Cyprus
The sun-soaked eastern Mediterranean island of Aphrodite, a divided land of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, of Orthodox churches and ancient ruins, of halloumi, meze, and warm hospitality. The complete guide.
Cyprus is a sunny island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the third largest island in the Mediterranean, lying south of Turkey and west of the Levant, with about a million and a half people and a capital at Nicosia. An ancient crossroads of civilisations, said in myth to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Cyprus has been shaped over thousands of years by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, and the British. Today it is a divided island: since 1974 it has been split between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus in the south, mostly Greek Cypriot and a member of the European Union, and the Turkish Cypriot north, recognised only by Turkey, separated by a United Nations buffer zone. Cypriots are known for their warm hospitality, their love of food, family, and the outdoors, and their Mediterranean ease. This guide walks through the land, the division, the faith, the food, the festivals, and the customs in turn.
Overview
Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, lying off the coasts of Turkey to the north and Syria to the east, the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is a warm, sunny land of beaches, hills, vineyards, and the pine-clad Troodos mountains, with a capital at Nicosia, in the centre of the island, and other main towns at the coastal cities of Limassol, Larnaca, and Paphos. About a million and a half people live on the island, the great majority Greek Cypriots, with a Turkish Cypriot community and, in recent years, many newcomers from abroad.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus governs the southern part of the island, where most people are Greek Cypriots; it is a presidential republic, with a president, currently Nikos Christodoulides, as both head of state and head of government, and it is a member of the European Union, using the euro. The northern part, home to the Turkish Cypriots, is governed by a self-declared state recognised only by Turkey, and the two parts are separated by a buffer zone watched by United Nations peacekeepers. The main languages are Greek and Turkish, and English is very widely spoken.
A few deep forces shape life in Cyprus. There is the sunny Mediterranean island, ancient crossroads of the world and home of the myth of Aphrodite. There is the painful division of the island and its two communities. There is the Greek Orthodox faith of the south and the Muslim heritage of the north. And there is the famous Cypriot warmth, the love of food, family, and hospitality. The sections that follow trace these and walk through the customs.
The island of Aphrodite
Cyprus is a sun-drenched Mediterranean island of golden beaches, rocky coves, green hills, vineyards, and forested mountains, blessed with a warm climate of long hot summers and mild winters that has drawn people to its shores since the dawn of history. At its heart rise the Troodos mountains, pine-clad and cool, dotted with old villages, painted churches, and monasteries, while the coasts are lined with beaches and resorts, and the lowlands are given over to vineyards, olive groves, and citrus orchards.
The island sits at one of the great crossroads of the world, where Europe, Asia, and Africa meet, and this position has made it a meeting place and a prize for civilisations across more than ten thousand years of history. Greeks, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, Venetians, Ottoman Turks, and the British have all ruled or settled here, each leaving their mark, so that the island is rich in ancient ruins, mosaics, castles, churches, and mosques, layer upon layer of the past.
Above all, Cyprus is the island of Aphrodite, for in Greek myth the goddess of love and beauty rose from the sea-foam off the Cypriot coast near Paphos, and the island has been linked to her, and to love and beauty, ever since. This ancient heritage, Greek above all but woven through with many other strands, is a deep source of Cypriot identity and pride, and the sunny, storied island is the setting and the foundation of Cypriot life.
A divided island
The defining fact of modern Cyprus is the division of the island, which since 1974 has been split into two parts, a wound that runs through the life, politics, and identity of the country and that remains unhealed. The island is cut in two by a buffer zone, often called the Green Line, watched over by United Nations peacekeepers, with the Greek Cypriots living in the south and the Turkish Cypriots in the north, and the capital, Nicosia, is itself divided, the last divided capital city in Europe.
The division grew out of the troubled history that followed independence from Britain in 1960, when the new state, meant to be shared by its Greek and Turkish communities, fell into mistrust and intercommunal violence. In 1974, after a coup by supporters of union with Greece, Turkey sent its army to the island, leading to the partition that endures to this day, and to the displacement of many thousands of Greek Cypriots from the north and Turkish Cypriots from the south, who fled or were forced to move to their own side. The trauma and the losses of those years are still deeply felt.
Today the south is the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, while the north is a self-declared Turkish Cypriot state recognised only by Turkey. The crossing points along the Green Line, long sealed, have reopened in recent decades, allowing people to pass between the two sides. Many rounds of United Nations talks have sought to reunite the island, so far without success, and the search for a settlement, and the pain of division, remain at the centre of Cypriot life. This guide describes the shared culture of the island and its communities without taking a side in the dispute.
