traveldk.com

Each of the empires that ruled Cyprus influenced its art and architecture. The Byzantines embraced Orthodox Christianity, which endowed the Troodos churches with their frescoes (see Troodos Painted Churches); the Lusignans left abbeys and palaces with Gothic elements; and Venetian artists influenced Cypriot icon painters. The decorative Koranic inscriptions which adorn mosques and fountains are an Ottoman legacy, while the British left graceful 19th-century public buildings.

In southern Cyprus almost everyone speaks Greek, with only a handful of Turkish speakers. In the North, it’s the reverse. Cypriot Greek is a broad dialect that even native Greek speakers from Greece itself sometimes have trouble understanding. Mainland Turks have the same problem with Cypriot Turkish. In both communities, English is a widely spoken, semi-official language – southern road signs are in English and Greek.

Christianity gained an early foothold in Cyprus and most Greek Cypriots are devoutly Orthodox. Turkish Cypriots in the North follow an easy-going form of Islam that doesn’t seem to preclude alcohol.

Cyprus is an island of castles. Built to guard harbours and mountain passes, some, such as St Hilarion (see St Hilarion Castle), have romantically dramatic backdrops. More grimly purposeful are the fortresses built by the Venetians in the 16th century.

Cyprus owes most of its favourite dishes – from meze to baklava to doner kebab – to the Turks, who also introduced coffee to the island. Other empires contributed to the wine list: Commandaria was first made at Kolossi for the crusader Knights of St John. Red wines were introduced by the Lusignans, while fruity white hock and dry sherry were 19th-century British innovations.

Cyprus had far-reaching trade ties in ancient and medieval times and the arrival of the Venetians made it part of a commercial empire that spanned the Mediterranean. But it was its proximity to the Suez Canal and the advent of the British that gave it an importance out of all proportion to its size. Today, the island sits at the hub of a trade web that spans western and eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf.

From Roman times aqueducts were built to bring water from the mountains to fertile lowland. Grapes were grown from the earliest times; oranges were a Venetian import; cotton and tobacco plantations were Ottoman innovations; and potatoes and tomatoes probably arrived with the British.

Orthodox places of worhsip range from tiny stone chapels with Byzantine frescoes to ostentatious modern churches. Mosques, with their domes and minarets, are landmarks in the south as well as the North.

Traditional Cypriot music uses instruments unchanged since Byzantine times, such as the long-necked lute (laouto ) and reed pipe (avlos ) used by the Greeks and the Turkish short-necked lute (ut ), finger-cymbals (kasat ) and Turkish oboe (zorna ).

Every Cypriot town has been reincarnated over almost 3,000 years, with new conquerors rebuilding on old foundations. Look for ancient marble and granite column drums and carved capitals built into the walls of medieval castles or supporting the domes of mosques.