Cyprus

Cyprus, officially called the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean. A “golden-green leaf thrown into the Sea” and a land of “wild weather and volcanoes,” in the words of the Greek Cypriot poet Leonidas Malenis, Cyprus comprises tall mountains, fertile valleys, and wide beaches. Settled for more than 10 millennia, Cyprus stands at a cultural, linguistic, and historic crossroads between Europe and Asia. Its chief cities—the capital of Nicosia, Limassol, Famagusta, and Paphos—have absorbed the influences of generations of conquerors, pilgrims, and travelers and have an air that is both cosmopolitan and provincial.

Today Cyprus is a popular tourist destination for visitors from Europe, favoured by honeymooners, bird-watchers drawn by the island’s diversity of migratory species, and other vacationers.

Capital: Nicosia
My First Visit: 2014
Recommendation: Larnaka