cyprus

Government
-  Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism http://www.mcit.gov.cy/mcit/mcit.nsf/dmlindex_en/dmlindex_en?OpenDocument
- deputy ministry of tourism

•  Cyprus appointed its first ever minister for tourism on Wednesday in order to develop a strategy for the island's biggest sector.Former hotel executive Savvas Perdios is to be sworn in as the small Mediterranean island's first deputy minister for tourism.The dedicated ministry was created to replace the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), a 50-year-old entity, which oversaw the tourism sector until now.https://www.euronews.com/2019/01/02/cyprus-appoints-first-ever-tourism-minister-in-hope-to-boost-key-sector

Arsinoe (Greek: Ἀρσινόη) was an ancient city in northwestern Cyprus built on top of the older city, Marion^[1] (Greek: Μάριον); some ancient writers conflate the two cities. Ptolemy I Soter destroyed the town of Marion in 312 BCE and removed some inhabitants to Paphos. The city was refounded by Ptolemy Philadelphus and named after his sister/wife Arsinoe.According to Strabo there was a grove sacred to Zeus. Cyprus, from its subjection to the kings of the Lagid family, had more than one city of this name, which was common to several princesses of that house; see Arsinoe for other cities so named. The site of Arsinoe is located near modern Polis tis Khrysokhou.

Arsinoe (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσινόη) was a city in southwestern ancient Cyprus, lying between Old and New Paphos, with a harbour, temple, and sacred grove described by Strabo.^[1] The city was founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus and named for Arsinoe II of Egypt, his wife and sister. Cyprus, from its subjection to the kings of the Lagid family, had more than one city of this name, which was common to several princesses of that house. 

Choulou (Greek: Χούλου, Turkish: Hulu) is a village in the Paphos District of Cyprus, located 6 km west of Agios Fotios at an altitude of about 350m above sea level. It is located in the centre of the district next to the village Lemona and near Statos-Agios Photios and Letymbou villages. Built at an altitude of 330 meters east of the Ezousa River and the tributary of the Chalaras, Choulou with the approximately 150 inhabitants. Ιn the period of Frankish rule in Cyprus Choulou was a small feudal town, and 50 years ago it had a population of around 1,000. Today the population is around 150^[3] and much of the village is abandoned. Just outside the village is the Ammati forest. The traditional Cypriot tale 'Arodafnousa' born in Choulou.

• The name of the village comes from the founder and first settler of the area, who was from Syria. It is said that the name “Houlio” was the title that brought officials the Bektashi guild dervishes of Syria. Another version of the origin is that the founder of the settlement is of a Syrian family: “Goul”, or the Syrian original family of the white genoas’, with the surname “Guli”.  Later, during the reign of King Peter the 1st Montolif and his family, whose origins were from the south of France.The inhabitants of the village are no more than 120 locals, together with a few expats who moved permanently to the village.  The villagers' main occupation is viticulture and the cultivation of grain, broad beans, tobacco, almond trees, olive trees, carob trees and citrus fruit. There was a time when the village had a mixed population of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, while in the Middle Ages it was a famous feudal estate, associated with the well known medieval Cypriot song 'Arodafnousa'.  https://www.agrotourism.com.cy/discover-choulou-village,66,en

Northern Cyprus (Turkish: Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; Turkish: Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti), is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey, Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides. A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the North in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.^[4][5][6] Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus. While its presence is supported and approved by the TRNC government, the Republic of Cyprus and the international community regard it as an occupation force, and its presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions. Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer of the OIC and ECO, and has observer status in the PACE under the title "Turkish Cypriot Community".

• featured in ViuTV programme on unrecognised states
• According to wikipedia (englis version), Turkey formally recognized Northern Cyprus on the day its UDI was declared. The parliamentof the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, which is a self-governing exclave of Azerbaijan, has issued a resolution recognizing the TRNC as a sovereign nation, but this recognition is not shared by Azerbaijan's central government.
• passport recognition - https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-useless-passport-in-the-world

扎利  Dali (or Dhali; Greek: Δάλι; Turkish: Dali) is a large village in Cyprus. Idalium was an ancient city on place of modern Dali, Nicosia District. The city was founded on the copper trade in the 3rd millennium BC. Recent excavations have uncovered major buildings on the site which are open to visitors. A new museum is also near to the site. The ancient city was located in the fertile Gialias valley and flourished there as an economic centre due to its location close to the mines in the eastern foothills of the Troodos Mountains and its proximity to the cities and ports on the south and east coast. Idalion prospered and became so wealthy that it was among the 11 cities of Cyprus listed on the Sargon Stele(707 BC) and first among the ten Cypriot kingdoms listed on the prism (many-sided tablet) of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (680–669 BC).
- according to legend, dali is where adonis, aphrodite's lover, was killed by her jealous lover ares, the olympian god of war

