As I’m still recounting tales of my most recent trip, I realized no one really knows where I’m talking about when I say I went to Cyprus, so I decided it was high time for a little Geography 101 lesson. Cyprus is a small island in the Mediterranean that is geographically Middle Eastern/ North African. The island is divided into two separate zones: the North controlled by Turkish rule (marked by the giant flag on the side of the mountain), and the South is Greek Cypriot (that’s where I was, where people speak Greek and the food is delicious Greek fare). Despite the fact that a couple years ago the border between the two zones opened, there is still tension and division linked to a long history that will keep the two zones separate (my Cypriot friends have crossed into the Turkish zone once, but have no desire to go back).

{via CIA World Fact Book}