Happy Greek Independence Day! Speaking of independence, some of you may know about the dispute between southern and northern Cyprus, however for those of you that do not, I will be talking a little bit more about it in my post today. Cyprus, as an island in the middle of the Mediterranean, is at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This made it a valuable territory for certain empires and is the reason why Cypriot history is as complex as it is. Cyprus has been conquered by many, including Achaean Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Roman Empire, the English, and the Ottomans. During English rule, Cyprus was sold to the Franks and the Lusignan’s ruled over Cyprus for almost 300 years. However, the Ottoman Empire invaded and conquered Cyprus in 1571 and would continue to rule until the arrival of the British in 1878. Although Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, cultural conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots resulted in the withdrawal of the Turkish leadership from government. The island has been divided ever since and is separated by a UN-manned buffer zone. The University of Nicosia is on the southern side of the buffer zone and Cypriots here speak greek. This complicated history has given the island many historical sites but also makes it a little difficult to evaluate the current environmental practices the island uses.

Throughtout the island, there are many public green spaces that are available to residents and visitors. There are also 3 national parks that are visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists a year. Additionally, most of the island is accessible via bus. These buses connect most of the major cities including Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, Ayia Napa, and Paphos. However, to cross the buffer zone, you need to present your passport and this can make things difficult for certain people. The program I am here with took us to visit a town on the other side of the buffer zone and it was beautiful! I hope to visit and explore more of the north side while I am here. On another note, the organization I am volunteering with just installed it’s fourth water refill station in Cyprus! If you’d like to learn more about the organization and it’s mission, please feel free to check out their website! Luckily for Cyprus, there are many environmental organizations that are pushing for more sustainable forms of living and practices that are environmentally friendly.