法马古斯塔  Famagusta (/ˌfæməˈɡʊstə, ˌfɑː-/; Greek: Αμμόχωστος, romanized: Ammochostos locally [aˈmːoxostos]; Turkish: Mağusa [maˈusa], or Gazimağusa [ɡaːzimaˈusa]) is a city on the east coast of Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the medieval period (especially under the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice), Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city presently fall within the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Gazimağusa District, of which it is the capital. In antiquity, the town was known as Arsinoe (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσινόη), after the Greek queen Arsinoe II of Egypt, and was mentioned by that name by Strabo. In Greek it is called Ammochostos (Αμμόχωστος), meaning "hidden in [the] sand". This name developed into Famagusta (originally Famagouste in French and Famagosta in Italian), used in Western European languages, and to its Turkish name, Mağusa. In Turkish, the city is also called Gazimağusa; Gazi means veteran in Turkish, and the city has been officially awarded with the title after 1974 (compare Gaziantep). The old town is nicknamed "the city of 365 churches" owing to a legend that at its peak, Famagusta boasted one church for each day of the year. The city was founded around 274 BC, after the serious damage to Salamis by an earthquake, by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and named "Arsinoe" after his sister.^[4] Arsinoe was described as a "fishing town" by Strabo in his Geographica in the first century BC. It remained a small fishing village for a long time.^[5] Later, as a result of the gradual evacuation of Salamis due to the Arab invasion led by Muawiyah I, it developed into a small port.The turning point for Famagusta was 1192 with the onset of Lusignan rule. It was during this period that Famagusta developed as a fully-fledged town. It increased in importance to the Eastern Mediterranean due to its natural harbour and the walls that protected its inner town. Its population began to increase. This development accelerated in the 13th century as the town became a centre of commerce for both the East and West. An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest cities in Christendom.In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice. This commercial activity turned Famagusta into a place where merchants and ship owners led lives of luxury. The belief that people's wealth could be measured by the churches they built inspired these merchants to have churches built in varying styles. These churches, which still exist, were the reason Famagusta came to be known as "the district of churches". The development of the town focused on the social lives of the wealthy people and was centred upon the Lusignan palace, the Cathedral, the Square and the harbour. 
- note that there is a sinan pasha mosque
- ammochostos region is the main potato producing area on the island and is known as kokkinochoria, meaning red soil villages, thanks to their fertile red soil.

Kourion (Greek: Κούριον) or Latin: Curium, was an important ancient city-state on the southwestern coast of Cyprus. In the twelfth century BCE, after the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces, Greek settlers arrived on this site. In the fourth century, Kourion suffered from five heavy earthquakes, but the city was partly rebuilt. The acropolis of Kourion, located 1.3 km southwest of Episkopi and 13 km west of Limassol, is located atop a limestone promontory nearly 100 metres high along the coast of Episkopi Bay. The Kourion archaeological area lies within the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and is managed by the Cyprus Department of Antiquity.

- archaeological remains

• The House and Baths of Eustolios, situated on the crest of the southern cliffs immediately above the theatre, was constructed in the late-fourth century over the remains of a structure destroyed in the mid-4th century. In the early years of the fifth century, soon after the completion of the house, a bathing complex was constructed along the house's northern side. 

• originally a private villa, which during the early christian period was turned into a public recreation centre.

凱里尼亞山脈  The Kyrenia Mountains is a long, narrow mountain range that runs along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of limestone, with some marble. Its highest peak is Mount Kyparissovouno. Pentadaktylos (also spelt Pentadactylos; Greek: Πενταδάκτυλος; Turkish: Beşparmak is another name for the Kyrenia Mountains, though Britannica refers to Pentadaktylos as the "western portion" of the latter,^[3] or the part west of Melounta. Pentadaktylos (lit. "five-fingered") is so-named after one of its most distinguishing features, a peak that resembles five fingers.The location of the mountains near the sea made them desirable locations for watch towers and castles overlooking the northern Cyprus coast, as well as the central plain. These castles generally date from the 10th through the 15th centuries, primarily constructed by the Byzantines and Lusignans. The castles of St. Hilarion, Buffavento, and Kantara sit astride peaks and were of strategic importance during much of the history of Cyprus during the Middle Ages.

- A flag of Northern Cyprus is painted on the southern slope of the Kyrenia Mountains. It is reportedly 425 metres wide and 250 metres high, and is illuminated at night. The flag is considered controversial as evidenced in the Parliamentary Question put to the European Parliament by Antigoni Papadopoulou on 22nd October 2009, "How can it permit the existence of such a flag which, apart from the catastrophic environmental damage it causes, the use of chemical substances and the brutal abuse of the environment, involves an absurd waste of electricity at a time of economic crisis? Does Turkey show sufficient respect towards the environment to justify its desire to open the relevant chapter of accession negotiations?"

- legend of rigaina, the beautiful medieval queen of pentadatylos


Larnaca (Greek: Λάρνακα [ˈlarnaka]; Turkish: Larnaka or İskele) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and the capital of the eponymous district.Larnaca is known for its palm-tree seafront and the Church of Saint Lazarus, Hala Sultan Tekke, Kamares Aqueduct, and Larnaca Castle. It is built on the ruins of ancient Citium, which was the birthplace of Stoic philosopher Zeno.The word Larnaca derives from the Greek n. larnax, meaning: "coffer", "box", "chest", e.g. for household stores, "cinerary urn", "sarcophagus" or "coffin"; "drinking trough" and "chalice". An informal etymology, attributes the origin of the name to (sarcophagi) that were found in the area.
- The former city-kingdom of Kition was originally established in the 13th century BC. New cultural elements appearing between 1200 BC and 1000 BC (personal objects, pottery, new architectural forms and ideas) are interpreted as indications of significant political changes and the arrival of the Achaeans, the first Greek colonists of Kition (added by me - settled in around 13th bce). Around the same time, Phoenicians settled the area.At the archaeological sites of Kiteon, remains that date from the 13th century BC have been found. Around 1000 BC, Kition was rebuilt by Phoenicians and it subsequently became a center of Phoenician culture. The remains of the sites include cyclopean walls and a complex of five temples and a naval port. In 18th c, larnaka became cyprus' commercial centre, all european consuls established their missions.

