Cyprus & Turkey

About the destination: Cyprus is an island nation located in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, situated south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, north of Egypt and Israel, and southeast of Greece. The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological findings from this time include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, and Cyprus is home to some of the world's oldest water wells. The island was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. Due to its strategic location in the Middle East, it was subsequently occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians, from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Following this, the island was ruled by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians, followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914). In 1878, Cyprus was placed under the UK's administration based on the Cyprus Convention and was formally annexed by the UK in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders and Turkey in the 1950s. Turkish leaders for a period advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as Cyprus was considered an "extension of Anatolia" by them; while, since the 19th century, the majority Greek Cypriot population and its Orthodox church had been pursuing union with Greece, which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s. Following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. The crisis of 1963–64 brought further intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, which displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic. On 15 July 1974, a coup d'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis, the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece. This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July, which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus in the following month, after a ceasefire collapsed, and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots. A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983; the move was widely condemned by the international community, with Turkey alone recognising the new state. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island, including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, with the exception of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which remain under the UK's control according to the London and Zürich Agreements. However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts: the area under the effective control of the Republic, located in the south and west and comprising about 59% of the island's area, and the north, administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 36% of the island's area. Another nearly 4% of the island's area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the northern part of the island to be territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces.[h] The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law and amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean. With an advanced, high-income economy and a very high Human Development Index, the Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone.

About the destination: Antalya is the largest city on the Turkish Mediterranean coast and is one of the hubs of the so-called Turkish Riviera. With the most beautiful and cleanest shores of the Mediterranean, along with Antalya's long coastline, one encounters ancient sites, old ports, monumental graves, dramatic shores, endless beaches, green forests, rivers, and waterfalls. Kaleici, enclosed within ancient city walls, is Antalya’s Old Quarter. It is one of the liveliest parts of the city, with shops, bars, restaurants, and entertainment facilities. The streets of Kaleici extend to the old harbor, which is used as an international yacht marina today. In the picturesque Old Quarter, you’ll find examples from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman eras, along with numerous archaeological sites and historic buildings to explore. Antalya is an attractive city with shady, palm-lined boulevards, considered by many as a paradise on earth and the pearl of the Mediterranean. Not bad, huh?