Greeks and Turks of Cyprus
Cyprus is home to two main communities, the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, who share the same island and many of the same ways of life yet hold distinct identities of language, religion, and heritage. The Greek Cypriots, who make up the great majority of the island's people and live mostly in the south, speak Greek and follow the Greek Orthodox Christian faith, and look to the heritage of ancient Greece and the Greek world. The Turkish Cypriots, a smaller community living mostly in the north, speak Turkish and are traditionally Sunni Muslim, and look to the heritage of Turkey and the Ottoman past.
For all that divides them, the two communities share a great deal, for they lived side by side on the same island for centuries, and a shared Cypriot way of life runs beneath the differences. They share many of the same foods, such as the famous halloumi cheese and grilled meats; similar music, dances, and customs; the same deep love of hospitality, family, and the outdoors; and a warm, lively Mediterranean character. Older Cypriots on both sides often remember a time of living together, and many on both sides long for peace.
Each community has its own dialect, its own version of the island's shared traditions, and its own strong sense of identity, sharpened by the years of conflict and division. Both Greek and Turkish Cypriots tend to be relaxed in matters of religion and warm in matters of hospitality, and a quiet movement of people on both sides works to build bridges across the divide. The two communities, distinct yet sharing one island and much of one culture, are the human heart of Cyprus.
The Church of Cyprus
For the Greek Cypriot majority, the Greek Orthodox Christian faith is a deep part of life and identity, and the Church of Cyprus, one of the oldest independent Orthodox churches in the world, tracing its founding to the apostles, has been a powerful force in the island's history, culture, and even politics for many centuries. Orthodoxy is woven into Greek Cypriot identity, so that to be Greek Cypriot and to be Orthodox are, for most, bound closely together.
The island is dotted with beautiful Orthodox churches and monasteries, from grand cathedrals to the small painted churches of the Troodos mountains, famous for their frescoes, and the monasteries, some ancient and revered, remain important places of pilgrimage and devotion. The rhythms of the Orthodox calendar, above all the great festival of Easter, shape the year, and the milestones of life, baptism, marriage, and the funeral, are marked in the church. Many Cypriots, even those not deeply devout, hold their faith and traditions close as part of who they are.
In the Turkish Cypriot north, the heritage is Muslim, and the old mosques of Nicosia and the towns recall the Ottoman past. Yet the Turkish Cypriots are known as among the most secular and relaxed of Muslims, with many not strictly observant, drinking alcohol and rarely wearing traditional dress, and treating faith largely as a private and cultural matter. On both sides of the island, religion is generally held in a relaxed, personal way, and there is a long tradition of tolerance between the faiths. Faith, Orthodox and Muslim, remains a quiet thread in the life of the island.
Philoxenia
Cypriots are famous for their warmth and their hospitality, captured in the Greek word philoxenia, the love of guests and strangers, a deep and genuine tradition of welcoming others with open arms, food, and drink that runs through the island's culture. A visitor to a Cypriot home, or even a stranger met by chance, may find themselves swept up in generous hospitality, pressed to eat and drink, and treated with a warmth that can feel overwhelming to those not used to it.
At the centre of Cypriot social life are food, family, and the gathering of people. Family ties are strong and important, with the extended family close, elders deeply respected, and grandparents playing a large part in the lives of their grandchildren. Much of life revolves around eating together, in the home or in the lively tavernas, where long, leisurely meals with family and friends are a great pleasure. A cherished institution is the coffee shop, the kafenio, the traditional gathering place, above all for the older men, who meet to drink strong Cyprus coffee, play backgammon, talk, and pass the time.
Cypriots are warm, talkative, sociable, and curious people, quick to strike up conversation and to take an interest in others, sometimes asking personal questions that can surprise a reserved visitor, and animated in talk in a way that can sound like argument but is simply Mediterranean liveliness. In manners, they are polite and respectful of age and hierarchy, greeting warmly, waiting to be invited before using first names, and bringing a small gift such as pastries when visiting a home. For a visitor, the keys to Cyprus are warmth, an open heart, a love of food and company, and a willingness to accept hospitality graciously.
Halloumi and the meze table
Cypriot food is a delicious Mediterranean cuisine, shared in large part across both communities, built on fresh local vegetables and fruit, olive oil, grilled meats, fish, pulses, herbs, and the island's famous cheese, with strong echoes of Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern cooking. The best-known Cypriot food of all is halloumi, the firm, salty, springy cheese, often grilled or fried, that was born on the island and is now loved around the world.
