• On the flag of the Republic of Cyprus, aside from the two olive branches and the white background that symbolize peace, one very important feature is the copper-yellow-colored geographic depiction of this Eurasian island country.

Above: The flag of Cyprus displaying the country’s land area

• With its design originally proposed by painter Ismet Guney (Turkish Cypriot painter), the flag of Cyprus is the only flag in the world with the country’s land area displayed on it (comprising 44% of the flag); it was a result of a design competition and was first used in August 1960 (under the Zurich and London Agreements).
• During the design competition, participants were not allowed to use the colors blue and red as they were known to be the colors of the flags of Turkey and Greece, and image of a cross or a crescent was also not allowed. However, before the flag officially came into use, Cyprus used the flags of the said countries.
• The copper-yellow color of the island’s geographic depiction on the flag was due to the fact that Cyprus is famous for its large copper deposits and was the principal source of such ductile metal during the Roman Empire.
  

Above: Semitic Museum’s Cesnola collection from ancient Cyprus

• Furthermore, Cyprus was even said to be named after the Eteocypriot word for copper, although its name’s etymology is considered to be somewhat uncertain because of other suggestions that it stems from the cypress tree and from kypros, the greek name of the henna plant.
• The Cypriots first discovered the importance of copper and started copper working in four million B.C. (making Cyprus the major copper supplier in the Mediterranean); the production of copper in Cyprus then even became very important during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages.