[ENG]

Cyprus is a Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkeyand west of Syria and Lebanon. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Seaand one of its most popular tourist destinations. An advanced, high-income economywith a very high Human Development Index, the Republic of Cyprus was a foundingmember of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May2004.

Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world, and is the site of theearliest known example of feline domestication. As a strategic location in the MiddleEast, Cyprus has been occupied by several major powers, including the empires of theHittites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Rashiduns, Umayyads, Lusignans, Venetiansand Ottomans.