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Cyprus
The island of Cyprus is situated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and is divided into two states, the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Cyprus (not recognised by many states). The distance to the south coast of Turkey is 70 km, to the east coast of Rhodes almost 400 km and to the Greek mainland more than 800 km.
HISTORY OF WINE
Viticulture on the island dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. According to mythology, the Greek god of wine, Dionysus, preferred the wines of this island for his feasts. Aphrodite, born of foam, emerged from the sea at the Roman Rock and landed near the Akamas peninsula. The Phoenicians and Greeks established the tradition of sweet wines in antiquity. Floor mosaics in the port city of Paphos bear witness to this wine culture. The latest research indicates that Cyprus may have been the birthplace of Mediterranean wine, almost 1,500 years before other areas such as Greece, Phoenicia and Rome. Homer was already praising the quality of Cypriot wines, sweet as honey.
After the Third Crusade, the island became the property of the Order of St. John in 1911, later of the Order of the Templars and after its dissolution in 1312, of the Knights of St. John again. The order managed the so-called encomiendas (estates with vineyards). Its stronghold was the castle Kolossi, called Grand Commandery, Commanderie referred to the fortress which was called Grand to differentiate it from the two smaller ones in Paphos (Phoenix) and Kyrenia (Temples), this area ended up being referred to simply as Commandaria. When the knights began to produce large quantities of wine for export to the royal courts of Europe and to supply pilgrims en route to the Holy Land, the sweet wine Commandaria, made from mavro and xinisteri grapes grown at the foot of the Troodos Mountains, was given the name of the region. It therefore has the distinction of being the oldest wine appellation still in production.
Between 1489 and 1571, Cyprus belonged to the Republic of Venice. It is said that this wine was the reason why the Turkish Sultan Soliman II conquered the island. The Ottoman rule from 1571 to 1878 caused the decline of the wine culture due to the prohibition of alcohol. Under British rule from 1878 to 1960 there was a new upswing. Commandaria and similar wines, formerly known as Cyprus Sherry, became export centres.