Cyprus Famous Dive Sites

Scuba Diving in Cyprus

A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to seize control of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), but it is recognized only by Turkey. The latest two-year round of UN-brokered talks - between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to reach an agreement to reunite the divided island - ended when the Greek Cypriots rejected the UN settlement plan in an April 2004 referendum. The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under direct government control, and is suspended in the areas administered by Turkish Cypriots. However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of European Union states. The election of a new Cypriot president in 2008 served as the impetus for the UN to encourage both the Turkish and Cypriot Governments to reopen unification negotiations. 

I Dive Tec Rec Centers Plc Offers the Best of World-Class Scuba Diving at an unrivalled variety of sites. I Dive has found Cyprus Finest Diving.

Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean. It is a sizeable island at 9250 square kilometres and has a coastline of 648 kilometres. The climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot summers and mild winters. Most of Cyprus is agricultural land that is spattered with ancient castles and Greek and Roman ruins. The south of Cyprus is a more popular holiday destination than the north due to being more accessible and having a more developed tourist industry. There are many hotels and apartments on offer, tailoring to family and package holidays. The language spoken in the south is Greek and in the north is Turkish, but English is widely understood. The currency used is the Cyprus Pound. Traditional food combines elements of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.

Much of Cypriot history is owed to its geographic location, as it is in the pathway between Europe and the Middle East. There have been settlers in Cyprus since Neolithic times, but in the more recent past, Egyptians, Assyrians and Persians have battled over their rights to the land. By the 4th Century BC, Alexander the Great had power over Cyprus, assimilating it into the Greek-Egyptian kingdom. The Romans later took control when this Kingdom declined. Repeated Arab raids in the 7th and 8th Centuries destroyed many of the coastal settlements and by the end of the Middle Ages, the island was falling into decline. The British arrived in 1878, restoring some order to the country, but as they refused to listen to calls for Cypriot independence, a Greek rebellion was sparked in the early 20th Century. Independence was finally granted in 1960, but with it came the Turkish seizure of the northern section of the island, which caused hundreds of thousands of Greeks to flee to the south. In 1974, the Green Line was drawn across the country to separate the Turkish North from the Greek South. The unrest continues, as seen by the referendum in 2004 that saw the Greek Cypriots rejecting an EU plan for reunification.

The resorts in Greek Cyprus offer tourists many different types of vacation. Aiya Napa was once a small fishing village but is now a popular destination with clubbers, offering a 24 hour nightlife. Larnaca is a coastal resort built on the ancient city of Kition. It has a touristy waterfront, but still retains some of its historic past. Paphos is the old capital of Cyprus and is filled with hotels and apartments with restaurants and bars covering the harbour. Resorts in Turkish Cyprus are less well developed, although facilities are generally comfortable. Kyrenia is a popular choice with some scenic and historical spots in the surrounding area.

Cyprus is quite a good place to learn to dive with some basic sites on offer, as well as progression onto the simple wrecks then onto the more adventurous Zenobia and exploring caves and tunnels. Most dive sites are only a few minutes boat journey and there are a number of shore dives available. Diving is most popular in the south around Ayia-Napa and Paphos, whilst Larnaca attracts some attention due to the wreck of the Zenobia being located there. Whilst diving in Cyprus is not the best that the Mediterranean has to offer, the Zenobia is one of the best wreck dives in the world. The wreck is worth a trip to Cyprus for, and it needs to be dived more than once in order to appreciate the size of the wreck and get an understanding of it. For more pristine dive sites, it is necessary to travel to the northwest tip of the island around the Akamas Peninsula. Often there are artefacts such as Roman pottery on the seabed, but please be aware that removal of these items is strictly forbidden. Nitrox is available at some dive Centers and there are two decompression chambers on Cyprus at Larnaca Makarion General Hospital and the British base of Akrotiri.

Cyprus would make a good destination for divers who have a non-diving family with them and for those who just want to squeeze in a few dives whilst away. There is plenty to see above water and its history provides tourists with more than just a resort holiday.

Mediterranean Sea [Lat.,=in the midst of lands], the world's largest inland sea, c.965,000 sq mi (2,499,350 sq km), surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Geography

The Mediterranean is c.2,400 mi (3,900 km) long with a maximum width of c.1,000 mi (1,600 km); its greatest depth is c.14,450 ft (4,400 m), off Cape Matapan, Greece. It connects with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar; with the Black Sea through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus; and with the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Its chief divisions are the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean seas; its chief islands are Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Malta, Rhodes, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Balearic Islands, and the Ionian Islands. Shallows (Adventure Bank) between Sicily and Cape Bon, Tunisia, divide the Mediterranean into two main basins.

The sea is of higher salinity than the Atlantic and has little variation in tides. The largest rivers that flow into it are the Po, Rhône, Ebro, and Nile. The shores are chiefly mountainous. Earthquakes and volcanic disturbances are frequent. The region around the sea has a warm, dry climate characterized by abundant sunshine. Strong local winds, such as the hot, dry sirocco from the south and the cold, dry mistral and bora from the north, blow across the sea. Fish (about 400 species), sponges, and corals are plentiful. In addition, oil and natural gas have been found in several sections of the sea. The overuse of the sea's natural and marine resources continues to be a problem.

History

Some of the most ancient civilizations (see Aegean civilization) flourished around the Mediterranean. It was opened as a highway for commerce by merchants trading from Phoenicia. Carthage, Greece, Sicily, and Rome were rivals for dominance of its shores and trade; under the Roman Empire it became virtually a Roman lake and was called Mare Nostrum [our sea]. Later, the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs dominated the Mediterranean. Between the 11th and 14th cent., Italian city trading states such as Genoa, Venice, and Barcelona dominated the region; they struggled with the Ottomans for naval supremacy, particularly in the E Mediterranean. Products of Asia passed to Europe over Mediterranean trade routes until the establishment of a route around the Cape of Good Hope (late 15th cent.).

With the opening of the Suez Canal (1869) the Mediterranean resumed its importance as a link on the route to the East. The development of the northern regions of Africa and of oil fields in the Middle East has increased its trade. Its importance as a trade link and as a route for attacks on Europe resulted in European rivalry for control of its coasts and islands and led to campaigns in the region during both world wars. Since World War II the Mediterranean region has been of strategic importance to both the United States and, until its dissolution, the Soviet Union. In 1995 countries bordering the Mediterranean signed a pact agreeing to protect it by eliminating toxic waste disposal there over a 10-year period.

Bibliography

See E. D. Bradford, Mediterranean, Portrait of a Sea (1971); J. E. Swain, The Struggle for the Control of the Mediterranean Prior to 1848 (1973); L. S. Kaplan and R. W. Clawson, ed., NATO and the Mediterranean (1984); M. Miloradov, ed., Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (1987); M. Grant, The Ancient Mediterranean (1988).

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