Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 16.1.
Selected Mediterranean and European countries in comparison.
Hotels and similar
accommodation
Population
density
(per km
2
)
No. of
passenger cars per
1,000 population
Area
(in km
2
)
Motorways
(in km)
No. of
establishments
No. of beds
('000s)
Country
Malta
316
1,239
0
508
188
39
Cyprus
9,251
82
268
405
803
92
Greece
132,000
80
742
333
8,899
668
Italy
301,000
192
6,478
590
33,840
1,969
Spain
505,000
78
9,910
460
17,402
1,512
France
544,000
108
10,223
490
18,217
1,207
Turkey
814,578
77
1,851
66
1,862
NA
Source:
Eurostat, 2005.
A history of British colonial occupation
100 km from Turkey - since ancient times. The
island was absorbed by the Ottoman Turks in
1571 and remained in their hands until 1878,
when it was ceded to Britain for administrative
purposes. At the outbreak of World War I the
British formally annexed Cyprus. Civil violence
began in 1955 with Greek demands for
enosis
-
union with Greece. This was resisted strongly
by the Turkish population, who, as a counter,
pressed for a partition of Cyprus into Turkish
and Greek sectors. Britain had two military
bases on the island, reflecting Cyprus' role as a
last remaining British defence garrison in the
eastern Mediterranean. In 1959 preparations
for independence began, and the Republic of
Cyprus was constituted in 1960, being admitted
to the British Commonwealth the following
year. Independence was guaranteed by Britain,
Greece and Turkey, under agreements signed
in Zurich and London. This status prohibited
union with another state, or partition of the
island into two or more parts. The president
would be Greek and the vice-president Turkish.
British sovereignty was retained over the two
areas used as military bases. Despite throwing
off the colonial yoke, there developed little
concept of a Cypriot nationhood. Citizens con-
tinued to think of themselves either as Greek or
Turkish Cypriots (Hall, 2000a), and at the time
of independence, the island's demographic
(im)balance was 80% Greek Cypriot and 20%
Turkish Cypriot.
North African Arabs occupied the Maltese
islands from the 9th to the 13th century and
left behind notable imprints of their culture,
particularly on the Maltese language. Ruled
by the throne of Aragon from the early 14th
century, in 1530 the islands were granted to the
International Order of the Knights of St John of
Jerusalem by Charles V of Spain. The Knights
administered the islands for the next 268 years
until Napoleon occupied the country in 1798
in the name of the French Republic. Within
two years the French were forced to surrender
following a land and sea blockade by combined
Maltese and British forces, and in 1800 Malta
became part of the British empire.
Independence was gained in 1964 and
Malta was declared a republic within the British
Commonwealth in 1974. Until the 1960s the
economy had been dependent upon require-
ments of the British armed services and the
naval dockyard (Mizzi, 1994). On independ-
ence, the country's small internal markets, insu-
larity, and limited range of natural resources,
appeared to severely limit development options
(Bramwell, 2003). Subsequently, light industry
(textiles, electronic components) and tourism
were developed as major sources of employ-
ment (Lockhart and Mason, 1989; MTA, 1999).
Greeks have inhabited Cyprus - 800 km
from the mainland of Greece and less than
