Cyprus (Greek: Κύπρος, transliterated: Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipɾo̞s]; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, [cipɾiaˈci ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is an island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, west of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, south of Turkey and north of Egypt.
Cyprus is the third largest Mediterranean island and one of the most popular tourist destinations, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year.[7] A former British colony, it became an independent republic in 1960[3] and a member of the Commonwealth in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is one of the advanced economies in the region,[8] and has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004. It adopted the euro on 1 January 2008.
