36 Facts About Northern Cyprus

1.

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; Turkish: Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti, KKTC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus.

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2.

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west.

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3.

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector.

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4.

Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the title "Turkish Cypriot State", and of PACE under the title "Turkish Cypriot Community".

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5.

The agreement involved Northern Cyprus being governed under a constitution which apportioned Cabinet posts, parliamentary seats and civil service jobs on an agreed ratio between the two communities.

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6.

In 1975, the Turkish Federated State of Northern Cyprus was declared as a first step towards a future federated Cypriot state, but was rejected by the Republic of Northern Cyprus and the United Nations.

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7.

Northern Cyprus is divided into six districts: Lefkosa, Gazimagusa, Girne, Guzelyurt, Iskele and Lefke.

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8.

Politics of Northern Cyprus takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is head of state and the prime minister head of government, and of a multi-party system.

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9.

Since then, Northern Cyprus's representatives have actively participated in all PACE activities without voting rights.

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10.

The status of Northern Cyprus has become a recurrent issue especially during talks in the 2010s for Turkey's membership of the EU where the division of the island is seen as a major stumbling block in Turkey's road to membership and general EU-Turkey relations.

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11.

In October 2012, Northern Cyprus became an observer member of the Economic Cooperation Organization under the name "Turkish Cypriot State".

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12.

Presence of the mainland Turkish military in Northern Cyprus is highly controversial, having been denounced as an occupation force by the Republic of Northern Cyprus and the international community.

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13.

In January 2011, The Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of Human Rights in Northern Cyprus noted that the ongoing division of Northern Cyprus continues to affect human rights throughout the island "including freedom of movement, human rights pertaining to the question of missing persons, discrimination, the right to life, freedom of religion, and economic, social and cultural rights.

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14.

Northern Cyprus has an area of 3, 355 square kilometres, which amounts to around a third of the island.

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15.

Relatively unspoiled part of the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot, Northern Cyprus has considerable ecological diversity, containing a variety of terrestrial habitats.

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16.

The beaches of Northern Cyprus include sites where hundreds of loggerhead turtles and green turtles lay eggs, which hatch at the end of the summer, followed by observers.

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17.

Economy of Northern Cyprus is dominated by the services sector which includes the public sector, trade, tourism and education.

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18.

The economy of Northern Cyprus is based on a free market approach and it became the top country in Europe in entrepreneurial intent to start a new business in 2014.

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19.

Northern Cyprus is under an international embargo as the Republic of Cyprus, as the internationally recognised authority, has declared airports and ports in the area not under its effective control closed.

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20.

Northern Cyprus uses the Turkish lira as legal tender rather than the euro, which links its economy to that of Turkey.

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21.

Since the Republic of Northern Cyprus joined the Eurozone and the movement of peoples between the north and south has become more free, the euro is in wide circulation.

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22.

Exports and imports have to go via Turkey; while the European Union promised an opening up of the ports after the Annan plan; this was blocked by the Republic of Northern Cyprus and exporting through the south, while technically possible, remains impractical.

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23.

In 2011, North Northern Cyprus sold electricity to the Republic of Northern Cyprus following an explosion in the southern part of the island which affected a large power station.

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24.

International telephone calls are routed via a Turkish dialling code as Northern Cyprus has neither its own country code nor official ITU prefix.

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25.

Similarly with the internet Northern Cyprus has no top level domain of its own and is under the Turkish second-level domain.

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26.

Northern Cyprus has traditionally been an attraction for beach holidays, partly thanks to its reputation as an unspoiled area.

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27.

Northern Cyprus has around 7, 000 kilometres of roads, with two thirds of these roads paved.

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28.

The second census, carried out in 2006, revealed the population of Northern Cyprus to be 265, 100, of which majority is composed of indigenous Turkish Cypriots and settlers from Turkey.

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29.

Third official census of Northern Cyprus was carried out in 2011, made under the auspices of UN observers.

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30.

Government of Northern Cyprus estimates that the 1983 population of Northern Cyprus was 155, 521.

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31.

Higher Education Planning Evaluation Accreditation and Coordination Council of Northern Cyprus is a member of International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE).

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32.

Northern Cyprus regularly participates in international Robocup competition, and took 14th place out of 20 in 2013.

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33.

Northern Cyprus is among participant countries of Solar Challenge of solar powered vehicles in South Africa in 2014.

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34.

Theatre in Northern Cyprus is mostly carried out by the Turkish Cypriot State Theatre, municipal theatres and a number of private theatrical companies.

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35.

Northern Cyprus Theatre Festival, organised by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality is a large organisation with institutions from Turkey participating as well.

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36.

Northern Cyprus is well known for several dishes; among them are kebabs made of skewered lamb or ground with herbs and spices and made into a kofte or seftali kebab.

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