Cyprus has a rich and downright fantastic history. The findings of the Stone Age, Copper Age and the Bronze ages are a testament to it's different cultural eras and the importance of the island as a bridge between the East and West.
After the Greeks, the Romans, Byzantines and Arabs conquered Cyprus one by one, but eventually it returned to the Byzantines. Franks and Venetians followed, but the Ottomans occupied the island in 1571. Almost 300 years later they were expelled by the British. This state became independent on 1 August 1960, the republic's first president was the Archbishop Makarios III which held the religious and non-religious power. After three years of independence the island's development was overshadowed by the disagreements between the Turks and the Greeks on the political cohabitation.
From 1964 to the present the UN peacekeeping troops have been present in the territory of Cyprus but was difficult to prevent the conflict between Greece and Turkey. Thus, in July 1974 Turkish troops landed on the north coast and invaded a third of the island, occupying the northern part of the country.