Nicosia·Monday, September 21, 2026
Cyprus Lifestyle
The Island, At Its Best
At the meeting point of Europe, Asia and Africa, the island has always belonged to more than one map.
Look at a map and Cyprus explains itself. Set in the far eastern Mediterranean, within sight of no one but a short sail from three continents, the island has always been a meeting point — and everyone who passed left something behind.
Phoenicians and Greeks, Romans and Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans and the British each ruled here, and each left a mark you can still read — in the mosaics of Paphos, the walls of Nicosia and Famagusta, the churches and mosques, the loan-words in the language and the dishes on the table. Few places of this size hold so many pasts at once.
Today Cyprus is a member of the European Union whose culture still faces in every direction — Greek at its heart, Mediterranean in its habits, and comfortably connected to the Levant and beyond. That crossroads character is not a footnote; it is the island's defining trait, and much of what makes it so easy to belong to.
The island's past is best read on foot, site by site. Tell our concierge what draws you and we will map a route through the layers.
The week on the island, chosen and written by our editors — property, culture and the good life, in one considered email.
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