• the architectural ruins of kition dating back to 13th bce were found in kition archaeological site - excavations have revealed cyclopean walls made of giant blocks of stone and a complex of five temples. Nearby lay the foundations of the ancient port of kition, an important commercial centre of ancient cyprus.  The drawings of ships etched into the walls of buildings are particularly interesting. 

lefkosia (nicosia)
- The earliest mention of Nicosia is in the clay prism of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon in 672 BC. This is a mention to the city-state of Ledra located on the site of Nicosia, and the city is named "Lidir". The name Ledra and variations (such as Ledroi) remained in use as late as 392 AD, when it was used in writing by Saint Jerome. However, that text also refers the city as "Leucotheon", and early Christian sources of this period are the first to use similar variations of the name Lefkosia (e.g. Leuteonos).^[5]The origin of the name "Lefkosia" is considered by scholars to be a "toponymic puzzle". The name is recorded in the majority of Byzantine sources as "Leukousia", and it is accepted in literature that the name "most probably" derives from the Greek phrase "leuke ousia" ("white estate").In Byzantine times, the town was also referred to as Λευκωσία (Lefkosia) or as Καλληνίκησις (Kallenikesis). In the 4th century AD, the town became the seat of bishopric, with bishop Saint Tryphillius (Trifillios), a student of Saint Spyridon. Archaeological evidence indicates that the town regained much of its earlier significance in the early Christian period, and the presence of two or three basilicas with opus sectiledecorations, along with marbles decorated with high relief indicate the presence of a relatively prosperous and sophisticated Christian society.
- [cyprus tourist info] known as ledra in antiquity and early christian times  


利马索尔 Limassol (/ˈlɪməsɒl/; Greek: Λεμεσός, romanized: Lemesós [lemeˈsos]; Turkish: Limasol or Leymosun) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the eponymous district.Limassol was built between two ancient Greek cities, Amathus and Kourion, and during Byzantine rule it was known as Neapolis (new town). Limassol's historical centre is located around its medieval Limassol Castle and the Old Port. Today the city spreads along the Mediterranean coast and has extended much farther than the castle and port, with its suburbs stretching along the coast to Amathus. To the west of the city, is the Akrotiri Area of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The city developed after the destruction of amathus by richard the lionheart in 1191. The king of England, Richard the Lionheart, was travelling to the Holy Land in 1190.^[7]His fiancée Berengaria and his sister Joan, Queen of Sicily, were also travelling on a different ship. Because of a storm, the ship with the queens arrived in Limassol. Isaac Komnenos, the renegade Byzantine Greek governor of Cyprus invited the queens ashore, with the intention of holding them to ransom, but they refused. So he refused them fresh water and they had to put out to sea again or yield to capture. When Richard arrived in Limassol and met Isaac Komnenos, he asked him to contribute to the crusade for the liberation of the Holy Land.^[7] While at the beginning Isaac had accepted, he later on refused to give any help. Richard then chased him and finally arrested him; the entire island was therefore taken over by the Anglo-Normans, bringing the long Byzantine dominion of Cyprus to an end.^[8] Richard celebrated his marriage with Berengaria who had received the crown as queen of England in Cyprus. Richard destroyed Amathus and the inhabitants were transferred to Limassol. A year later, in AD 1191 Cyprus was sold for the sum of 100,000 bezants to the Templars, rich monks and soldiers whose aim was the protection of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.^[7] The knights enforced high taxes, in order to get back the money that had been given for the purchase of Cyprus. This led to the revolt of the Cypriots, who wished to get rid of the bond of the promise. Richard accepted their request and a new purchaser was found: Guy de Lusignan, a Roman Catholic from Poitou. Cyprus was therefore handed over to the French dynasty of the house of Lusignan, thus establishing the medieval Kingdom of Cyprus. For a period of about three centuries 1175–1489, Limassol enjoyed remarkable prosperity. Cyprus was characterised by its great number of Latin bishops. This lasted until the occupation of Cyprus by the Ottomans in AD 1570. Latin battalions which established monasteries were settled down there. The settlement of merchants in Cyprus and particularly in Limassol in the 13th century led to the financial welfare of its inhabitants. Its harbour as a centre of transportation and commerce, contributed greatly to the financial and cultural development.Cyprus was sold in 1489 to Venice by the Cypriot Queen Catherine Cornaro.^[9] The Venetians did not have Cyprus' best interest at heart, they were only interested in receiving the taxes and in exploiting the country’s resources. The Venetians strengthened the Castle of Limassol.

