Cape Greco, also known as Capo Greco (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

for "Greek cape"; el, Κάβο Γκρέκο), is a headland in the southeastern part of the island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. It is at the southern end of Famagusta Bay and forms part of Ayia Napa Municipality. It lies between the towns of Ayia Napa and Protaras, both tourist resorts, and is visited by tourists for its natural environment. It is the easternmost point of both the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. According to local legend, it is also the home of the 'Ayia Napa sea monster'.

Important Bird Area

A 1209 the area encompassing the cape has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it is a key

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

site for large numbers of raptors and other birds. It forms a migratory bottleneck for red-footed falcons,

pallid harrier The pale or pallid harrier (''Circus macrourus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier subfamily. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek. ''Circus'' is from ''kirkos'', referring to a bird of prey named for its circling fli ...

s, honey buzzards and

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where n ...

s, as well as supporting breeding populations of Cyprus wheatears, Cyprus warblers and black francolins. Although the cape is a National Forest Park under the administration of the Forestry Department of the Cyprus Ministry of the Interior, the birds there are threatened by illegal

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithi ...

Transmitter

Cape Greco was the location of a powerful mediumwave broadcasting station operated by Radio Monte Carlo; it carried the French- and Arabic-language programme of Radio Monte Carlo Middle East / RMC Moyen-Orient aimed at audiences in the Middle East and Northern Africa. In the early morning hours and for some years at late night, it carried programmes of TWR in Arabic, Armenian and Persian. The transmitter site was constructed in the early 1970s and started operation 1973 carrying the French- and Arabic-language programme of Radio Radio Monte Carlo Middle East / RMC Moyen-Orient on a frequency of 1233 kHz with 600 kW. After 1974, early morning and late night hours were used to transmit programmes of Trans World Radio targeted at the Middle East. For financial reasons and declining importance of mediumwave, the RMC Moyen-Orient transmissions were terminated on 31 December 2019. The interest of the U.S. in a broadcasting facility to cover the Middle East led to a contract to use the reserve antenna and a second transmitter was installed in 1992. From 1992, this transmitter carried the Arabic-language programme of

Radio Sawa Radio Sawa ( ar, راديو سوا) is a Middle Eastern radio station broadcasting in the Arab world. The station is a service of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., which also operates Alhurra Television and is publicly funded by the U. ...

founded by the U.S. government. From the initial frequency of 981 kHz it had to move to 990 kHz because of interference with ERT broadcasting from Athens, the transmissions with 600 kW ceased on 1 July 2019. In early November 2021, both antennas were demolished and a nature reserve information centre was to take the place of the transmitter buildings.

References

External links

751 Signals Unit Cape Greco
{{coord, 35, 00, N, 34, 01, E, type:isle, display=title

Greco Greco may refer to: People * Greco (surname), a list of people with this surname * a masculine variant of Greca (given name), an Italian feminine given name * Greco Mafia clan, one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria Wine ...

Protected areas of Cyprus Important Bird Areas of Cyprus Raptor migration sites

Important Bird Area

Transmitter

See also

References

External links