United for Cyprus

Why 3 Flags in One Country

 

Before the flag of Cyprus was introduced, the flags of Turkey and Greece were used.

 

The creator of the Cyprus flag was İsmet Güney, a Turkish Cypriot painter, born in 1932, Limassol/Cyprus. The current flag was created as the result of a design competition in 1960. Under the constitution, the flag should not include either red or blue colours (the colours of the flags of Turkey and Greece).

 

The white flag was chosen for the young Cyprus as a sign of peace among the 2 communities living there (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots). The map of the island is golden yellow, for the sake of easier reproduction of what was originally intended to be a colour of copper. The two green olive branches symbolise peace between the 2 communities of the island.

 

Currently, only the government-controlled southern part of Cyprus uses Güney’s original flag since the division of the island in 1974.

 

The illegal Turkish TRNC flags were drawn on the Pentadaktylos mountain range, facing south.