Marion (Greek: Μάριον) was one of the Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus. It was situated in the north-west of the island in the Akamas region, close to or under the present town of Polis.^[1] Both Strabo and Pliny the Elder mention the city in their writings.The battle for Cyprus between the successors of Alexander the Great, Antigonus and Ptolemy, led Marion to destruction in 312 BC. Ptolemy, who finally prevailed, laid waste the city whose last king (Stasioikos II) had taken the side of Antigonus, and transferred its inhabitants to Paphos. Later, another member of the Ptolemy dynasty, Philadelphus, founded a new city on the ruins of Marion in about 270 BC and gave it the name of his wife, Arsinoe. The city, under its new name, prospered during the Hellenistic and Roman Ages.


帕福斯  Paphos /ˈpæfɒs/ (Greek: Πάφος [ˈpafos]; Turkish: Baf), sometimes spelled Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today at Kouklia, and New Paphos.In the founding myth, even the town's name is linked to the godess, as the eponymous Paphos was the son (or, in Ovid, daughter) of Pygmalion^[4] whose ivory cult image of Aphrodite was brought to life by the goddess as "milk-white" Galatea. The author of Bibliotheke, the Hellenistic encyclopedia of myth long attributed to Apollodorus, gives the genealogy. Pygmalion was so devoted to the cult of Aphrodite that he removed the statue to his palace and kept it on his couch. The daimon of the goddess entered into the statue, and the living Galatea bore Pygmalion a son, Paphos, and a daughter, Metharme. Cinyras, perhaps the son of Paphus,^[6] but perhaps the successful suitor of Metharme, founded the city under the patronage of Aphrodite and built the great temple to the goddess there. According to another legend preserved by Strabo (xi. p. 505), whose text, however, varies, it was founded by the Amazons.

- Paphos Archaeological Park (also Kato Pafos Archaeological Park) contains the major part of the important ancient Greek and Roman City and is located in Paphos, southwest Cyprus. The park, still under excavation, is within the Nea Pafos ("New Paphos") section of the coastal city.

• important monuments

• mosaics: house of dionysos (depict god of wine), house of theseus (depicts the classical greek mythology heor brandising a club against the minotaur), house of aeon, house of orpheus.  The mosaics of these houses, date from 2nd to 5th c ad. Discovered accidentally by a farmer in 1962.  
• pafos odeon

• built of entirely well-hewn limestone blocks 

•  saranta kolones (forty columns) fortress - frankish castle built by lusignans in early 13th c on top of a previous byzantine castle and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1222. 

- pafos is the only city in cyprus that has kept the same name since antiquity

Troodos (sometimes spelled Troödos; Greek: Τρόοδος [ˈtɾo.oðos]; Turkish: Trodos Dağları) is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympus (Greek: Όλυμπος), also known as Chionistra (Greek: Χιονίστρα), at 1,952 metres (6,404 ft), which hosts four ski slopes. The Troodos mountain range stretches across most of the western side of Cyprus. There are many mountain resorts, Byzantine monasteries, and churches on mountain peaks, and nestling in its valleys and mountains are villages clinging to terraced hills. The area has been known since antiquity for its mines, which for centuries supplied copper to the entire Mediterranean. In the Byzantine period it became a centre of Byzantine art, as churches and monasteries^[1] were built in the mountains, away from the threatened coastline. 

- the panagia church, moutoullas village has a steep-pitched wooden roof and frescoes dating back to 1280.  The village is known for its ongoing tradition of carved wooden basins.

Company
- bank/financial

• Hellenic Bank Public Company Ltd (Greek: Ελληνική Τράπεζα Δημόσια Εταιρία Λτδ) (CSE: HB) is in Cyprus. The bank was founded in 1976 with technical assistance from Bank of America and in 1996 it bought the local operations of Barclays Bank.^{[citation needed]} A major shareholder (29%) was traditionally and for many years, the Church of Cyprus. Between November 2013 and December 2014, the Church's shareholding shrank to 0.3% making it a small shareholder, after Cyprus based Demetra Investments Public Ltd holding 21%, Belarus owned video game company Wargaming Group Limited holding 20.6%,^[1], US investment manager PIMCO via Poppy Sarl, holding 17.3%, US based CPB FBO Third Point Hellenic Recovery Fund LP holding 12.6%,^[2], Cyprus based 7Q Financial Services Ltd holding 8.83% and Canadian based Senvest International LLC/ Senvest Masterfund LP holding 4.64%.^[3] The board is composed of representatives of the top shareholders. In January 2011, Hellenic Bank started operating in Russia but later, in 2014, sold the Russian operation^[4][5] The bank also has representative offices in Kiev, St Petersburg, Moscow and South Africa. It is also opening a representative office in Athens, Greece in 2017.
• trasta komercbanka http://www.tkb.lv/en/, has rep office in HK
• gunvor, commodity trader, with main trading office in switzerland -http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5ddcaa80-293f-11e5-8613-e7aedbb7bdb7.html Gunvor, one of the world’s largest commodity traders, has sold a majority stake in its once-prized Russian oil terminal on the coast of the Baltic Sea to a local industrialist. The sale of the 74 per cent stake in Ust-Luga, the world’s largest oil products terminal, marks the latest step in Gunvor’s efforts to de-risk its business by reducing its Russian exposure. The deal proceeds could be used to fund
  acquisitions elsewhere in the world.

