| I was recently asked to visit the Mediterranean | | | | Foreign Office, either directly or via their website, |
| island of Cyprus on an assignment. My initial | | | | if you are ever unsure about the safety issues |
| reaction was to wonder whether Cyprus was a | | | | involved in traveling to any part of the world. |
| safe place to visit, given that I had some | | | | The advice is updated regularly and the first thing |
| recollection of recent problems in the area. | | | | that I spotted is that the Turkish Republic of |
| Indeed, when I looked into the situation more | | | | Northern Cyprus is not officially recognized by |
| closely, I realized that Cyprus is an island that is | | | | Great Britain. The Republic of Cyprus, on the |
| effectively split in two. While the southern part of | | | | other hand, is a full member of the European |
| the island is ruled by a Cypriot government, being | | | | Union. |
| favored by Greece, part of the north of the | | | | In terms of safety, the main concerns outlined |
| island is currently 'occupied'. | | | | appeared to be that of terrorist attack (a threat |
| The northern part of the island has a Turkish | | | | shared with much of the rest of Europe) and the |
| Cypriot government, following an invasion that | | | | dangers caused by high temperatures. |
| took place in the 1970s. It's clearly a place that | | | | It was also noted that Cyprus, like anywhere else |
| has had some problems. | | | | in Europe, does have its fair share of crime, |
| Being a pawn in a game between Turkey and | | | | although not to a greater extent than elsewhere |
| Cyprus did not appear to be the safest place to | | | | on the continent. |
| be in the world and it had not escaped my notice | | | | One item that certainly proved true once I got to |
| that Cyprus is very much part of the Middle East | | | | the island was that Cypriots aren't the best of |
| in terms of its geographical location (at the | | | | drivers - take care on the roads. |
| eastern end of the Med). | | | | All in all, Cyprus is a relatively safe place to travel |
| I decided to take some official advice on the | | | | to. Take the usual precautions that you would do |
| safety of traveling to the island and consulted the | | | | when traveling and it seems that the Foreign |
| Foreign Office - I'd recommend consulting the | | | | Office advice is that you should be fine. |