culture was born. In order to show off their peasantry, the Catholic lords erected many small Orthodox churches where Gothic and Byzantine styles rubbed shoulders. The decoration of some of them was entrusted to renowned Arab Christian painters who had taken refuge in Cyprus. Some examples remain, such as the fabulous ensemble of the ten painted churches of the Troodos, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As the Crusaders retreated to the Holy Land, the Lusignan dynasty weakened, having to face the Mamelukes of Egypt, the Ottoman Turks and the merchant cities of Italy. The last king of Cyprus, James II, died in 1473. He left the island in the hands of his wife, the Venetian Catherine Cornaro. Attacked by the Neapolitans and Genoese, she had no choice but to abdicate in favour of Venice on 26 February 1489.

Strange destiny for this Venetian who was the last French queen of Cyprus from 1473 to 1489. The Poitevin dynasty of the Lusignans reigned on the island since 1192, but it was indebted to the Italian merchant cities. An arranged marriage was therefore concluded between King James II and the beautiful Catherine, with enormous commercial advantages for Venice. The ceremony took place on the very day of her arrival, in November 1472, in the cathedral of Famagusta. Jacques died the following year. Pregnant with him, Catherine reigns alone. But their son, James III, died in his turn in 1474. From then on, plots to reclaim the throne multiplied, both from other Lusignan lineages and from Italian cities. Only supported by the Sultan of Cairo, Catherine was finally forced to abdicate in favor of Venice, leaving the island on March 14, 1489.

In 1489, the Ottomans launched a first raid on the Karpas peninsula. The Venetians were thus warned. They knew they would have to defend ardently the island they had dreamed of possessing since the year 1000, the last Christian power in the eastern Mediterranean since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Serenissima recruited the best military architects to fortify three Cypriot cities: the ports of Kyrenia and Famagusta as well as the ancient capital of the Lusignans, Nicosia, whose magnificent star-shaped ramparts were erected from 1557 onwards. But the rest of the island did not change much. To the great displeasure of the Cypriots, the feudal system remained in place, sometimes with the same French noble families with names just Italianized. The weak Venetian troops could not count on the support of the population when the Ottomans disembarked on July¹, 1570. For lack of defense, Limassol was the first city to fall the next day. At the head of 600,000 men, General Lala Mustafa Pasha laid siege to Nicosia from July 22. Despite the pleas of the inhabitants, the governor Niccolò Dandolo refused to surrender. So, when the city was taken on September 9, 20,000 people were massacred, even in the Sainte-Sophie cathedral. Scared by the news, the garrison of Kyrenia surrendered without even fighting on September 14. Three days later began the long siege of Famagusta. Supplied by the sea, the merchant city managed to hold out for almost a year, until August 5, 1571. Despite their surrender, the governor Marcantonio Bragadin and the defenders are put to death with such cruelty that Lala Mustafa Pasha will carry from now on the nickname of Kara ("the black one" in Turkish). The tragic end of the Venetian presence in Cyprus horrified Europe and soon inspired Shakespeare to write his play Othello

The Ottoman conquest had at least one advantage for Cyprus: the island regained close ties with the Near East from which it had been gradually cut off since the Lusignans. Erected in 1572, this "great caravanserai" remains today one of the finest architectural examples of the Ottoman heritage in Cyprus. Thus, for the purposes of trade, the Ottomans covered the island with a network of 23 caravanserais, hostels and warehouses where traders, their mounts and goods could spend the night in safety. As the first Ottoman governor of Cyprus, the terrible but very pragmatic Lala Mustafa "Kara" Pasha encouraged some of his troops to stay on the island by entrusting them with abandoned land. And, again out of pragmatism, a large part of the political power is entrusted to the Greek Orthodox Church, which retains its seat in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. It is the millet system that divides society between religions, but provides theoretical protection for non-Muslims. Thus, Christian peasants keep their land and have to pay Ottoman taxes to the Greek clergy. But while the Orthodox churches are spared, those of the Catholics are the first to be transformed into mosques, like the cathedrals of Famagusta and Nicosia. This double Ottoman and Orthodox tutelage is badly experienced by the Latin, Armenian or Maronite Catholic minority, who often prefer exile or conversion to Islam.