• rcb

• https://www.ft.com/content/25e88d88-88bf-11e7-8bb1-5ba57d47eff7 Otkritie has sold its 19.8 per cent stake in Cypriot lender RCB as Russia’s largest privately held bank seeks to allay fears over its liquidity. A company part-owned by RCB’s chief executive Kirill Zimarin paid Otkritie more than $100m to buy the stake, two people close to the deal said. The deal, announced on Thursday, gives RCB’s management majority control over the Cypriot bank, which was formerly a subsidiary of Russian state-run lender VTB.

- trading

• Vassos Eliades Ltd is one of the biggest trading companies in Cyprus. Its main activities are the importation, sale and distribution of consumer goods through all the trade channels of the market. The range of products distributed is wide, ranging from foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages, mass market consumer goods, luxury watches, jewellery and accessories as well as fitness equipment. Vassos Eliades Ltd is trusted by the largest multinational companies in the world to handle their brands in the Cyprus market and has been the agent of Swiss food giant NESTLÉ for the island of Cyprus since the inception of the company in 1933. Vassos Eliades Ltd bears the name of its founder, the late Vassos K. Eliades who founded the company in 1933, after being employed by Nestlé as their representative for the Cyprus market. Vassos Eliades Ltd is today a third generation family owned company, adhering to the same family values that were instilled in the company by its founder back in 1933. The new headquarters of the company are in the Industrial Area of Dali in Nicosia. The Distribution Centre started operating in March 2010 and is now one of the largest and most modern distribution centres on the island. With the latest technologies and environmentally friendly solutions combined with the expertise in logistics of our people, the distribution centre delivers the best service in warehousing and distribution. Vassos Eliades Accessories is a subsidiary of the group and operates a network of exclusive boutiques throughout Cyprus including Montblanc, Swarovski and VE Very Exclusive shops where one can find the finest in Haute Horlogerie and Joaillerie like Cartier, Jaeger Le Coultre, IWC, Zenith, Damiani and many more well known brands. https://vassoseliades.com/index.php/2016-03-22-09-07-39/company-profile

• any relations? the ethnographical museum is a private museum belonging to the eliades family.  The museum consists of a collection of objects (including coins) from the neolithic age to present day.

- electronics

• benga international

• exhibited at tdc electronics fair 2019 spring edition

- sailorsalt.com

•  exhibited at hofex 2017

Industry
- cheese

• http://www.economist.com/news/business/21699059-what-hullaballoo-over-halloumior-hellimsays-about-reunification-cheese-our-time 

- wine

• arsos is one of the largest wine producing villages.  There are two versions as to where it derives its name from: one suggests it it the holy alsos (grove) of the goddess aphrodite, where the village is built, whereas the other is that one of the four towns founded by ptolemy philadelphos in honour of arsinoe.  
• vasa is one of the most important wine producing villages in lemesos region
• krasochoria wine villages (located north of lemesos)
• koilani village 

- pottery

• foini village was, according to tradition, named after a frankish lord juan de fejniu or feniu, while another says its name originates from the greek word for palm tree "foinikas". The village is renowned for its pottery.

- lace

• From ancient times, embroidery was considered women’s work and was developed as a result of mankind’s need for nicer clothing and beautiful objects for daily use. The oldest embroidery known is from 15th century BC Egypt, a beautiful piece with colourful, symmetrical stitching. The art of embroidery particularly developed in the Renaissance period, especially in Venice, Genoa and Milan. In the Hellenic world there is a rich tradition of embroidery from the Homeric period. In Greece and in Cyprus, many women from the countryside are involved in embroidery, either on a professional basis or to meet the needs of their own homes, making embroidery one of the most significant contributions to our local art. Lefkara lace (lefkaritika) is renowned not only in Cyprus but abroad; the lace is characterised by the richness and variety of the patterns and it has very recently been included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Leonardo da Vinci was a great admirer of Lefkara lace and, when he visited Lefkara village, he took a lefkaritiko cloth and donated it to the Duomo di Milano cathedral and it still adorns the main altar to date. The famous needle lace “fervoulite,” from Karavas, is well known, as are “pipilles” and “krosiedes,” the most common type of embroidery in many villages in Cyprus. The “fithkiotika” and “lefkonitziatika” multi-coloured laces are also well known, created when the cloth is woven on the loom. https://www.cypruspost.post/en/kentimata
• fyti village in pafos has been well known for making fithkiotika, there is a weaving museum there

People
- Makarios III (Greek: Μακάριος Γ΄), bornMichail Christodoulou Mouskos (Greek:Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος; August 13, 1913 – August 3, 1977), was thearchbishop and primate of theautocephalous Church of Cyprus, a Greek Orthodox Church (1950–1977), and thefirst President of the Republic of Cyprus(1960–1974 and 1974–1977). In his three terms as President of Cyprus (1959–1977), he survived four assassination attempts and a 1974 coup.In 1948, while still studying at Boston, he was elected Bishop of Kition against his will. Mouskos adopted the clerical name Makarios and returned to Cyprus. Like many public figures in the Greek Cypriot community in Cyprus, in the 1940s and 1950s he was an active supporter of enosis, the union of Cyprus with Greece.

