Why Cyprus Is Divided 🇨🇾🤯 Europe’s Strangest Island 🇪🇺

Cyprus is officially one country, the Republic of Cyprus 🇨🇾 and a member of the European Union 🇪🇺 But for more than 50 years, the island has been divided between the Greek Cypriot south, the Turkish-controlled north, the UN buffer zone and British sovereign military bases. Even Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is split in two, making it the last divided capital in Europe. The division of Cyprus comes from a long history of Greek influence, Ottoman rule, British colonialism, and conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. After Cyprus gained independence from Britain, tensions grew between two ideas: Enosis - union with Greece 🇬🇷 and Taksim partition of the island. In 1974, a Greece-backed coup in Cyprus led to Turkey sending troops into the north. About 36% of Cyprus came under Turkish control and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was later declared, recognized only by Turkey 🇹🇷 Today, the UN Green Line separates the island, Britain still controls two military bases and Cyprus remains one of the most unusual divided countries in Europe. #cyprus #nicosia #northerncyprus #republicofcyprus #turkey #greece #britain #uk #island #europe #weirdborders #britishhistory #britishempire #borders #greenline #history #geography #maps #learn