Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia ( SBA; ; ), is a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and installations, as well as other land, were retained by the British under the 1960 treaty of independence, signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, which granted independence to the Crown colony of Cyprus. The territory serves an important role as a station for signals intelligence and provides a vital strategic part of the United Kingdom communications gathering and monitoring network in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. 

The territory is composed of two Base Areas. One is Akrotiri, or the "Western Sovereign Base Area" ("WSBA"), which includes two main bases at RAF Akrotiri and Episkopi, plus all of Akrotiri Village's district (including Limassol Salt Lake) and parts of eleven other village districts. The other area is Dhekelia Cantonment, or the "Eastern Sovereign Base Area" ("ESBA"), which includes a base at Ayios Nikolaos plus parts of twelve village districts. 

The Sovereign Base Areas were created in 1960 by the London and Zurich Agreements, when Cyprus achieved independence from the British Empire. The United Kingdom desired to retain sovereignty over these areas, as this guaranteed the use of UK military bases on Cyprus, including RAF Akrotiri, and a garrison of the British Army. The importance of the bases to the British is based on the strategic location of the island, at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean, close to the Suez Canal and the Middle East; the ability to use the RAF base as staging post for military aircraft; and for training.
When were they created?
The Sovereign Base Areas were created in 1960