Chypre, le berceau d'Aphrodite

The name of the island comes from the Greek word "Kypros", certainly a root for "cooper", or "Kypris", as Homer called Aphrodite, and its historical roots stem deep from the core of our ancient civilisations Emerging amongst the ancient Greek world and nourished by the different cultures of the Great Powers who have conquered it one after the other, Cyprus presents today all their aspects. An independent state since 1960, its rapid economic expansion is really miraculous considering that almost 37 % of its territory is under Turkish occupation since 1974. Full member of Europe of the 21st century, Cyprus' history merges often our own's. Eastgate of Europe, it has been visited, among others, by Richard Lionhearted, French poet Arthur Rimbaud, English writer Laurence Durrel ("Bitter Lemons"), etc.