Only a â‚¬10 billion ( $ 13.7 billion ) Cyprus on the eastern edges of the Mediterranean Sea has had a long history of independence . It has been conquered by Arab armies , the Venetians and the Ottomans and was a British colony . In 1974 , Turkish forces invaded Cyprus partitioning the island into a zone for Turkish Cypriots . Until recent the recent banking crisis the Republic of Cyprus has grown to have one of the most successful economies in the world .
Cyprus on the eastern edges of the Mediterranean Sea has had a long history of independence . It has been conquered by Arab armies , the Venetians and the Ottomans and was a British colony . In 1974 , Turkish forces invaded Cyprus partitioning the island into a zone for Turkish Cypriots . Until recent the recent banking crisis the Republic of Cyprus has grown to have one of the most successful economies in the world .