Cyprus

Sitting at a Mediterranean maritime crossroads Cyprus has long been the target of invaders, including Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, British and Turks.
 Cyprus's modern history begins with the Victorians who, looking for strategic outpost, did a deal with Cyprus' Turkish rulers in 1878 to administer the island. The Ottomans had ruled for 300 years after ejecting the Venetians in 1570 and some 20,000 Turks lived happily enough alongside indigenous Greeks.
 All went well until World War I when Turkey sided with Germany and so Britain assumed sovereignty. This takeover was ratified in 1923. The Greeks were jubilant and thought this must lead to eventual rule from Athens. But British held on and disenchanted Greeks eventually launched terrorist attacks on British troops.
 In 1960 Cyprus became an independent state under a power sharing Greek/Turkish government. But an army coup in Greece in 1967 led to a CIA-backed Greek takeover of Cyprus in 1974. Fearing total loss of the island Turkey occupied the north of the island, triggering a wave of ethnic killings on both sides. Turkey declared the occupied territory a Turkish Republic in 1983. Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement plan in a 2004 referendum. There have been talks since but no solution, although Turkey's move to join the European Union has sharpened minds.