In June 1821, several hundred Greek Cypriots joined Greece to participate in the War of Independence against the Ottomans. Tensions rose and on 15 October 1821, 41 members of the Orthodox clergy were massacred by Muslims. The Larnaca movement spread throughout the island, causing the death of about 2,000 Greek Cypriots and the abandonment of 62 villages until 1822. The Ottoman authorities then regained control and calm returned. But this violence has long been germinating between the two communities. Not to mention that the Greek Church is sometimes more powerful than the cadis (Muslim judges) and governors thanks to its relays to the viziers and the Sultan of Constantinople. But the Ottoman Empire was weakening and could not undertake real reforms. Since the intervention of the Russians, the French and the British in Greece in 1827, the Ottomans were forced to accept compromises with the great powers. Thus, from 1859, when the digging of the Suez Canal in Egypt began, the British showed a growing interest in Cyprus. Following their heavy defeat against the Russians in 1877, the Ottomans were forced to abandon large parts of their empire. Thus, the British skillfully took control of Cyprus on June 4, 1878.

From Morphou to Larnaka, the beautiful colonial villas, sometimes opulent and surrounded by a vast impeccable lawn, sometimes modest and lined up like in an English street, constitute one of the most sympathetic aspects of the British heritage in Cyprus. It is true that the arrival of the new colonizing power brought a certain modernization to the island. But a series of misunderstandings and vexations is at the origin of the current partition of the island. In 1878, Cyprus remained officially Ottoman. In fact, following a secret agreement between Constantinople and London, the island came under the direct control of a British high commissioner. The Greek Cypriots, who were in the majority (74% of the 186,000 inhabitants), thought that this was a transitional phase and that London would grant themEnosis ("union" in Greek), i.e. the attachment of Cyprus to Greece. The Turkish Cypriots (24 per cent of the population) fear this possibility. The British left it in doubt, keeping alive the possibility ofEnosis as well as that of Taksim ("division" in Turkish), that is to say the attachment of part of Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire. But they displeased both communities by increasing taxes and excluding all Cypriot representatives from local political institutions.

In 1914, the entry into the war of the Ottomans alongside the Germans and Austro-Hungarians formalized the status of Cyprus as a British colony. Before becoming a Crown territory in 1925, the island was first placed under military administration in order to better contribute to the war effort of the Triple Entente (United Kingdom, Russia, France). The claims of the two main ethnic communities are kept silent. But tensions continue to rise. On the one hand, Greek Cypriots imagineEnosis closer than ever. On the other hand, Turkish Cypriots are marginalized. And, above all, they see the shadow of Crete looming. This former island of the Ottoman Empire was until now inhabited half by Greeks and half by Turks. In 1923, ten years after Crete was annexed to Greece, the entire Turkish population was brutally expelled. Turkish Cypriots now fear that the Cretan example will be repeated. All the more so as the Ottoman Empire disappeared the same year.

The official reattachment to the Crown in 1925 gave rise to timid hopes with the creation of a legislative council where Cypriot representatives sat. But the British retained all powers. And when London announced, in October 1931, that it had no intention of handing over the island to Greece, 5,000 Greek Cypriots took to the streets of Nicosia with pro-Enosis placards, then set fire to the building of the legislative council, which was considered useless. The repression resulted in 5 deaths and thousands of arrests. And, above all, the new high commissioner Sir Richmond Palmer set up a real dictatorship which targeted in particular the Greek Cypriots. Nicknamed the Palmerokratia ("Palmer's power"), this regime lasted nine years, until 1940. London then eased off to ensure the support of the population in the face of the Nazi threat in the Mediterranean. At the end of the Second World War, the British government, which had passed into the hands of the Labour Party, allowed the island to set up more democratic institutions. In 1950, following a speech by the King of Greece calling for Enosis, the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus organized a referendum in this sense: 97% of Greek Cypriots supported the attachment to Greece. The result is recognized by the United Nations. But, for the time being, as London refused to negotiate, some Greek Cypriots turned to armed struggle by founding the EOKA, the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters, a pro-Enosis movement. On April^1, 1955, the attack on the Nicosia prison marked the beginning of the insurrection against the British. It lasted four years and caused more than 500 deaths, three quarters of which were caused by EOKA bombs. The British managed to regain the advantage in 1958. At that point, London's objective was no longer to keep its Cypriot colony, but to maintain two military bases on the island. On August 16, 1960, the talks led to the independence of the Republic of Cyprus and the creation of the Territory of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

