Morphou Bay (, ''Kolpos Morfou''; ), is a part of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, located on the north-western side of the island of Cyprus. It is named after the nearby inland town of Morphou (; ). The Morphou Bay region is home to a couple of historical sites, the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city of Soli and the ruins known as Vouni Palace. The bay forms the westernmost seaboard of the break-away

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all o ...

, which claims the bay as its own territorial waters. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has received diplomatic recognition only from Turkey, on which it is dependent economically, politically and militarily. The rest of the international community, including the United Nations and European Union, recognises the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the entire island, including Morphou Bay. It was here that

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

began landing supplies and volunteers to assist the

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

when the intercommunal violence between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities started in December 1963.

See also