Soon after the British occupation of Cyprus in 1878, a German archaeologist wrote:

Since he wrote, nothing has happened, on land, on the sea, or in the air, to lessen the force of his words. The historian is reminded of them at every turn, beginning with his realization of the geographical position of the island, which lies towards the N.E. angle of the eastern basin of the Mediterranean, between lat. 34° 34′ and 35° 42′ N. and long. 32° 16′ and 34° 36′ E. of Greenwich. Asia Minor and Syria can be seen from it with the naked eye, Beirut, Haifa, Port Said and Alexandria are within the sailor's or flier's easy reach.

The third largest island in the Mediterranean (being a good deal smaller than Sicily and Sardinia), it has an area, according to the official figures, of 3584 square miles. It is thus somewhat larger than the two English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk combined. Its greatest length, from W.S.W. to E.N.E. (i.e. from Paphos harbour or C. Drepanum to C. St Andreas), is 138 miles; its greatest breadth, from N. to S. (i.e. from C. Kormakiti to C. Gata), 60 miles.