There is nothing strange about foreign influence in Cyprus: it is enshrined in the constitution. While the constitution outlaws any plans for Enosis or Taksim, it recognises the existence of the bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia as possessions of the United Kingdom, as well as the presence of small contingents of the armies of Greece and Turkey. The Constitution also designates these three third countries as the guarantors of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus. On the institutional side, diplomats have achieved an equally surprising result. The President of the Republic will always be a Greek Cypriot elected by the Greek Cypriot community and the Vice-President will always be a Turkish Cypriot elected by the Turkish Cypriot community. This also reflects the demographic distribution of the country in 1960: 574 000 inhabitants, 77% Greek Cypriots and 18% Turkish Cypriots.

The division of Cyprus did not begin in 1974, but in 1963. As soon as the country gained independence on August 16, 1960, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, Bishop Makarios III (1913-1977), was elected as the country's first president. Although he had been part of the nationalist EOAK movement, he had always maintained dialogue with the Turkish Cypriots and had declared himself opposed toEnosis. The clergyman thus initially benefited from a capital of sympathy with the various communities. But everything changed in November 1963, when Makarios modified the constitution concerning ethnic representation in the municipalities. Not only did he favour the Greek Cypriots, but he did not bother to consult either Athens or Ankara, as the constitution required. Immediately, the vice-president and all Turkish Cypriot representatives and officials resigned. Then violence broke out all over the island on December 20 and 21. What was nicknamed the "Bloody Christmas" led to the death of more than 500 people and the displacement of 25,000 Turkish Cypriots to the northern part. Ankara kept its army ready to invade the island and Makarios committed another faux pas by asking Athens for help in forming a Cypriot army, the National Guard. The deployment of the Blue Helmets and the creation of the buffer zone in March 1964 helped to calm things down. The country is now cut in two by the "green line", providing protection to the Turkish Cypriot minority in the northern part in case of need. But the different communities still live together mostly across the island.

On August 8, 1977, 250,000 people, nearly half the island, flocked to Nicosia to attend his funeral. Despite many missteps, the first President of the Republic of Cyprus enjoyed immense respect, including from Turkish Cypriots who saw him as the only bulwark against the threat of Enosis. This "union" with Greece had been one of its main promoters since his appointment as Primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus in 1950. Born Michalis Christodoulou Mouskos, he fought against the British by supporting the armed group EOKA in 1955. For this he was sentenced to exile in 1956, but managed to start the negotiations that led to independence in 1960. Renouncing Enosis, he then attracted the wrath of the EOKA and the Greek military junta, to the point of provoking the coup d'état that led to the Turkish invasion.

On April 21, 1967, Greece was shaken by a coup d'état that brought to power a military junta, the dictatorship of the colonels. These far-right military men had madeEnosis their favorite theme. This time, Makarios stood up for the Turkish Cypriots and refused to bow to the diktat of Athens. But he could not prevent EOKA from massacring 27 Turkish Cypriot civilians in November 1967. The escalation of a conflict between Greece and Turkey was once again defused by the UN and the United States. As for Makarios, he gave pledges of goodwill by having the EOKA dissolved. On the other hand, he refused any concession to the Turkish Cypriot representatives who were demanding more autonomy within the municipalities.

