Cyprus has been home to many cultures over the ages, but its great all year round sun is what attracts most of us, which has made it a very popular destination with tourists, with over 2.4 million visiting the republic. The island receives over 330 days of sunshine a year, which has given it the name The Island of the Sun. There is no shortage of travel companies able to arrange Cyprus holidays and budget airlines such as Easyjet offering routes to Paphos and Larnaca, there has never been a better time to visit.
Cyprus attracts tourists from all over the world, but the majority come from Europe. Affluent eastern Europeans and Russians have also joined the crowd in recent years. One of the main reasons why there is such a heavy presence of Brits in Cyprus is because of the positioning of the British Armed forces in the southern Greek part of the island. With quick and easy access to the Middle East, this is likely to be the case for some time to come. The impact of this on the surrounding area is that Cypriots have grown used to, and this has in turned resulted in areas that are less traditional and more contemporary in culture. From English being spoken everywhere you go, to driving on the left side of the road. A major attraction for many Brit tourists is that the island offers all of the comforts and familiarities of home, but we also get to bask in the sun.
For many reading this, the prospect of taking a holiday away from England only to be greeted at the airport by a hire car representative hailing from Croydon and being served an authentic Mediterranean dish of steak and chips will not appeal. However, this side of Cyprus, that continues to attract millions of tourists year after year, is only one aspect of the island and is concentrated around the tourist hotspots of Paphos, Larnaca and Ayia Napa. As soon as you leave the packaged paradise and clubbers haven of these areas and hit the road the real country reveals itself.
A trip well worth taking is into Cyprus largest mountain range, the Troodos Mountains. In the heart of the mountains you will find the Kykkos monastery, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1998. Housing art and exhibits on ancient Greece, the monastery has the twin function of being a museum for visitors and a practising monastery lived in by worshiping monks. Kykkos even has its own winery where the monks bottle and sell their wine. A daytrip to the Troodos Mountains can be a welcome change from the beach and with overnight accommodation available in many of the authentic villages dotted about; you might want to spend a few days here sampling another side of Cyprus.
