塞浦路斯(Cyprus)
正式名称塞浦路斯共和国（Republic of Cyprus）
地中海东北部岛国。面积9,251平方公里。人口约873,000（2001，包括来自土耳其的七万五千个「移民」和北塞浦路斯土耳其共和国军队三万一千人；不包括驻紮在塞浦路斯共和国主权基地区的英国部队三千两百人和联合国维和部队一千三百人）。首都：尼古西亚。塞浦路斯实际上分为两个国家，一般国际上承认的合法政府为塞浦路斯共和国，据有该岛南部2/3的土地。以希腊人占优势。语言：希腊语（官方语）。宗教：东正教。货币：塞浦路斯镑。北塞浦路斯土耳其共和国据有该岛北部1/3的土地，绝大多数是土耳其人。语言：土耳其语（官方语）和英语。宗教：伊斯兰教。货币：土耳其里拉（lira）。为地中海第三大岛，位於土耳其以南约64公里。大部分为山地，沿海平原和中心地带土壤肥沃。奥林帕斯山海拔1,951公尺，为最高峰。气候属地中海型。实行以贸易和制造业为基础的自由企业经济，航运业居世界前列。国际上承认的合法政府为多党制共和国，一院制，总统为国家元首暨政府首脑。
早在新石器时代早期即有人类居住；到青铜时代晚期，迈锡尼人和亚该亚人来到岛上定居，引进希腊文化和语言，成为贸易中心；西元前800年腓尼基人亦开始移居此地。此後几个世纪，该岛先後受亚述人、波斯人及托勒密王朝统治，西元前58年被罗马帝国并吞。西元4～11世纪是拜占庭帝国的一部分，1191年为英王理查一世征服。从1489年起归属於威尼斯帝国，1573年被鄂图曼土耳其人占领。1878年英国取得控制权，1924年成为英国王室直辖殖民地。1960年获得独立。由於希裔塞人和土裔塞人不断爆发冲突，联合国於1964年派出一支和平部队，企图使冲突不再扩大。1974年由希腊大陆军官率领的一支国家卫队发动政变，土耳其唯恐塞浦路斯与希腊合并，亦派出军队控制了塞岛北部1/3领土，并建立一个执政政府，但只有土耳其承认其为主权国家。至今希、土两裔塞人仍然时有冲突，联合国和平部队继续执行和平任务，两国重新统一的和谈毫无进展。
English version：
Cyprus
GreekKyprosTurkishKibrisIsland nation, northeastern Mediterranean Sea. Area: 3,572 sq mi (9,251 sq km). Population (1997): 860,000 (whole island). Capital: Nicosia (Lefkosia). Cyprus is currently divided into two de facto states. The Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognized government, occupies the southern two-thirds of the island. Its population (1997: 662,000) is predominantly Greek. Language: Greek (official). Religion: Eastern Orthodoxy. Currency: Cyprus pound. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third of the country. Its population (1997: 198,000) is overwhelmingly Turkish. Language: Turkish (official), English. Religion: Islam. Currency: Turkish lira. The third-largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus lies about 40 mi (65 km) south of Turkey. It is largely mountainous, with a fertile heartland and coastal plains. Mount Olympus is its highest peak, at 6,401 ft (1,951 m). The climate is Mediterranean. Cyprus has a free-enterprise economy based mainly on trade and manufacturing, and it ranks high in the world in merchant shipping. The internationally recognized government is a multiparty republic with a unicameral legislature; its head of state and government is the president. Cyprus was inhabited by the early Neolithic Age; by the late Bronze Age it had been visited and settled by Mycenaeans and Achaeans, who introduced Greek culture and language, and it became a trading center. By 800 BC Phoenicians had begun to settle there. Ruled over the centuries by the Assyrian, Persian, and Ptolemaic empires, it was annexed by Rome in 58 BC. It was part of the Byzantine empire in the 4th-11th century AD. It was conquered by Richard I in 1191. A part of the Venetian empire from 1489, it was taken by Ottoman Turks in 1573. In 1878 the British assumed control, and Cyprus became a British crown colony in 1924. It gained independence in 1960. Conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots led to the establishment of a UN peacekeeping mission in 1964. In 1974, fearing a movement to unite Cyprus with Greece, Turkish soldiers occupied the northern third of the country and Turkish Cypriots established a functioning government, which obtained recognition only from Turkey. Conflict has continued to the present, and the UN peacekeeping mission has remained in place. Reunification talks have remained deadlocked.