• the village of pano panagia is his birthplace

- links with africa

• Anastasios George Leventis (Greek: Αναστάσιος Γ. Λεβέντης; December 1902 – October 25, 1978) was a Greek Cypriot businessman who founded a major merchandise trading firm, A.G. Leventis (Nigeria) Plc, in West Africa. A dominant figure in the economy of many West African countries and especially Nigeria, he was awarded the title of Babalaje of Egbaland by Alake Ladapo Ademola. The Egba Scholarship Scheme popularly known as "A.G. Leventis (Egba) Scholarship Scheme" which award study funds to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Abeokuta and Egbaland in general was coined after his name and it still exist till date.His daughter Fotini married politician Tassos Papadopoulos, who eventually became President of Cyprus. In 1922, Leventis joined the firm of A.J. Tangalakis in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He developed most of his connections with Nigeria while working in the city. When his firm merged with G.B. Ollivant, Leventis stayed with amalgamated entity and rose to become the general manager of G. B. Ollivant in Ghana. In 1937, he left the firm after it was acquired by United Africa Company. Leventis then formed his own company and started out as a produce buyer, partly financed by some British cotton manufacturers. He was assisted in the new venture by his brother C.P. Leventis, who organized the Nigerian branch in 1942 and a friend, G.E. Keralakis. In Ghana, Leventis was sympathetic to the cause of African nationalists. He was a friend of Kwame Nkrumah and J.B. Danquah. When a riot flared up in the country, many foreign stores were burnt and closed but only Leventis owned stores remained untouched and were opened throughout the period of conflict. He was made Ghanaian ambassador to France when Nkrumah was elected president of Ghana.
  
  • donor of leventis municipal museum of lefkosia which was founded in 1984

Unification
- https://www.ft.com/content/142dd040-9a94-11e6-b8c6-568a43813464 Cypriot leaders are set to hold the most detailed talks since the Mediterranean island was divided more than 40 years ago, as UN-backed negotiations aimed at reaching a deal to reunify Cyprus enter a critical phase.
- http://www.thenationalherald.com/142349/crucial-cyprus-unity-talks-swiss-resort-flop-serious-impasse-scuttles-round/


https://www.quora.com/What-do-Greeks-of-Greece-and-Cypriot-Greeks-think-about-each-other

immigration
- golden passport

• https://www.ft.com/content/5c80c6b4-00b6-11ea-b7bc-f3fa4e77dd47 Cyprus will strip citizenship from 26 people including a Malaysian businessman accused in the international multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption case, after an outcry over alleged abuses of the Mediterranean island’s “golden passport” scheme for rich foreign investors. Authorities in Nicosia admitted to past failures in risk assessments and insisted the system had already been toughened as they battled to contain a scandal that has exposed fears about “residence for sale” schemes across the EU. Nicosia’s announcement comes days after revelations that in 2015 Cyprus gave a passport to Jho Low, who is under criminal indictment in the US over an alleged plot to misappropriate more than $2.7bn from Malaysia’s 1MDB state investment fund. Mr Low, who denies any wrongdoing, is one of the 26 due to lose their nationality, a Cypriot official briefed on the matter said. Constantinos Petrides, interior minister, said on Wednesday that the country’s council of ministers had “affirmed the will of the government for strict adherence to the terms and conditions” of the initiative. About 4,000 people have gained nationality under the Cyprus Investment Programme, the scheme’s official name. “If there were nine investment cases, concerning 26 people, among 4,000 applications, it is logical that some would be problematic when controls weren’t strict,” Mr Petrides said. “There were mistakes — it was a mistake not to have criteria, for instance, for high-risk persons.” The minister wouldn’t name the 26 individuals, but acknowledge the list “also concerned those” mentioned in media reports in connection to the golden passport scheme. The group includes nine Russians, eight Cambodians, five Chinese nationals, two Kenyans, one Malaysian and one Iranian, the Cypriot official said. The Cambodians are relatives and associates of Hun Sen, Cambodia’s authoritarian prime minister of almost 35 years, identified in a Reuters investigation last month, the official added. The Low case has proved particularly embarrassing for Nicosia, since he was given a passport months after serious allegations against him started to appear in the media.

education
- the pancryprian gymnasium museums depicts the history of oldest establishment of secondary education in cyprus (founded 1812), as well as many other as many other aspects of cypriot history and culture
- Faneromeni School (Greek: Παρθεναγωγείο Φανερωμένης, Turkish: Faneromeni Okulu), founded by Archbishop Makarios I in 1857, was the first all-girls school in Cyprus. The founder of the School, Archbishop Makarios I, was instrumental in the establishment of many other schools throughout the island of Cyprus in order to combat illiteracy. The School is located in the historical Faneromeni Square, situated in the centre of the capital and within the Venetian medieval walls of Nicosia. The School building features predominantly Greek neoclassical architectural traits, as well as, local Cypriot elements. The Marble Mausoleum on the eastern side of Faneromeni Church is situated on the front of the building and was built in memory of four clerics executed by the Ottomangovernor in 1821, following the Cypriot revolt due to the newly declared Greek War of Independence. Today it is a co-ed school and the same building houses a nursery, primary and high schools. In 2014 it was announced that the building will be leased to house the University of Cyprus' school of Architecture.

