Description
Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean, located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, north of Israel, the Gaza Strip (Palestinian territories) and Egypt, and southeast of Greece. Its capital is Nicosia. Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish. Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic are recognised as minority languages. Although without official status, English is widely spoken and it features widely on road signs, public notices, advertisements, etc.
The national flag of Cyprus came into use on 16 August 1960, under the Zurich and London Agreements, whereby a constitution was drafted and Cyprus was proclaimed an independent state. The flag was designed by art teacher İsmet Güney. The design of the flag deliberately employs peaceful and neutral symbols in an attempt to indicate harmony between the rival Greek and Turkish communities. The state flag features the shape of the entirety of the island, with two olive branches below (a symbol of peace between the island’s two communities) on white (another symbol of peace). The olive branches signify peace between the Greeks and Turks. The map on the flag is a copper-orange colour, symbolising the large deposits of copper ore on the island, from which it may have received its name.