Cyprus

Cyprus is a major Mediterranean island and country in Europe at latitude 35°07′48.00″ North, longitude 33°27′36.00″ East.

Disputed place names

Please see the discussion at Disputes.

The mailing list archive of the specific discussion is available at:

• https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2007-November/019670.html

For the tag "name", please use the name that people who are living in that area are using, e.g. in Northern Cyprus, Turkish. In the Republic of Cyprus, Greek (See On the Ground Rule).

Besides places being renamed during and after the 1974 conflict, many had already undergone name changes in recent history - post 1950. Editors are encouraged to use the EU funded bi-communal online resource at PRIO Cyprus Center to look up place names, and more importantly when the place was renamed.

The "int_name" and "official_name" tags can also be used, but editors must be absolutely sure that the name they want to use is correct. As stated, many villages were renamed prior to 1974, and their names are still valid. Do not use these tags as a legal document. This also applies to name changes in the Republic of Cyprus after 1974. Though not recognized by Northern Cyprus; they meet the criteria for the "on the ground" rule.

An example of a village renamed prior to 1974 and thus recognized:

• name=Ozanköy
• name:en=Ozankoy
• old_name=Kazafani

In the example above, using name:el=Kazafani would be incorrect, as the village was renamed in 1958.

An example of a village renamed after 1974, which is not the recognized name:

• name=Tatlısu
• name:en=Tatlisu
• name:el=Akanthou

The example above reflects the current name, but also that the Greek current name still stands. Other locals can also be used, but must be a translation (or near approximation) of the value in the "name" tag.

Also, be aware that there were villages which always had two names. In this case, use the current name in "name" and the second name in "name:el=" or "name:tr=", which ever is applicable.

It is understood that "old_name", does not give a historical perspective - when the name changed - and this needs further discussion.

Using name:*=* with an ISO language designation (e.g. name:el=* or name:tr=* will render the map in many third-party sites and applications in the language desired.

As can be seen from the above, place names are a complicated and sensitive subject. If you are unsure of a name then research it in the link below. If you are still unsure afterwards then leave it alone.

Deleting, reverting and editing place names in a way that goes against OSM rules will be considered as Vandalism. There are no exceptions for political, personal or religious purposes.

Abandoned villages

The island has many abandoned villages. The tag "abandoned" does not cover such, and they will probably not be displayed in default renderings.

Administrative divisions

Cyrpus is administratively divided into:

• 5 districts (επαρχίες) in the Republic of Cyprus and 6 in Northern Cyprus.
• 39 municipalities (δήμοι) in the Republic of Cyprus
• 576 communities (κοινότητες)

¹ The administrative borders between Republic of Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, UN Buffer Zone and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia should be tagged with admin_level=3.

² The administrative borders of the 6 de jure districts of Cyprus as shown in the table below.

Highways in Cyprus

¹ Parts of motorway with speed limit of 80 km/h should be tagged as highway=trunk.

Places

• Kyrenia
• Larnaca

The town of Larnaca is heavily under mapped and contains a lot of mistakes. Someone who knows Larnaca should start working on it.

• Limassol

Although the whole city is now mapped, Limassol's streets are unnamed. Some work has been done, but a lot more must take place...

• Nicosia

A quite good level of development. The western and Southern suburbs need some work.

• Paphos

A good level of development. More attention should be given to the Northern suburbs.

Borders, Boundaries and Coastline

Troodos region

Because the lack of detailed satellite images in the Troodos mountains the Potlatch editor is completely useless. It is required that someone with GPS accessibility to map the area. The B8 and the B9 main roads in the area are now accurate. A lot of progress has been made in the Pitsillia, Marathasa and Koumandaria regions. Some work still required within the Paphos forest, and more work in Northern Limassol.

Bing imaginary seems to cover parts of Cyprus where Yahoo has no coverage. However, they seem to have some offset so you should align images with gps traces first.

Kaart groundwork

Kaart conducts ground surveys for improvements to OSM data. A list of editors can be found on Kaart wiki page. OpenStreetCam imagery can be viewed here.

Some Maps

• Here you can find official data for the naming and numbering of the roads in the Republic of Cyprus:

1. Primary Road Network
2. Secondary Road Network
3. Road Network (other roads)

• Here you can find official data for Nature Trails in the Republic of Cyprus.
• Here you can find official data for the Administrative Boundaries de jure Districts, Municipalities and Communities in Cyprus (admin_level=5, 7 & 8).