Newspaper
- famagusta gazette

architecture
- places which belong / had belonged to different religious community/political/national groups

• machairas monastery
• church of saints barnabas and hilarion
• saranta kolones (forty columns) fortress 
• agios antonios church (byzantine church which once had a dome)
• stavros tou missirikou church
• omeriye mosque (ex augustinian church)
• kebir mosque (the great mosque) - excavactions on the east side of monument have revealed the architectural remains of 10th c cathedral of agia ekaterini. 
• kebir (buyuk) mosque
• agios ioannis (st john's) cathedral - originally a benedictine chapel dedicated to st john the evangelist, turned into an orthodox monastery in 1426 when the benedictine order left the island due to the mameluk raids.  Archbishop sylvester convereted it into a cathedral in 18th c, establishing it as the seat of the orthodox archbishopric of cyprus. 
• tusla mosque
• church of agios andronikos in liopetri village - octagonal dome and remains of frescoes; barn near centre of village was location of a long battle against british troops on 2sep1958

religion
- Hylates (Greek: Υλάτης) was a god worshipped on the island of Cyprus who was later likened to the Greek God Apollo. His name probably derives from ὑλακτέω [ʰylaktéō] „barking“ or ὕλη [ʰýlē] „forest“, which is why Lebek calls him Apollo of the woods. He was worshipped from the 3rd century BC until the 3rd century AD. An important sanctuary was located in Kourion.

Myth
- sacred to venus (metamorphoses by ovid)



History
- Amathus or Amathous (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαθοῦς) was an ancient city and one of the ancient royal cities of Cyprus until about 300 BC. Some of its impressive remains can be seen today on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about 24 miles (39 km) west of Larnaca and 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Limassol. Its ancient cult sanctuary of Aphrodite was the second most important in Cyprus, her homeland, after Paphos.

• a pair of enormous stone vases, the largest ever discovered, were found there, one of which is now at the louvre museum in paris

- 1960 - Cyprus gains independence after Greek and Turkish communities reach agreement on a constitution. Treaty of Guarantee gives Britain, Greece and Turkey the right to intervene. Britain retains sovereignty over two military bases.
- Taksim (Turkish for "division") was the objective of Turkish Cypriots who supported a partition of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek portions, a concept declared as early as 1957 by Dr. Fazıl Küçük. Turkish nationalism in Cyprus developed mainly in response to Greek nationalism and desire for enosis, union with Greece. Initially, the Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of the British rule.^[5] However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for enosis as they saw the union of Crete with Greece, which led to the exodus of Cretan Turks, as a precedent to be avoided, and they took a pro-partition stance in response to the militant activity of EOKA. The Turkish Cypriots also viewed themselves as a distinct ethnic group of the island and believed in their having a separate right to self-determination from Greek Cypriots. Meanwhile, in the 1950s, Turkish leader Adnan Menderes considered Cyprus an "extension of Anatolia", rejected the partition of Cyprus along ethnic lines and favoured the annexation of the whole island to Turkey. Nationalistic slogans centered on the idea that "Cyprus is Turkish", and the ruling party declared Cyprus to be a part of the Turkish homeland that was vital for its security. Upon realising the fact that the Turkish Cypriot population was only 20% of the islanders made annexation unfeasible, the national policy was changed to favour partition. The slogan "Partition or Death" was frequently used in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish protests, starting in the late 1950s and continuing throughout the 1960s. Although after the Zurich and London conferences, Turkey seemed both to accept the existence of the Cypriot state and to distance itself from its policy of favouring the partition of the island, the goal of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders remained that of creating an independent Turkish state in the northern part of the island.
- The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état was a military coup d'état by the Cypriot National Guard and the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. On 15 July 1974 the coup plotters ousted President Makarios III and replaced him with pro-Enosis (Greek irridentist) nationalist Nikos Sampson as dictator. The Sampson regime was described as a puppet state, whose ultimate aim was the annexation of the island by Greece; in the short term, the coupists proclaimed the establishment of the "Hellenic Republic of Cyprus".In response to the coup, on 20 July 1974 Turkey invaded the island claiming that the action was compliant with the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, taking control of the north and dividing Cyprus along what became known as the Green Line, cutting off about a third of the total territory. Sampson resigned, the military regime that had appointed him collapsed, and Makarios returned. The Turkish Cypriots established an independent government for what they called the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC), with Rauf Denktaş as president. In 1983 they would proclaim the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the northern part of the island, which remains a de facto state.
- The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence from the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish Cypriot parliament on 15 November 1983.Eight years after the Turkish Federative State of North Cyprus was proclaimed (in 1975), the declaration of North Cyprus was presented to the Turkish Cypriot parliament in North Nicosia by Turkish Cypriot Leader and Northern Cypriot State President Rauf Denktash on November 15, 1983. Containing text espousing human rights and a desire to live side-by-side with the Greek Cypriot population, it ended with a declaration that Northern Cyprus was an independent and sovereign state, naming the entity the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriot Parliament passed a unanimous resolution later that day ratifying the declaration.

usa

- 希臘與土耳其交惡之際，美國國務卿蓬佩奧周二宣布，美方將結束對塞浦路斯實施三十三年的武器禁運，並加強安全合作。土耳其批評華府令局勢升級，促請重新審視決定，否則會採取同樣措施捍衞北塞浦路斯土耳其共和國（TRNC）的安全。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20200903/00180_018.html 
russia
- The post-Soviet influx of money and people into this Mediterranean island of barely one million inhabitants has, at times, turned it into a Petri dish of western worries about Russia’s activities in Europe, both real and imagined. Economic and political connections between the two countries have highlighted deepening tensions within the EU over how to deal with President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin. https://amp.ft.com/content/67918012-9403-11ea-abcd-371e24b679ed


