Culture in Cyprus

Culture in Cyprus  

Cypriot culture is divided between the northern Turkish and southern Greek parts of the country. Since 1974, the Turkish community in Northern Cyprus has been promoting its Turkish and Islamic culture, supporting its own newspapers and periodicals, and changing many place names to Turkish. The anniversary of the Turkish Republic is celebrated in the north, as are traditional Muslim holidays.

Greek Cypriots speak a dialect of Greek and have a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards mainland Greeks. However, most Greek Cypriots who go abroad for their postgraduate studies travel to Greece, and these young people participate in Greek popular culture, which is itself increasingly transnational. Nevertheless, Greek Cypriots take care to preserve their traditional culture and observe important holidays such as Easter (and the carnival before Easter) and Anthestiria, the festival of spring flowers.

Despite years of civil strife in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the younger generation of Greek Cypriots has grown up in a relatively peaceful, settled, and prosperous society that embraces aspects of traditional culture while embracing global trends in clothing and entertainment. These trends were introduced not only by the mass media, but also by the huge influx of young travelers whose presence in the clubs and dance bars all over the island is distinguishable.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike benefit from a rich tradition of handicrafts and folk arts. Among the best-known expressions of this art internationally are Cypriot lace—particularly that produced in the town of Lefkara near Nicosia—and the silverwork practiced throughout the island.

The geography of Cyprus has made Cyprus inherit numerous culinary traditions, especially those of Sham, Anatolia and Greece, but some dishes such as the island's halloumi cheese, porgouri (boiled cracked wheat dish), hiromeri (pressed, smoked and aged pork pie) and sakkok (sweets made from concentrated grape juice and almonds) are purely Cypriot. As in many Mediterranean countries, the appetizer, or meze, plays a central role in Cyprus and often takes the place of the main course. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a part of every meal and Cyprus has long been famous for its wine, viticulture has been practiced on the island for thousands of years