In 1974, the dictatorship of the colonels is about to collapse in Greece. But she still thinks she can turn the situation around by finally achieving Enosis. In Cyprus, the population is exasperated by the failure of the negotiations and Makarios is increasingly isolated. Around the EOKA, which has clandestinely reformed itself under the name of EOKA-B, officers of the Greek army and the Cypriot National Guard under the orders of Athens are regrouping. In the early hours of 15 July, the putschists launched an attack on the presidential palace in Nicosia. At 8 a.m., on national public television, they announced that Makarios was dead and that they had seized power. But a small private channel of Paphos broadcasts another message, that of Makarios saying that he is alive and that he has managed to take refuge abroad. Unharmed by the fire in his palace, he was exfiltrated by the British and is now on his way to the United Nations in New York. Calm is returning. And when Makarios spoke in New York on 19 July, he accused Greece of trying to take over Cyprus. Disavowed, the putschists will give up power after nine days, on July 23rd. And the next day in Athens, the junta collapsed in turn. But it was already too late. Invoking the Cypriot constitution, which provides for assistance on its part in the event of an invasion, Turkey launched its army to attack the island on 20 July.

Near Kyrenia, above the beautiful beach of Pentemili, stands today the monument and the museum of Peace and Freedom. This is where the first elements of the "Attila I" operation landed on July 20, 1974, at 5:45 am. At first, the Turkish troops (3,000 men) met strong resistance from the Greek army contingent (2,000 men) and the Cypriot National Guard (12,000 men). However, they managed to seize Kyrenia on 22 July, while some Turkish paratroopers found themselves isolated on the outskirts of Nicosia. The real fighting stopped the next day. The Turkish army then occupied only 7% of the island. Without sufficient reinforcements, it could be pushed back to the sea. But the Greek military and those of the national guard preferred to concentrate elsewhere. By revenge, they empty the districts and villages with a Turkish Cypriot majority. And soon we witness a huge crossroads of refugees: the Greek Cypriot inhabitants of Kyrenia fleeing the Turkish army cross their path with Turkish Cypriots from Nicosia, Paphos or Larnaka, expelled most often by angry crowds who destroy the abandoned houses and mosques. These abuses are then used as a pretext for Ankara to launch the operation "Attila II" on August 14, with more than 40,000 soldiers supported by 20,000 Turkish Cypriot militants. Two complete divisions charged towards the "green line" held by the Blue Helmets since 1964. They did not go any further. But on their way, they swept away all resistance and seized Morphou, Famagusta and the northern half of Nicosia. On 18 August, at 6 pm, the Turkish soldiers reached their objectives, controlling nearly 36% of the island. The ceasefire called for by the UN finally occurred. In one month, the conflict caused the death of nearly 2,000 fighters on both sides, half of whom are members of the Cypriot National Guard officially reported missing. In addition, 9 peacekeepers were killed and, for the population, around 3,000 people died and 1,400 were missing. The refugees represented almost half of the island's population: between 200,000 and 265,000, three quarters of whom were Greek Cypriots and Maronites of Cyprus driven out of the northern part.

Less than a year after the Turkish invasion, UN Secretary Kurt Waldheim launched the dialogue for the reunification of the island. And it was looking pretty good, since in January 1977, President Makarios and Turkish Cypriot representative Rauf Denktaş (1924-2012) reached an agreement on a new organization of the country in the form of a federation. But Makarios died in August 1977. He was replaced by the new president Spyros Kyprianou (1932-2002), and then things began to stall. With each new agreement in sight, the negotiators failed on technical aspects. In addition to the essential point of the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the northern part, one of the most recurrent obstacles is the question of the hundreds of thousands of landed properties abandoned since 1963. All of these "real estate" issues raise other questions. Can the families return to the place where everything changed and live together with people from other communities? Very quickly, a new obstacle appeared: that of the "Turkish settlers". From 1975, Turkey encouraged nearly 200,000 Turkish-speaking foreigners to settle in the northern part. This was a violation of the Geneva Convention on occupied territories and an additional headache.

Since 1967, Turkish Cypriots have founded several autonomous entities, such as the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus in 1975. Never recognized by either the United Nations or the Republic of Cyprus, these different structures were designed to be integrated into a possible federation of the whole island. But this time it is different, as the creation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is accompanied by a declaration of independence. The constitution of the TRNC, adopted by referendum on May 5, 1985, by 70 per cent of voters, is quite democratic in nature. But it does not provide for any rapprochement with the Republic of Cyprus.

