Cyprus
A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule.

Tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head in December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia.

Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into enclaves throughout the island.

In 1974, a Greek Government-sponsored attempt to seize control of Cyprus was met by military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), but it is recognized only by Turkey.

The latest two-year round of UN-brokered talks - between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to reach an agreement to reunite the divided island - ended when the Greek Cypriots rejected the UN settlement plan in an April 2004 referendum.

The entire island entered the EU on 1 May 2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and obligations - applies only to the areas under direct government control, and is suspended in the areas administered by Turkish Cypriots.

However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy the same rights accorded to other citizens of European Union states. The election of a new Cypriot president in 2008 served as the impetus for the UN to encourage both the Turkish and Cypriot Governments to reopen unification negotiations.

Poland

A visit to Poland is a journey to a land of myths, magic, romance, rolling plains and very warm and friendly people, and to a nation being born anew -- yet again.

Since its birth in the 10th century, The Republic of Poland has a very long track record of ups and downs, death and rebirth.

Now in the early 21st century, this little country -- just a bit larger than the state of New Mexico -- is a phoenix rising and just beginning to find stride again after its last down. A bit more than a decade after becoming the first of Eastern Europe to awake and emerge from 45 years beneath the iron curtain, Poland has yawned, stretched joined the European Union in May of this year and is ready to get on with the future.

Poland's stereotyped reputation has often been that of a state of chubby cabbage-eating peasant farmers who play the tuba and do a funny three-step dance called the Polka and drink a lot of beer. Not quite. The people and land of Poland are much more than that and want much more than that.

It is actually a land rich in culture and history and political action. It was Poland's late 20th century move to re-legalize trade union Solidarity and an agreement to hold partially free parliamentary elections that started the shock waves that began the dramatic 1989 domino-like collapse of Eastern European governments that transformed the Soviet Union and shifted the balance of power throughout the world.

The center and main storehouse of this country's rich cultural and political history is in its former political and still cultural capital, Kraków.

Philippines

The second-largest archipelago in the world, with over 7000 tropical islands, the Philippines is one of the great treasures of Southeast Asia.






Often overlooked by travellers because of its location on the ‘wrong’ side of the South China Sea, the Philippines rewards those who go the extra distance to reach it. And because it’s off the beaten path, the Philippines is a great place to escape the hordes who descend on other parts of Southeast Asia. First and foremost, the Philippines is a place of natural wonders – a string of coral-fringed islands strewn across a vast expanse of the western Pacific.





Below sea level, the Philippines boasts some of the world’s best diving and snorkelling. Above sea level, it has a fantastic landscape with wonders enough to stagger even the most jaded traveller: long underground rivers, soaring karsts (limestone tower formations), incredible caves, some pristine stands of virgin rainforest, and in the case of Palawan, islands that shoot out of the sea like jagged spearheads. And if you’re after palm-fringed, white-sand beaches, the Philippines has too many to choose from.







Of course, any traveller who has been to the Philippines will tell you that it’s the people and their culture that makes the Philippines unique.







Long poised at the centre of Southeast Asian trade, colonised by a succession of world powers, the Philippines is a vivid tapestry that reflects its varied cultural inheritance. And despite the poverty that afflicts much of the nation, the Filipinos themselves are among the most ebullient and easygoing people anywhere.






The Philippines truly qualifies as one of the last great frontiers in Southeast Asian travel. Cross whichever ocean you need to and see for yourself.