Tucked away in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the island of Cyprus has been a place fought over and over by various regional powers ever since the times of the Crusaders. In contemporary world, the power struggles between Christians and Muslims takes on a different twist, with a dose of ethnic-nationalism thrown into the fray.
Since the division of the island in 1974 into two separate administrative zones following the failed coup by Greek military junta and the subsequent military occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkey's armed forces, Northern Cyprus ( since 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) has become a state that virtually disappeared off the political map of the world. To 99% of the international community, the country known as TRNC never exists, as the only country that recognizes Northern Cyprus as an independent country is Turkey. As a result of the international trade embargo and political sanctions imposed by the United Nations against Northern Cyprus in the aftermath of Turkish Cypriots' unilateral declaration of independence in 1983, the economy of Northern Cyprus becomes totally reliant upon Turkey for survival.
Since the division of the island in 1974 into two separate administrative zones following the failed coup by Greek military junta and the subsequent military occupation of the northern part of the island by Turkey's armed forces, Northern Cyprus ( since 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) has become a state that virtually disappeared off the political map of the world. To 99% of the international community, the country known as TRNC never exists, as the only country that recognizes Northern Cyprus as an independent country is Turkey. As a result of the international trade embargo and political sanctions imposed by the United Nations against Northern Cyprus in the aftermath of Turkish Cypriots' unilateral declaration of independence in 1983, the economy of Northern Cyprus becomes totally reliant upon Turkey for survival.
