Ciprus blog

Drainage and soils
The major rivers in Cyprus originate in the Troodos Mountains. The Pedieos, which is the largest, flows eastward toward Famagusta Bay; the Serakhis flows northwestward and the Karyotis northward to Morphou Bay; and the Kouris flows southward to Episkopi Bay. The rivers are fed entirely from the runoff of winter precipitation; in summer they become dry courses. The island’s major soil types consist of imperfect, gravelly lithosols found in the Troodos and Kyrenia mountains and agriculturally productive vertisols located in the Mesaoria Plain and along the southeastern coast. Other, less-productive soils include solonchaks and solonetz soils. These latter are found only in isolated saline pockets throughout the island.

Climate
Cyprus has an intense Mediterranean climate, with a typically strongly marked seasonal rhythm. Hot, dry summers (June to September) and rainy winters (November to March) are separated by short autumn and spring seasons (October and April to May, respectively) of rapid change. Autumn and winter precipitation, on which agriculture and water supply depend, is variable. Average annual precipitation is about 20 inches (500 mm). The lowest average precipitation of 14 inches (350 mm) occurs at Nicosia, and the highest, 41 inches (1,050 mm), is on Mount Olympus. Summer temperatures in Nicosia range between an average daily maximum of 98 °F (37 °C) and an average daily minimum of 70 °F (21 °C); in winter the range is between 59 °F (15 °C) and 41 °F (5 °C). From December to March the Troodos range experiences several weeks of below-freezing night temperatures, and snowfall is considerable.

Plant and animal life
There is a narrow fertile plain along the northern coast, where the vegetation is largely evergreen and includes olive, carob, and citrus trees. The Troodos range has pine, dwarf oak, cypress, and cedar forest coverings. The southern and western slopes are extensively planted with vineyards. Between autumn and spring the Mesaoria Plain is green and colourful, with an abundance of wildflowers, flowering bushes, and shrubs; there are also patches of woodland in which eucalyptus and various types of acacia, cypress, and lowland pine are found. Orange plantations dot the island’s northwestern end in the area around Morphou.

Cyprus lies about 40 miles (65 km) south of Turkey, 60 miles (100 km) west of Syria, and 480 miles (770 km) southeast of mainland Greece. Its maximum length, from Cape Arnauti in the west to Cape Apostolos Andreas at the end of the northeastern peninsula, is 140 miles (225 km); the maximum north-south extent is 60 miles (100 km). It is the third largest Mediterranean island, after Sicily and Sardinia.

In 1960 Cyprus became independent of Britain (it had been a crown colony since 1925) as the Republic of Cyprus. The long-standing conflict between the Greek Cypriot majority and the Turkish Cypriot minority and an invasion of the island by Turkish troops in 1974 produced an actual—although internationally unrecognized—partition of the island and led to the establishment in 1975 of a de facto Turkish Cypriot state in the northern third of the country. The Turkish Cypriot state made a unilateral declaration of independence in 1983 and adopted the name Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Its independence was recognized only by Turkey.

A “golden-green leaf thrown into the Sea” and a land of “wild weather and volcanoes,” in the words of the Greek Cypriot poet Leonidas Malenis, Cyprus comprises tall mountains, fertile valleys, and wide beaches. Settled for more than 10 millennia, Cyprus stands at a cultural, linguistic, and historic crossroads between Europe and Asia. Its chief cities—the capital of Nicosia, Limassol, Famagusta, and Paphos—have absorbed the influences of generations of conquerors, pilgrims, and travelers and have an air that is both cosmopolitan and provincial. Today Cyprus is a popular tourist destination for visitors from Europe, favoured by honeymooners (as befits the legendary home of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love), bird-watchers drawn by the island’s diversity of migratory species, and other vacationers.