Strategically located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with access to Europe, Asia, and Africa is the island of Cyprus.

Cyprus has a history that goes back as far as civilization itself, and it has had a history with almost every major civilization and empire around the Mediterranean.

Its history isn't just a relic of the ancient world. It has remained strategically important and a source of conflict to the present day.

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Cyprus has historically been one of the most important islands in the world. It sits

at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, and has played a significant role in every major

civilization and empire from

Mesopotamia to the Straits of Gibraltar. The earliest human presence on Cyprus states back to

about 10,000 BC when hunter-gatherers first arrived, likely from the nearby Anatolian coast in what is

today Turkey. These Paleolithic people left behind important to archaeological evidence at sites

like idocremnos, where they appear to have driven the island's endemic pygmy hippopotamus and

elephants to extinction through hunting. And this was one of the great tragedies of the world,

because we no longer have hippos and elephants that are the size of large dogs, which would have been

really awesome to have as pets. The Ne are the size of large dogs, which would have been really

awesome to have as pets. The Neolithic period, beginning around 8200 BC, marked Cyprus's

first major cultural transformation. The people of Chirokidia developed a sophisticated society

with distinctive roundhouses, advanced stone tools, and elaborate burial practices.

What makes this period particularly fascinating is that these Neolithic Cypriots live for nearly

2,000 years without pottery, instead using carved stone vessels. This pottery-free period, unique

in the Mediterranean, ended around 5,500 BC when new settlers brought

ceramic technology to the island. The introduction of copper working around 3,000 BC fundamentally

altered Cyprus's destiny. The island's rich copper deposits, particularly in the Trotos Mountains,

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