UK
- history

• https://www.quora.com/How-did-Turkey-know-that-the-UK-would-not-defend-Cyprus-when-it-invaded-the-island-in-1974-This-is-especially-surprising-given-that-the-UK-is-the-former-colonial-power-and-had-substantial-armed-forces-stationed-on

- https://www.ft.com/content/a8c839f6-dd84-11e6-9d7c-be108f1c1dce Bank of Cyprus’s listing on the UK stock exchange, which launched on Thursday morning, is “absolutely a vote of confidence” in London’s central place in capital markets after Brexit, said the bank’s chief executive, John Hourican.
- Palmers Green is a place in the London Borough of Enfield. It is a suburban area 8 miles (13 km) north of Charing Cross, and is in London N13. It is home to the largest population of Cypriots outside Cyprus and is often nicknamed "Little Cyprus" or "Palmers Greek".

turkey
- 土耳其近期在地中海島國塞浦路斯附近水域，進行石油和天然氣鑽探，引起歐盟不滿，要求土耳其停止違法活動，否則可能面臨制裁。彭博通訊社報道，歐盟或削減對土耳其約1.46億歐元(約13億港元)財政援助，並暫停雙方之間的高層會談，但土耳其昨日無視警告，表明將繼續離岸鑽探。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2019/07/11/a20-0711.pdf, see also ft 17jul19 report

China

- visit by chinese leaders

•  當地時間 21日，在塞浦路斯 訪問的中國外交部長王毅在尼科西亞同塞浦路 斯外交部長卡蘇利季斯會談時表示，中方支持 塞方參與「一帶一路」建設，願同塞方積極探 討在海運、港口等領域開展互利合作，中方將 繼續推動有實力的中國企業來塞投資合作。據 BBC中文網消息，王毅在會談後說，中國希望 在利馬索爾城港口附近建立工業開發區。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2015/12/23/a17-1223.pdf

- diplomatic representation

• http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20160908/PDF/a17_screen.pdf 塞浦路斯首個在華簽證受理中心6日在北京開業。該簽證中心由塞浦路斯駐華大使館和中智簽證（北京）合作成立，是塞浦路斯在中國地區開設的首個簽證中心，除北京駐華大使館外，塞浦路斯還在香港和澳門特別行政區設有名譽領事館。

- investors from china

• http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2016-01/29/content_23301148.htm Fresh from its success in securing control of Greece's Piraeus Port Authority SA,China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, better known as COSCO, is now bidding torun the port of Limassol on the island of Cyprus, in a bid to extend its reach in theMediterranean Sea. China's newly combined and largest shipping company by capacity is among 14investors who expressed interest in placing bids for three concessionopportunities, according to a senior source in the Cypriot government. COSCO is one of the six bidders for the port's container terminal and one of fivevying for the multipurpose terminal, according to the source. Another threecompanies have placed bids to run a marine services concession, the Ministry ofTransport, Communications and Works said on Jan 21. Other companies interested in the concession opportunities are DB World of Dubaiand Phillipines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc, the sourcesaid.

- 華潤電力（00836）總裁唐勇發出聲明澄清，從未申請及取得塞浦路斯護照，或當地的居留身份，又指有媒體的報道與事實不符，損害他本人的合法權益。唐勇在聲明強調，將保留採取法律手段，追究惡意造謠並傳播涉及不實信息的機會，以及個人相關法律責任的權利。　較早前，《南華早報》引述一份聲稱是「塞浦路斯文件」的密件，指過去兩年有內地官商向歐盟成員國塞浦路斯申請「黃金護照」，包括華潤電力的唐勇於2019年1月已取得相關護照。http://www.takungpao.com.hk/finance/236137/2020/0828/491471.html

hk
- immigration

• 中原移民顧問（香港）董事總經理許大衛指，塞浦路斯在一九年九月遞交了加入神根區的申請，歐盟正在審核，若然加入成事，取得塞浦路斯永居意味可以自由旅遊出入其他神根國，所以預期此計劃會愈趨受歡迎。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20200108/00269_001.html

Macau

- Casino investor Melco International Development Ltd is increasing the size of its majority stake in a casino project to be developed in the Republic of Cyprus to 75.0 percent from 70.74 percent.

The firm – led by casino investor Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (pictured) – is upping its interest in the scheme via a share subscription agreement reached with joint venture partner Cyprus Phasouri (Zakaki) Ltd – a Cyprus-based conglomerate – said Melco International on Monday. On completion of the subscription agreement, Cyprus Phasouri will have a stake of 25.0 percent in the project company. Melco International will pay an aggregate amount of EUR160 million (US$188.5 million) to the project company – to be settled in instalments – as part of the deal for the Hong Kong-based firm to increase its share in the scheme. Cyprus Phasouri will “contribute the real estate” on which the casino resort will be developed, Melco International stated in its Monday filing. http://www.ggrasia.com/melco-int-boosts-majority-stake-in-cyprus-casino-scheme/