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Cyprus Worksheet – Download, listen to the podcast above and try!

Have you heard of Nicosia? Do you know about Aphrodite? Have you ever eaten halloumi? Can you guess what country all these are connected to?

Hi. My name is Damon. Welcome to this country spotlight. I’d like to introduce Cyprus to you on this show. Cyprus is a beautiful island with lots of history that lies in the Mediterranean Sea. I’ll be talking about a few basic facts, some history and Cypriot cuisine. Let’s start.

A Few Facts

Cyprus is near the coast of Turkey, which is to the north, and Syria and Lebanon are to the east. It has a population of 870,000 and at just over 9,000 square kilometers is half the size of Shikoku island. The capital is Nicosia and other main cities are Larnaca in the south, Paphos in the west and Kyrenia in the north. Cyprus has hot, dry summers and cool winters and has a fantastic coastline with the beautiful Mediterranean Sea surrounding it. It’s a great place for sun lovers and those who love the sea.

A bit of history

Cyprus is famous because in Greek Mythology it is the where Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born – the Romans called her Venus. Cyprus has a rich history, and it has been part of the Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Roman empires. More recently, in the 20th century it was a colony of the UK until the 1960s when it became independent. Unfortunately, after independence both Greece and Turkey claimed that Cyprus belonged to them. Now, Cyprus is divided, north and south, with the north being controlled by Turkey and the south by Greece. In the middle are UN peace keepers.

Are you hungry?

Cypriot cuisine is influenced by Turkish and Greek food and the fact that the island is surrounded by the sea, so seafood is also a major part of the food. Famous foods include halloumi, the national cheese of Cyprus. It is made from goat and sheep milk and can be eaten fresh or grilled. Artichokes, okra and aubergines are popular, as well as salted cod, roasted with tomatoes and potatoes, and meats, such as lamb, goat and pork – although muslim Turkish Cypriots do not eat pork. Perhaps every visitors favourites are the nuts soaked in honey or syrup that can be found in many of the desserts.

A Turkish Cypriot saying is. ‘you should eat sweetly and talk sweetly’.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the show and learnt a little more about Cyprus . Thanks for listening. Bye! Or as you may hear on Cyprus, andio! or Horskal!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Country Spotlight, Damon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.