User:Chidio/sandbox

ABOUT NORTH CYPRUS Cyprus is culturally rich island with a history involving several civilizations and offering many natural scenic beauties. It is also an island of education. The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus actively supports university education, recognizing the vital contribution it makes to the country. The higher-education sector constitutes 40 percent of the economy of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This is why higher education is an integral part of governmental policy and why Northern Cyprus is considered an oasis of higher education. The population of Northern Cyprus is roughly 300,000. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea with an area of 9.251 km2. Situated in the Northern-East of the Mediterranean: it has Turkey in the North, Syria and Lebanon to the East, Israel and Egypt to the South, and Rhodes and Crete to the West. There are five districts in the TRNC: Lefkoşa (Nicosia), Girne (Kyrenia), Gazimağusa (Famagusta), Güzelyurt (Morphou), and İskele (Trikomo). Lefkoşa (Nicosia) – is the capital city of TRNC. THE RICH HISTORY OF NORTH CYPRUS As a strategic location in the Middle East, Cyprus has a very historic past and has been colonized and ruled by many great powers of the world, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Persians, from whom Alexander the Great seized the island in 333 BC. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan Dynasty, and the Venetians, was followed by the Ottoman conquest in 1571. It remained under Ottoman control for over three centuries. Cyprus was placed under British Administration in 1878 until it was granted independence in 1960 (unified Government of Cyprus formed between Turkish and Greek Cypriots). In 1963, Greeks attacked their Turkish counterparts in an effort to eliminate the Turkish citizens from the Island. Greeks and Turks fought a long war until 1974, when Republic of Turkey intervened and joined forces with the Turkish Cypriots to fight back the Greek Cypriots and the Greek administration. In 1975, the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus was declared as a first step towards a future federated Cypriot state, but was rejected by the Republic of Cyprus, the Unıted Nations (UN) and the international community. After eight years of failed negotiations with the leadership of the Greek Cypriot community, the North declared its independence on 15 November 1983 under the name of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

From...........LUCID CHIBUIKE