First off, a bit of history. Cyprus was a Brittish colony up through the mid sixties, when it became independent. Of course, the island has loads of history, but modern day Cyprus is basically ethnically split between the Greeks and the Turks, with the turks mostly in the North of the island, and the Greeks mostly in the South. I don't know all of the details, but apparently in 1974 the Greeks did something that the Turks didn't like so much. The Turkish government sent in the troops, and basically took over half the island. The troops are still there today. The Turks now call it the "Operation for Peace", while the Greeks call it an unlawful "invasion". You say toe-may-toe, I say toe-mah-toe. Some of this might have been handy to know before arriving there.
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