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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It is at the southern end of

Famagusta Bay Famagusta Bay (, ) is the easternmost body of water that is formed by the Karpasia peninsula and Protaras. It is named after the city of Famagusta, which lies almost right in the middle of the bay. The ancient city-state of Salamis also is ...

and forms part of Ayia Napa Municipality. It lies between the towns of

Ayia Napa Ayia Napa ( , ), officially Romanization, romanised Agia Napa, is a Tourism in Cyprus, tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus. Etymology The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian Cyprus, Venetian-era monaster ...

and

Protaras Protaras () is a predominantly tourist resort which comes under the administrative jurisdiction of Paralimni Municipality in Cyprus. In ancient times, where Protaras is now located, stood the old city-state of Leukolla.''The Princeton Encyclopedi ...

, both tourist resorts, and is visited by tourists for its natural environment. It is the easternmost point of both the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. According to local legend, it is also the home of the 'Ayia Napa sea monster'. The cape was known as ''Cape Pedalion'' () in antiquity. According to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

the trapezoidal hill lying above it was sacred to

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

Important Bird Area

A 1209 the area encompassing the cape has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

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 falcon The red-footed falcon (''Falco vespertinus''), formerly the western red-footed falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly ...

pallid harrier The 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'' (circle), referring to a bird of prey named for its circling fl ...

s, honey buzzards and

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus''), also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel or Old World kestrel, is a species of bird of prey, predatory bird belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family (biology), family Falconidae. ...

s, as well as supporting breeding populations of

Cyprus wheatear The Cyprus wheatear or Cyprus pied wheatear (''Oenanthe cypriaca'') is a small, 14–15 cm long passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flyc ...

s, Cyprus warblers and

black francolin The black francolin (''Francolinus francolinus'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes. It was formerly known as the black partridge. It is the state bird of Haryana state, India (locally known as ''kaala teet ...

s. 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 ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur trade, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and w ...

Transmitter

Cape Greco was the location of a powerful mediumwave broadcasting station operated by

Radio Monte Carlo Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) is the name of radio stations owned and managed by several different entities: Stations Radio Monte Carlo is considered one of the most popular networks especially in non-European Italian and French-speaking regions for it ...

; 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 Trans World Radio (TWR) is a multi-national evangelical Christianity, Christian media distributor. The largest Christian media organization in the world, it uses high-powered medium wave (AM) and short wave transmitters, local FM radio stations ...

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 2002, this transmitter carried the Arabic-language programme of

Radio Sawa Radio Sawa ( ) was an Arabic speaking radio station broadcasting to the Arab world from March 23, 2002 till November 2024. The station was a service of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., which also operates Alhurra Television and was pub ...

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 Tourism in Ayia Napa
{{coord, 35, 00, N, 34, 01, E, type:isle, display=title Greco Protected areas of Cyprus Important Bird Areas of Cyprus Raptor migration sites

Important Bird Area

Transmitter

See also

References

External links