View source for Cyprus

[[File:Flag of Cyprus.svg|thumb|Flag of Republic of Cyprus]]
'''[[:w:Cyprus|Cyprus]]''' ([[w:Greek|Greek]]: ''Κύπρος''; [[w:Turkish|Turkish]]: ''Kıbrıs''), officially the '''Republic of Cyprus''', is a [[country]] in the [[w:Eastern Mediterranean|Eastern Mediterranean Sea]], east of [[Greece]], south of [[Turkey]], west of [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]], northwest of [[Israel]] and the [[Gaza Strip]], and north of [[Egypt]]. It is located on the southern portion of the island of the same name, which is the third largest [[Islands|island]] in the [[w:Mediterranean_Sea|Mediterranean Sea]], and a member state of the [[European Union]].

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== Quotes ==
* So Joseph, who was surnamed Bar′na·bas by the apostles, which means, when translated, Son of Comfort, a Levite, a native of Cy′prus, possessing a piece of land, sold it and brought the money and deposited it at the feet of the apostles.
** [[Luke]], [http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/b/r1/lp-e/44/4#h=24:675-25:0 Acts 4:36-37]

* Consequently those who had been scattered by the tribulation that arose over Stephen went through as far as Phoe·ni′cia and Cy′prus and Antioch, but speaking the word to no one except to [[Jews]] only. However, out of them there were some men of Cy′prus and Cy·re′ne that came to Antioch and began talking to the [[Greeks|Greek-speaking people]], declaring the good news of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, the hand of [[Jehovah]] was with them, and a great number that became believers turned to the Lord.
** [http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/b/r1/lp-e/44/11#h=76:0-77:0 Acts 11:19-21]

* As to the territorial limits of [[Europe]], they may seem relatively clear on its seaward flanks, but many island groups far to the north and west—[[wikipedia:Svalbard|Svalbard]], the [[wikipedia:Faroe Islands|Faroes]], [[Iceland]], and the [[wikipedia:Madeira Islands|Madeira]] and [[wikipedia:Canary islands|Canary islands]]—are considered European, while [[wikipedia:Greenland|Greenland]] (though tied politically to [[Denmark]]) is conventionally allocated to [[North America]]. Furthermore, the Mediterranean coastlands of [[North Africa]] and [[West Asia|southwestern Asia]] also exhibit some European physical and cultural affinities. [[Turkey]] and Cyprus in particular, while geologically [[Asia|Asian]], possess elements of European culture and may be regarded as parts of Europe.
** [[wikipedia:Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopædia Britannica]], [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/195686/Europe Europe]

* The [[Pope Boniface VIII|Pope]], anxiously revolving the sad vicissitudes of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Christians in the east]], turned to [[Venice]] and [[Genoa]], praying them for the love of [[Christ]] to combine and save the fair island of Cyprus, still unpolluted by the presence of the [[Religious infidelity|infidels]]. But the lion of [[Mark|St Mark]] was a fierce yoke-fellow. The more restricted the field of influence became between Venice and Genoa the more bitter grew their jealousy. Two fleets were, however, fitted out in response to the Papal appeal. Their prows had scarcely touched Cyprian waters when a fight took place between some of the allied ships, and to the edification of the [[Saracen]] the two greatest maritime powers of [[Christendom]] were soon engaged in mutual destruction.
** {{w|Thomas Okey}}, [[iarchive:cu31924014238624/page/n161/mode/2up|''Venice and its Story'']] (1910), pp. 96–97
** See also: {{w|War of Curzola}} (1295–1299)

*  Lying at the meeting-place of the sea routes leading to [[Syria]], [[Asia Minor]], and [[Greece]], Cyprus seemed the inevitable first stage of a missionary venture.
** The book ''St. Paul’s Journeys in the Greek Orient'', [http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2004484?q=cyprus&p=par WOL, “They Sailed Away to Cyprus”]

* The current fascination among [[Muslim|Muslims]] with the history of the [[Crusades]], the vast [[literature]] on the subject, both academic and popular, and the repeated inferences drawn from the final extinction of the Crusading principalities throw some light on attitudes in this matter. [[Islam]] from its inception is a religion of power, and in the [[Muslim world]] view it is right and proper that power should be wielded by Muslims and Muslims alone. Others may receive the [[tolerance]], even the benevolence, of the Muslim state, provided that they clearly recognize Muslim supremacy. That Muslims should rule over non-Muslims is right and normal. That non-Muslims should rule over Muslims is an offense against the [[Divine law|laws of God]] and [[Natural law|nature]], and this is true whether in [[Kashmir]], [[Palestine]], [[Lebanon]], or Cyprus. Here again, it must be recalled that Islam is not conceived as a religion in the limited Western sense but as a community, a loyalty, and a way of life—and that the [[Muslim world|Islamic community]] is still recovering from the [[Colonialism|traumatic era]] when Muslim governments and empires were overthrown and Muslim peoples forcibly subjected to alien, infidel rule.
** [[Bernard Lewis]], {{cite news|url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-return-of-islam/|work=Commentary|date=January 1, 1976|title=The Return of Islam}}

==See also==
* [[Politics of Cyprus]]

== External links ==
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[[Category:Cyprus| ]]
[[Category:Middle East]]