FullMetalTurk wrote:Piratis wrote:Lets get some facts straight:
1) Cyprus is as Greek as any other Greek territory and island. .
"lets get some facts staright" lets do.
the very first people to discover cyprus were nomads from the middle east who sailed to the island, resided temporarily, then left. this was
in 8000 BC. then came
the Khirokitians who died out a few centuries later. then followed
Hittite and ancient egyptian rule in 2000 BC.
Hellenistic rule was only between 333 and 58 BC - just 275 years. then
until 1571 it was roman - byzantine, venetian etc. the fact is, greeks have always lived on the island after the ancient egyptians left,
but cyprus has never been a greek island. if you call it a roman island fair enough, because it was under byzantine and venetian rule, but then i would have the right to call it an ottoman island.
Cyprus was never part of the Hittite empire, and it was under Egypt rule much later, and only for some decades, at around the 7th century BC.
The Greeks were among the first people to come to Cyprus and they did so at around 1400BC, not 333. (333 was when Alexander the Great liberated Cypriots from the Persians.)
After 1400 B.C., Mycenaean and Mycenaean-Achaean traders from the northeastern Peloponnesus began regular commercial visits to the island. Settlers from the same areas arrived in large numbers toward the end of the Trojan War (traditionally dated about 1184 B.C.). Even in modern times, a strip of the northern coast was known as the Achaean Coast in commemoration of those early settlers. The newcomers spread the use of their spoken language and introduced a script that greatly facilitated commerce. They also introduced the potter's wheel and began producing pottery that eventually was carried by traders to many mainland markets. By the end of the second millennium B.C., a distinctive culture had developed on Cyprus. The island's culture was tempered and enriched by its position as a crossroads for the commerce of three continents, but in essence it was distinctively Hellenic.
When the Greeks first came to Cyprus most of the island was uninhabited. Unlike the foreign rulers that came after (Egyptians, Persians, Ottomans, British etc) the Greeks came to Cyprus and created their own cities and made Cyprus their home. On the contrary those foreign rulers didn't create their own cities like the Greeks (and Phoenicians) did, but simply send their troops to our island with the aim to enslave and exploit Cyprus and its people.
Cyprus is Greek because its people and culture are Greek in their great majority and they have been so for 1000s of years. Few nations today can claim such a long history on the territories they currently inhabit.
It always amazes me when some people come to claim that Cyprus is not Greek and then they can not explain how Cypriots speak Greek and follow a Greek religion (Olympus Gods, then Orthodox Christianity) and Greek culture. Apparently these people confuse what Cyprus
is with the who
rules Cyprus against the will of Cypriots.
Lets compare Cyprus and Asia Minor for example. Is Asia Minor Turkish and should it be called "Turkey"?
The Greeks came to Cyprus 3500 years ago, and they were among the first inhabitants of the island and created their own new cities.
The Turks went to Asia Minor just 600 years ago, and they arrived there as invadors, killing and stealing the lands and cities others before them had created.
The Greeks are the 80% majority in Cyprus. The Turkish minority was created by means of force during the Ottoman rule, otherwise GCs would have been an even greater majority on the island.
The Turks are the 80% majority in Asia Minor. They became the majority by killing millions of Armenians, Kurds and Greeks. If they had not done so they would not be the majority in Asia Minor.
So if you claim that Cyprus is not Greek because some tribes had arrived in Cyprus before the Greeks, then you certainly can not claim that Asia Minor is Turkish.
A Cypriot is as Cypriot as a Cretan is a Cretan, and as an Athenian is an Athenian. Being Greek and being Cypriot is not something contradictory. I am Limassolian, Cypriot, Greek, European, human on planet earth. Being from Limassol doesn't mean I can not be Cypriot. It actually means I am most probably Cypriot. And being Cypriot means that I am most probably Greek. And being Greek means that I am European.
