Visit Cyprus and Get the Best of East and West

If you are looking for something a little different later this year, you should consider spending your summer holidays in Cyprus. This beautiful island, situated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, is a breathtakingly beautiful yet intensely interesting and enigmatic, holiday destination.

One of the biggest selling points of Cyprus for any visitor is that the country truly is a fusion of ideologies; the island still has many people who have roots stemming from western Europe and Greece in particular, but also the island has taken on the influence of many other eastern influences, particularly Turkey.

At times, it has been an unhappy alliance, but despite the division, modern Cyprus remains a beautiful, intriguing and unspoiled land that is as welcoming to tourists as any other destination in the Mediterranean region.

The Cypriot climate is ideal for year round holiday breaks. The summers are long and hot and offer the visitor the chance to enjoy summertime sun from April and May long into September and October. The rest of the year is still pleasantly warm, though not as oppressively hot and this is a key feature for those visitors who may struggle in the heat of a Cypriot summer.

In terms of attractions, Cyprus has a great deal to offer any visitor. The island is renowned for its quality beaches, including Phinikoudes Beach, Agia Thekla, Kapparis and Pachyammos, all of which offer outstanding scenery on which to relax and unwind in the sun.

It may seem a young nation, but Cyprus is anything but with a history stemming back at least 10,000 years. Over that period a wide variety of influences, both with their origins in the east and west, have had an influence over the way the island has developed and as such, the island is truly a mix of styles; a happy confluence of architectural, artistic and spiritual ideologies which have given the island such a rich and varied heritage for the visitor to explore.

A good example of this variance comes in the sheer number of outstanding religious buildings on the island, from the opulent Kykkos monastery to the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque and the Church of the Archangel Michael at Pedhoulas. Seldom in the world would you find three such ideologies in such close proximity, each of equally exquisite grandeur and importance.

Modern Cyprus is equally an island of great contrast, the wild side of life may be experienced in Ayia Napa, the party capital of Europe but the island is home to some of the most secluded, unspoilt and peaceful countryside.

The Kyrenia mountains, the citrus groves spanning the horizon in Morfou and the small rustic villages that dot the countryside, are a world away from the tourist hotspots and give a more accurate reflection on the Cypriot way of life.

In essence, Cyprus has always been a divided country; it is the place where east meets west and where cultures have not so much clashed, but absorbed. The result is a place which is almost paradoxical in nature, but no less intriguing, or beautiful as a result.

Cyprus is anything you want it to be; the world in one island. Visit Cyprus and get the best of East and West only gives a taste of what you should not miss while on this amazing island, but there is an immense number of beautiful things to see all around Cyprus that cannot be included into one single article. One thing is sure though, you have to visit Cyprus at least once in your life!

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