Category Social Sciences

Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean, lies off the southern coast of Turkey, and the western shore of Syria. It was the site of early Phoenician and Greek colonies.

For centuries its rule passed through many hands. It fell to the Turks in 1571, and a large Turkish colony settled on the island. The British had control of Cyprus for sometime after World War I, but finally Cyprus became an independent nation on August 16th, 1960.

Cyprus is famous for many things. Its dessert wine, produced in the fertile high-altitude slopes in the southwest of Cyprus, has a sweet, herby taste that has made it very popular.

One of the most visited spots in Cyprus is the town of Paphos. The remains of ancient tombs, fortresses and palaces have made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There is also an interesting legend about Cyprus. The local people believe that the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, was born on a beach in Cyprus that’s named after her. Waves breaking over the rocks create pillars of foam, which according to the islanders, look like the goddess herself! 

Barbados, a small island, lies north of Venezuela in the Atlantic Ocean. Coral reefs circle a large part of the island. Barbados is thought to have been originally inhabited by Arawak Indians.

But, when the Europeans arrived, it was uninhabited. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to set foot on the island. However, it was the British who first established a colony there in 1627.

 When the British arrived in Barbados, the island was almost totally covered in dense jungle, with a very large population of wild pigs! The colonists cultivated tobacco, cotton, and later sugar, which proved to be enormously profitable. Slaves were brought in from Africa to work on sugar plantations, and eventually, the population was about 90 per cent black.

Britain granted the colony independence in 1966, and it became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. The name ‘Barbados’ is derived from the bearded fig trees once found in abundance on the island.

Ireland is an island in Northwestern Europe. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Channel, the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea.

Five sixths of this island comprises the Republic of Ireland. The other one sixth is a part of the United Kingdom. In the Stone and Bronze Ages, Ireland was inhabited by people called Picts in the north and Erainn in the south.

Around 4th BC tall, red-haired Celts arrived from Gaul. Saint Patrick introduced Christianity in AD 432, and the country developed into a center of Gaelic and Latin learning. Irish monasteries attracted intellectuals as well as the pious.

 These monasteries also sent out missionaries to many parts of Europe and even, it is believed, to North America. Ireland is an island of lush vegetation, thick woods, low mountains, and a mild climate. Peninsulas and lakes, breathtaking monuments dating from prehistoric times, as well as fabulous ruins of castles and monasteries, all make Ireland a tourist’s dream.

When you think of Iceland, you think of ice… but, remarkably, Iceland is not covered by ice the way Greenland is. This island nation lies in the Arctic region of Northern Europe. Iceland was discovered by the Vikings, a seafaring race of people.

The Scandinavians settled there in AD 874. Iceland was later ruled by the Norwegians and Danes, until it became an independent nation in 1918 and a republic in 1944. Iceland has lava fields, mountains, and glaciers. In some places, the ice on the glaciers is 1000 metres thick!

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Mauritius is a small island nation in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is located to the east of Madagascar Island, near South Africa. Because of its spectacular beauty and strategic location, it is referred to as the ‘star and key’ of the Indian Ocean.

The nation is made up of the island of Mauritius, Rodrigues, and the outer islands. The island was formed as a result of volcanic activity in the Indian Ocean millions of years ago.

Mauritius was visited by the Arabs and then by the Portuguese. It was later ruled by the French and the British, until it became an independent nation. Caressed by a turquoise ocean, Mauritius is famed for its breathtaking landscapes.

Its dazzling white beaches, coral reefs, seven colours of sands and sand dunes attract tourists from every corner of the planet. There are also a number of unique plants and animals that are found only on this island. Amazingly, there are no wild animals here in this tropical paradise-even the snakes are not poisonous!

The Republic of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. This island nation lies in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa. It is a truly amazing place, for over 70 per cent of the 250,000 wildlife species found in Madagascar are found nowhere else in the world, and 90 per cent of the estimated 14,000 plants native to Madagascar cannot be seen anywhere else on the planet either.

For example, the lemur is only found in the wild in Madagascar. As of 2012, there were 103 living species of lemur in Madagascar, including sub-species. One of the reasons for Madagascar’s unique wildlife is the island’s distance from anywhere else.

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