The Mediterranean island of Cyprus was once a center for the cult of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Wooded and mountainous, with a 648-km (403-mi) coastline, Cyprus lies just off the southern coast of Turkey. The climate is ideal: summers are hot and dry, springs gentle. Winter snow in the Troodos …
On July 15, 1974, the Cypriot national guard, which had close ties with the Greek government, ousted president Archbishop Makarios from office -- because of his reluctance to unite the island with Greece -- and installed newspaper publisher, Nikos Sampson, as president.