Cyprus, the third largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, is located south of Turkey. The island was conquered by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire in 1571 and remained under Ottoman rule for three centuries. Cyprus came under British rule in 1878 following the Russo-Turkish War. After 82 years of British rule the island became the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakí Dimokratía, in Greek) in 1960 under a constitution drafted in an effort to balance the interests of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Britain retained sovereignty over two large military bases, Akrotíri and Dhekelia, on the south coast. Unfortunately the political compromise dissolved into violence in 1974. Turkish troops intervened and occupied the northern third of Cyprus, establishing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. United Nations troops administer the Buffer Zone, commonly called the Green Line, a narrow zone separating the Greek and Turkish sections of the island. The Turkish Republic is not recognized diplomatically by any country except Turkey. Lighthouses in the (Greek) Republic of Cyprus are maintained by the Cyprus Ports Authority. The Greek word for a lighthouse, pháros or fáros (φάρος), is the root for the words in many Western European languages. In Greek nisis is an island, akra is a cape or headland, and kolpós is a bay or gulf. In Cyprus the word kávo (κάβο) is also used for a cape. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume N of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.
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Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining page: North: Northern Cyprus
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Posted May 14, 2007. Checked and revised May 21, 2024. Lighthouses: 7. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.