Island of Cyprus in the context of "Western Asia"

West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian highlands, the Levant, the island of Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula and the South Caucasus. The region is separated from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt, and separated from Europe by the waterways of the Turkish Straits and the watershed of the Greater Caucasus. Central Asia lies to its northeast, while South Asia lies to its east. Twelve seas surround the region (clockwise): the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Gulf of Suez, and the Mediterranean Sea. West Asia contains the majority of the similarly defined Middle East. The Middle East is a political term invented by Western geographers that has historically included various territories depending on political and historical context, while West Asia is a geographical term with more accuracy and consistency. It excludes most of Egypt and the northwestern part of Turkey, and includes the southern part of the Caucasus.

West Asia covers an area of 5,994,935 km (2,314,657 sq mi), with a population of about 313 million. Of the 20 UN member countries fully or partly within the region, 13 are part of the Arab world. The most populous countries in West Asia are Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The Karpas Peninsula (Greek: Καρπασία, romanized: Karpasía; Turkish: Karpaz), also known as the Karpass, Karpaz or Karpasia, is a long, finger-like peninsula that is one of the most prominent geographical features of the island of Cyprus. Its farthest extent is Cape Apostolos Andreas, and its major population centre is the town of Rizokarpaso (Greek: Ριζοκάρπασο; Turkish: Dipkarpaz). It is currently under the de facto control of the internationally-unrecognised state of Northern Cyprus.

Morphou Bay (Greek: Κόλπος Μόρφου, Kolpos Morfou; Turkish: Güzelyurt Körfezi), is a part of the Mediterranean Sea, located on the north-western side of the island of Cyprus. It is named after the nearby inland town of Morphou (Greek: Μόρφου; Turkish: Güzelyurt).

The Morphou Bay region is home to a couple of historical sites, the ancient Greek city of Soli and the ruins known as Vouni Palace.

Cape Kormakitis (Greek: Ακρωτήριο Κορμακίτη, Akrotírio Kormakíti, Turkish: Koruçam Burnu), anciently known as Crommyon or Krommyon (Ancient Greek: Κρομμύων ἄκρα, romanized: Krommyon akra or Κρομμύου ἄκρα) and also Crommyacum or Krommyakon (Κρομμυακόν) is a promontory on the north-western coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, located in the self-proclaimed republic of Northern Cyprus. Named after the nearby Maronite village of the same name, the cape marks the northernmost extent of Morphou Bay. The nearest coastal town to Cape Kormakitis is Kyrenia. Anciently, it was opposite to Anemurium in Cilicia on what is now the Turkish mainland.

The Beşparmak Trail, a 255 km long hiking trail, starts at Cape Kormakitis, and follows the Kyrenia Mountains all the way to Cape Apostolos Andreas, the north-easternmost point on Cyprus, at the tip of the Karpaz Peninsula.

The Kyrenia Mountains (Greek: Κερύνειο Όρος; Turkish: Girne Dağları) are a long, narrow mountain range that runs for approximately 160 km (100 mi) along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of hard crystalline limestone, with some marble. Its highest peak is Mount Selvili, at 1,024 m (3,360 ft). Pentadaktylos (also spelt Pentadactylos; Greek: Πενταδάκτυλος; Turkish: Beşparmak) is another name for the Kyrenia Mountains, though Britannica refers to Pentadaktylos as the "western portion" of the latter, or the part west of Melounta. Pentadaktylos (lit. "five-fingered") is so-named after one of its most distinguishing features, a peak that resembles five fingers.

The Kyrenian mountains are named after the Kyrenian mountains in Achaia, Greece, which are well known from mythology because of the connection with one of the 12 labours of Hercules, the capture of the Kerynitis deer that lived there. This sacred deer of Artemis with golden horns and bronze legs ran so fast that no one could reach it. Hercules, however, after pursuing it for a whole year, managed to catch it and transport it alive to Mycenae.

The Mesaoria (Greek: Μεσαορία, Turkish: Mesarya) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus.

The Kingdom of Cyprus (French: Royaume de Chypre; Latin: Regnum Cypri) was a medieval kingdom of the Crusader states that existed between 1192 and 1489. Initially ruled as an independent Christian kingdom, it was established by the French House of Lusignan after the Third Crusade. It comprised not only the entire island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anatolian mainland: Antalya between 1361 and 1373, and Corycus between 1361 and 1448.

The Sea Peoples were a group of tribes hypothesized to have attacked Egypt and other Eastern Mediterranean regions around 1200 BC during the Late Bronze Age. The hypothesis was proposed by the 19th-century Egyptologists Emmanuel de Rougé and Gaston Maspero, on the basis of primary sources such as the reliefs on the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. Subsequent research developed the hypothesis further, attempting to link these sources to other Late Bronze Age evidence of migration, piracy, and destruction. While initial versions of the hypothesis regarded the Sea Peoples as a primary cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse, more recent versions generally regard them as a symptom of events which were already in motion before their purported attacks.

The Sea Peoples included well-attested groups such as the Lukka and Peleset, as well as others such as the Weshesh whose origins are unknown. Hypotheses regarding the origin of the various groups are the source of much speculation. Several of them appear to have been Aegean tribes, while others may have originated in Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Southern Italy, Cyprus, and Western Anatolia.