History of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
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Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia |
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.svg) Coat of arms of Her Majesty's Government
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Location of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (red)
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Location of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (pink)
on Cyprus (pink, grey & beige) |
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| Status | British Overseas Territory |
| Capital and largest settlement |
Episkopi |
| Official languages | English |
| Other languages |
Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriot Turkish Turkish |
| Demonym | Akrotic-Dhecelic Akrotirian |
| Government | Constitutional monarchy under a |
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• Monarch
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Elizabeth II |
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• Administrator
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Major-General James Illingworth OBE ex officio |
| Legislature | SBA Administration |
| Established in 1960 | |
| Area | |
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• Total
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254 km2 (98 sq mi) |
| Population | |
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• Estimate
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| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
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• Summer (DST)
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EEST (UTC+3) |
| Drives on the | left |
| Calling code | +357 |
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (abbr. SBA; Greek: Περιοχές Κυρίαρχων Βάσεων Ακρωτηρίου και Δεκέλιας, Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou kai Dekélias; Turkish: Egemen Üs Bölgeleri Ağrotur ve Dikelya), is a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and installations, as well as other land, were retained by the British under the 1960 treaty of independence, signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, which granted independence to the Crown colony of Cyprus. The territory serves an important role as a station for signals intelligence and provides a vital strategic part of the United Kingdom communications gathering and monitoring network in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
The territory is composed of two Base Areas. One is Akrotiri (Greek: Ακρωτήρι pronounced [akroˈtiri]; Turkish: Ağrotur [ˈɑɰɾotuɾ]), or the Western Sovereign Base Area (WSBA), which includes two main bases at RAF Akrotiri and Episkopi, plus all of Akrotiri Village's district (including Limassol Salt Lake) and parts of eleven other village districts. The other area is Dhekelia Cantonment (Δεκέλεια [ðeˈceʎa]; Dikelya), or the Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA), which includes a base at Ayios Nikolaos plus parts of twelve village districts.
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