Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous of the islands of the Mediterranean. After a long history as a possession of various nations and civilizations along the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus gained its independence in 1960.
Unfortunately, in 1974 a Greek nationalist coup attempted to overthrow the local government and unify Cyprus with the Greek mainland. This led the Turkish army to invade and partition the northern third of the island. Although a cease-fire agreement was reached, the Turks refused to surrender the territory they had taken. Tens of thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots were displaced from their homes on either side of the demarcation, and the partitioning of Cyprus remains an ongoing diplomatic conflict, with United Nations and European Union negotiators attempting to resolve the dispute.
Cyprus is famed in myth as the “birthplace” of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, where she first set foot on the shore after rising out of the foam of the sea. This and a long history of Greek culture tie Cyprus to the powers of the Olympians. Indeed, there is a Mount Olympus on Cyprus as well, but distinct from the better known Mt. Olympus of Greece.
Cyprus is also home to the Hala Sultan Tekke, the Mosque of Umm Haram, one of the holiest sites of Sunni Islam, built during the island’s time as part of the greater Ottoman Empire.
Terrorist organizations like Overthrow have sought to manipulate ultra-nationalist movements on both sides of the Cypriot divide for their own ends. UNISON keeps observers on-hand to monitor the UN buffer zone between the disputed partitions of the island nation.