Cyprus is a beautiful little island set in the Eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Each year large numbers of tourists visit the island to enjoy the hot, sunny climate and clear skies during the summer months, the exquisite and variant coastline and the charming hospitality of the local people.
The island has a diverse geological scenery - raised beaches, coastal sand dunes, tombolos, sea cliffs and caves, ravines, gorges, tiny isles, rocky beaches, sandy beaches and much more besides all waiting to be discovered!
Inland, the natural vegetation is rich and varied with a number of endemic plants - such as the 127 different species of flowers - 67 of which can be found on the Troodos Mountains. Equally significant is the fauna of the island, with its unique moufflon (an endangered species) that roam in the forests of Pafos and Troodos. The green and fertile plains of the orange and lemon orchards and market gardens that spread out between the two mountain ranges are a trademark familiar sight typical of the Mediterranean.
The Troodos Mountains extend southwest from the capital, Lefkosia, to the ports of Limassol and Paphos on the coast. The dramatic Kyrenia mountain range, thrust northeastwards into the knife shaped karpas (panhandle) peninsula, which point directly at the coasts of Syria and Turkey.
The Mesaoria plain between the two mountain ranges (Kyrenia and Troodos) is toasted to an arid golden brown in the summer but during springtime it becomes a brilliant array of wild flowers and green grass. Sheep and goats are commonly spotted grazing while olive groves and vineyards are found on the lower slopes of the mountains. The Pafos and Limassol forests have copious amounts of pine, juniper, cypress and cedar groves.
Cyprus is the most southeastern European country in the Mediterranean lying 70 km south of Turkey, 100 km west of Syria and 270 km east of Kastellorizon, Greece. It has a strategic position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa and therefore is a jumping off point for visiting places like Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Greece and the islands. Cyprus has an area of 9,251 km. sq., with Sardinia and Sicily being the only two larger islands in the Mediterranean.
Geographically it is situated 35° North and 33° East. Its prime location has also shaped its history between Europe and Middle Eastern trade as it is so close to important land and sea route ways such as the Suez Canal and the oil producing countries of the Middle East.
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