Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, north of the Sinai Peninsula, south of the Anatolian Peninsula, and west of the Levant. It is geographically a part of West Asia, but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is east of Greece, north of Egypt, south of Turkey, and west of Lebanon and Syria. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. Reggae is rooted out from traditional Jamaican Kumina, Pukkumina, Revival Zion, Nyabinghi, and burru drumming. Jamaican reggae music evolved out of the earlier genres mento, ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.
Limassol is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population of 262,238. The Limassol municipality is the most populated in Cyprus, with a population of 108,105, followed by Strovolos municipality in Nicosia.
Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city on the east coast of the de facto state Northern Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages, Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are de facto part of Northern Cyprus as the capital of the Gazimağusa District.
Kyrenia is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus.
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot community which runs the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island, where troops of the Republic of Turkey are deployed. This dispute is an example of a protracted social conflict. The Cyprus dispute's causes stem from ethnic Greek nationalist ideology, Greek-Cypriot sentiment, the Megali Idea and Enosis, and some of the ethnic Turkish peoples' desire for the partition of the island of Cyprus through Taksim as a means of protection of their people by what they considered to be the threat of Greek-Cypriots.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
The music of Cyprus includes a variety of traditional, Western classical and Western popular genres. Cypriot traditional music is similar to the traditional music of Greece with Turkish and Arab influences, and includes dances like sousta, syrtos, ballos, tatsia, antikristos, arabiye, karotseris, sinalik, chiftetteli, zeimbekiko and the mandra dance.
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
Paphos is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. It is the fourth-largest city in the country, after Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca, with an urban population of 63,600 in 2018.
Ayia Napa, officially romanised Agia Napa, is a tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus.
Cypriot euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. It has completed the third stage of the EMU and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008.
The Turkish Cypriot diaspora is a term used to refer to the Turkish Cypriot community living outside the island of Cyprus.
The British Cypriot community in the United Kingdom consists of British people born on, or with ancestors from, the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. British Cypriot people may be of Greek, Turkish, Maronite, or Armenian descent.
Greece–Israel relations are the bilateral relationship between the Hellenic Republic and the State of Israel.
The California Roots Music and Art Festival is an American annual music and art festival, featuring reggae, reggae rock, folk, hip hop acts and live painting on-stage. The festival was founded in 2010 by Jeff Monser, and is held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California which was previously home of the Monterey Pop Festival where Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire in 1967. In its first year, the festival began as a one-day event headlining the Dirty Heads and Tribal Seeds. Today, The California Roots Festival has grown enormously in both size and attendance. It is organized over three full days with more than 11,000 attendees each day. It is described as the largest reggae-rock festival in the world and claims to one of the largest reggae festivals in the United States.
Easy Star Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996. Based in New York City, the label primarily produces and releases albums in the genres of reggae and dub.
Dancehall pop is a sub-genre of the Jamaican genre dancehall that originated in the early 2000s. Developing from the sounds of reggae, dancehall pop is characteristically different in its fusion with western pop music and digital music production. Dancehall pop is also different from dancehall in that most songs use lesser Jamaican Patois in lyrics––allowing it to be globally understood and consumed. It also incorporates the key pop music elements of having melodies, hooks, and the verse-chorus format. Additionally, the genre moves away from the reggae and roots reggae music origins in social and political protest, now lyrically centering on partying, dancing, and sexuality.
Jaya Sri, are a Sri Lankan reggae consisting of Rohitha Jayalath, Rohan Jayalath, who are twins along with five more members to form full band. Considered one of the most commercially successful music duos in Sri Lanka, Jaya Sri has received global success in many European countries particularly with their literal mixed reggae, hip hop style modern infusion in taking Western and Sinhala music.
