Dhekelia (thĕkäl'yä), Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, or Eastern Sovereign Base Area, British military base (2004 est. pop. 7,200), c.51 sq mi (131 sq km), SE Cyprus, on Larnaca Bay; an overseas territory of Great Britain. The base, which surrounds three small Cypriot enclaves, serves as a staging area for United Nations troops stationed in the Cyprus buffer zone. The residents are all military personnel or other British citizens. Dhekelia and Akrotiri remained under British sovereignty under the terms of the 1960 treaty that granted Cyprus independence.
Dhekelia
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Dhekelia |
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Introduction
| Background: | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The larger of these is the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area. |
Geography
| Location: | Eastern Mediterranean, on the southeast coast of Cyprus near Famagusta |
| Geographic coordinates: | 34 59 N, 33 45 E |
| Map references: | Middle East |
| Area: | total: 130.8 sq km note: area surrounds three Cypriot enclaves |
| Area - comparative: | about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries: | total: 103 km (approximately) border countries: Cyprus 103 km (approximately) |
| Coastline: | 27.5 km |
| Climate: | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters |
| Environment - current issues: | netting and trapping of small migrant songbirds in the spring and autumn |
| Geography - note: | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus; of the Sovereign Base Area land 60% is privately owned and farmed, 20% is owned by the Ministry of Defense, and 20% is SBA Crown land |
People
| Population: | approximately 15,700 live on the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia including 7,700 Cypriots, 3,600 Service and UK Based Contract personnel, and 4,400 dependents |
| Languages: | English, Greek |
Government
| Country name: | conventional long form: Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area conventional short form: Dhekelia |
| Dependency status: | a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus |
| Capital: | name: Episkopi Cantonment (base administrative center for Akrotiri and Dhekelia); located in Akrotiri geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Constitution: | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960, functions as a basic legal document |
| Legal system: | the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Administrator Major General Jamie GORDON (since October 2008); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defense elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Flag description: | the flag of the UK is used |
Economy
| Economy - overview: | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Dhekelia. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. |
| Industries: | none |
| Currency (code): | euro (EUR) adopted 1 January 2008; note - the Cypriot pound (CYP) formerly used |
| Exchange rates: | euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008) note: on 1 January 2008, Dhekelia and Akrotiri adopted the euro along with the rest of Cyprus |
Communications
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM NA, FM 1 (located in Akrotiri), shortwave NA (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia) (2006) |
Military
| Military - note: | includes Dhekelia Garrison and Ayios Nikolaos Station connected by a roadway |
Learn More
 | Akrotiri (geographical area, Cyprus/United Kingdom) |
| Outline of Akrotiri and Dhekelia |
| Postal Orders of the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area |
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Copyrights:
 |
 | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Statistics. The World Factbook 2009 is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Akrotiri (geographical area, Cyprus/United Kingdom)
- Outline of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
- Postal Orders of the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area
- Ormidhia
- Xylotymvou
- 16 Flight Army Air Corps
- Cyprus (country, island)
- Ayios Nikolaos Station
- Limassol District
- WSBA
- Agios Nikolaos (Cyprus)
- Strovilia
- 2008 in the European Union
- Akrotiri (disambiguation)
