by ge0rg10 » Thu Apr 12, 2007 2:31 pm
The first settlers on Cyprus were Greeks; Cyprus was part of Alexander the great’s empire and then part of the Byzantine Empire. The main language was Greek and everyone was a Greek orthodox. Cyprus was conquered by England during the third crusade, sold to France, became its own kingdom conquered by Venice but everyone still spoke Greek and were part of the Greek orthodox church. Then the Ottoman Empire got hold of Cyprus and lots of Turks settled in Cyprus and thus the birth of the 'Turkish Cypriot' they learnt how to speak Greek as a second language and were Muslim. Of course Greek Cypriots married Turkish Cypriots. But there was/is a cultural divide. Genetically Greek Cypriots are more similar to Turkish Cypriots than Greeks from Athens. So I can’t say I am a Greek but I can say I am a Greek Cypriot as I speak Greek and a part of the Greek Orthodox Church. This comes down to Culture, IM NOT SURE THAT MY ANCESTORS WERE FROM ATHENS BUT I AM DAM SURE THAT I SPEAK GREEK AND AM A PART OF GREEK CULTURE. Actually I have to say that I am quite offended by your comment.