The classic way to eat in Cyprus is the meze, a long, generous parade of many small dishes brought one after another to the table, from dips, salads, olives, and halloumi to grilled meats, seafood, and stews, eaten slowly over hours with wine and good company, until no one can eat another bite. The island loves its grilled and slow-cooked meats: souvla, large chunks of meat grilled slowly over charcoal; souvlaki and sheftalia, the small grilled skewers and sausages; kleftiko, lamb slow-baked until it falls apart; and lountza, smoked pork. Fresh bread, pourgouri made from cracked wheat, and a wealth of vegetables and pulses round out the table.
Cyprus is also a land of wine, with one of the oldest wine traditions in the world, and the island's sweet dessert wine, commandaria, is said to be among the oldest named wines still made anywhere. Cypriots love their sweets and pastries too, from honey-soaked treats to the cheese-filled flaounes baked at Easter, and meals are rounded off with fresh fruit and strong coffee. Generous, fresh, and made for sharing, Cypriot food and the meze table are among the great pleasures of the island.
Lefkara lace and the village crafts
Cyprus has a rich heritage of traditional handicrafts and folk art, kept alive in its villages and treasured as part of the island's identity, none more famous than the delicate lacework of the village of Lefkara, known as lefkaritika. This intricate embroidered lace, made by the women of Lefkara for centuries, is renowned far beyond the island, and by legend was admired by the great artist Leonardo da Vinci, who is said to have bought some for an Italian cathedral.
Alongside the lace, Cyprus has long traditions of fine silversmithing, of pottery and the making of the great terracotta storage jars, of basket weaving, and of woodcarving, crafts once central to village life and now cherished and kept alive as folk heritage. The mountain and country villages, with their old stone houses, churches, and workshops, are the heartland of these traditions and of a slower, older way of life that many Cypriots hold dear.
The island also has a living tradition of folk music and dance, shared in its own way by both communities, played on instruments such as the violin and the lute and performed at weddings, festivals, and celebrations, where dancers in traditional dress perform the lively old dances of the island. This music, dance, and craft, drawing on the island's Greek, Turkish, and wider Mediterranean heritage, is a colourful and proud part of Cypriot culture, and a link to the village life from which most Cypriot families spring.
Easter, Carnival, and the Flood
The Cypriot year, in the Greek Cypriot south, follows the Greek Orthodox calendar, and its festivals are kept with devotion and joy, the greatest of all being Easter, the high point of the year. Orthodox Easter is celebrated with deep feeling, with candle-lit midnight processions, the joyful proclamation of the resurrection, the cracking of red-dyed eggs, bonfires, and a great feast after the long fast of Lent, when families gather to eat roast meat and the special cheese-and-raisin pastries called flaounes.
Other festivals brighten the year. Before Lent comes Carnival, celebrated above all in the city of Limassol with a lively season of parties, costumes, and a grand parade, a tradition reaching back to ancient times. A festival found nowhere else quite as in Cyprus is Kataklysmos, the Festival of the Flood, held at Pentecost in early summer, when people gather by the sea in the coastal towns to celebrate with water, music, boat races, folk song, and fairs, in a joyful mingling of Christian and far older traditions tied to the sea and to water.
Through the year, the Cypriots also keep name days, when a person celebrates the feast of the saint whose name they bear, often more than their birthday, with visits, good wishes, and an open house; and they mark the great national days, Christmas, and the round of saints' feasts that fill the Orthodox calendar. In the Turkish Cypriot north, the Muslim festivals are kept. These festivals, full of food, family, and faith, are warm threads of Cypriot life, with the close family always at the centre.
The nation today
Cyprus today, in its internationally recognised southern Republic, is a prosperous, modern, developed nation, a member of the European Union and the eurozone, with an economy built on tourism, shipping, financial and business services, and a warm, sunny quality of life that draws visitors and new residents from around the world. The Republic is governed from Nicosia by a president, Nikos Christodoulides, and in 2026 it held, for the first time, the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, a moment of pride for so small a state. Its standard of living is high, and recent years have brought strong growth.
The great unresolved question of Cypriot life remains the division of the island. Decades of United Nations talks have yet to bring a settlement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides, and the future shape of the island, whether and how it might be reunited, hangs over its politics and its people. The Republic also weighs the pressures of migration, the management of its fast-growing economy, and its place in a turbulent eastern Mediterranean. Recent years have also brought new waves of newcomers to the island, changing its old patterns once again.
Through it all, Cyprus holds firmly to the identity built over its long history. The sunny Mediterranean island, the ancient crossroads of Aphrodite, still shapes its life; the warm hospitality, the love of food, family, and the gathering of people, still mark its days; the Orthodox faith and the village traditions still endure; and the two communities, for all that divides them, share one island and much of one way of life. Welcoming, sun-blessed, and proud of its deep heritage, Cyprus carries its traditions, and its hope of healing, into the future.