In the world's last capital still divided, the event on that day looked like the fall of the Berlin Wall. Created in 1964 and completely closed since 1974, the buffer zone had until then only been accessible to diplomats and peacekeepers. Turkey prevented any passage to the north, fearing both a return of the former Greek Cypriot inhabitants and a mass departure of Turkish Cypriots to the richer south. However, following a complaint by the Republic of Cyprus in 1999, the European Court of Human Rights obliged Turkey to create a crossing point. The site chosen is the Ledra Palace checkpoint, along the Venetian ramparts of Nicosia. For the first time in 29 years, on 23 April 2003, people on both sides of the country can cross the "green line". On foot only, and only for a few hours. But what a change! Two Greek Cypriots who had crossed to the North and two British Blue Helmets were killed by the Turkish Army and Turkish Cypriot militants in August 1996. Seven years later, the crowd in front of the Ledra Palace was overwhelming. Thousands of inhabitants cross the "Attila Line" in both directions, giving rise to moving scenes of reunion, but also sometimes to the icy reception of illegal occupants of houses visited by their former owners. Gradually, the check-point will be open 24 hours a day. In the years that followed, other accesses for cars and pedestrians were created along the 180 km of the "green line". With a total of nine crossing points today, life on the island has changed. But many people have not yet dared to cross the line, for fear of finding too painful memories or because of the refusal of the crossing formalities, tacit recognition of the Turkish occupation..

There are ten states joining the European Union on the same day, including Malta, the Czech Republic, Poland and, of course, Cyprus. This new member is a special case. It is the only EU state that is partially occupied by a foreign power, Turkey - which, moreover, is itself a candidate for EU membership. Since Nicosia submitted its application in 1990, diplomats in Brussels have known that this was going to be a challenge. But as far as the Turkish occupation is concerned, all the parties involved believe they have the solution. A few days before Cyprus's entry into the EU on 24 April, the Annan Plan was put to both sides of the island in a referendum. However, while 65% of Turkish Cypriots say yes, the feverish Greek Cypriots say no to reunification with 76%. Reunification is failing and the feeling of a great mess dominates. So it is an occupied country that joins the EU on¹ May 2004.

The international financial crisis that broke out in 2009 hit and almost sank Cyprus three years later. The cause: Russian investments in the Republic of Cyprus. The local economy was based on low taxes for businesses and a banking system that paid little attention to the origin of capital. But in early 2012, to save the Greek economy, which had been on its knees since 2009, the europeans granted Athens a 53.5% write-off of its public debt... which was held in large part by Cypriot banks. Immediately, the latter found themselves in a situation of bankruptcy. The country will be saved by a vast European aid plan in 2013. In exchange for this, Nicosia committed itself once again to reforming its banking system. But on closer inspection, it becomes clear that Cyprus remains the leading investor country in Russia: 27% of foreign direct investment in 2018. Most of this is "dirty" money from Russia that is "laundered" in Cyprus before returning to Russia. Under pressure from Europe, the Cypriot government ended its "golden visa" program in 2020, allowing the purchase of a Cypriot passport in exchange for the purchase of real estate. In 2022, the economic sanctions imposed by the European Union after the Russian invasion of Ukraine will also have painful consequences for the country's economy.

As if relations between Cyprus and Turkey weren't tense enough, the huge natural gas deposits discovered off the island since 2011 are adding more... water to the gas. Since 2017, the French, American and Italian navies have been escorting the ships of oil companies that are carrying out exploratory drilling in the maritime area allocated to the Republic of Cyprus. Objective: to dissuade Turkey from disrupting the operations or launching its own drilling. For Ankara disputes the maritime borders and the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus (90,000 km²), both off its own coast and those of the northern part of the island. For its part, Nicosia has had its exploration zones recognized by all its other maritime neighbors and has even launched joint explorations with Israel, Greece and Egypt. For Brussels, natural gas supplies have become a major strategic issue since the crisis with its first supplier, Russia, in 2015, and especially since the war in Ukraine in 2022 and the debate around Europe's energy independence. Cyprus' reserves, estimated at 900 billion cubic meters, could ensure the EU's self-sufficiency for many years..