Island on the eastern edges of the Mediterranean Sea has had a long history of conquest . The island was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and then again by Julius Caesar during his invasion of Egypt in 44 BCE. In 1974 , Turkish forces invaded Cyprus partitioning the north 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 region .
Island on the eastern edges of the Mediterranean Sea has had a long history of conquest . 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 north 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 region .