Query: Cyprus is in the Middle East.

Relevant passages:
Cyprus <=SEP=> Cyprus ( -LSB- ˈsaɪprəs -RSB- -LSB- Κύπρος , Kýpros -RSB- -LSB- ˈcipros -RSB- ; Kıbrıs -LSB- ˈkɯbɾɯs -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of Cyprus ( -LSB- Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία , Kypriakí Demokratía , links = no -RSB- -LSB- Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti , links = no -RSB- ) , is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean . It is located south of Turkey , west of Syria and Lebanon , northwest of Israel and Palestine , north of Egypt , and southeast of Greece .   The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC . Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia , and Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world . Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC . As a strategic location in the Middle East , it was subsequently occupied by several major powers , including the empires of the Assyrians , Egyptians and Persians , from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great . Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt , the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire , Arab caliphates for a short period , the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians , was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 ( de jure until 1914 ) .   Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914 . While Turkish Cypriots made up 18 % of the population , the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders and Turkey in the 1950s . Turkish leaders for a period advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as Cyprus was considered an `` extension of Anatolia '' by them ; while since the 19th century , the majority Greek Cypriot population and its Orthodox church had been pursuing union with Greece , which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s . Following nationalist violence in the 1950s , Cyprus was granted independence in 1960 . In 1963 , the 11-year intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots started , which displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic . On 15 July 1974 , a coup d'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis , the incorporation of Cyprus into Greece . This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus , which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus the following month , after a ceasefire collapsed , and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots . A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983 ; the move was widely condemned by the international community , with Turkey alone recognizing the new state . These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute .   The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island , including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone , with the exception of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia , which remain under British control according to the London and Zürich Agreements . However , the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts : the area under the effective control of the Republic , located in the south and west , and comprising about 59 % of the island 's area ; and the north , administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , covering about 36 % of the island 's area . Another nearly 4 % of the island 's area is covered by the UN buffer zone . The international community considers the northern part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces . The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law , amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union .   Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean . With an advanced , high-income economy and a very high Human Development Index , the Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 . On 1 January 2008 , the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone .