Akrotiri

Eastern Mediterranean, peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus

34 37 N, 32 58 E

Middle East

123 sq km

About 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

48 km

Cyprus 48 km

56.3 km

Temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) land, 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land

(2020) approximately 18,195 on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 11,000 Cypriots and 7,195 Service and UK-based contract personnel and dependents

English, Greek

Το Παγκόσμιο Βιβλίο Δεδομένων, η απαραίτητη πηγή βασικών πληροφοριών. (Greek) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

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Hunting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base

Temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters

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Akrotiri

Named for the village that lies within the Western Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus

A special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus

Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia)

34 40 N, 32 51 E

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

"Episkopi" means "episcopal" in Greek and stems from the fact that the site previously served as the bishop's seat of an Orthodox diocese

Presented 3 August 1960, effective 16 August 1960 (The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960 serves as a basic legal document)

Amended 1966

Laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus; note - the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters

King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)

Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Peter J.M. SQUIRES (since 1 September 2022); note - administrator reports to the British Ministry of Defense and is also Commander, British Forces Cyprus (BFC); the chief officer, an appointed civilian, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the civil government of the Sovereign Base Areas

The monarchy is hereditary; administrator appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Ministry of Defense

Senior Judges' Court (consists of several visiting judges from England and Wales)

See entry for United Kingdom

Resident Judges' Court; Courts Martial

None (overseas territory of the UK)

None (overseas territory of the UK)

The flag of the UK is used

Note: as a UK area of special sovereignty, "God Save the King" is official (see United Kingdom)

Note: uses the euro

British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite TV service as well as BFBS radio broadcasts to the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area

Defense is the responsibility of the UK; Akrotiri (aka the Western Sovereign Base Area) has a full Royal Air Force base, headquarters for British Forces Cyprus, and the Episkopi Cantonment

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