Most national flags declare an allegiance. The Cyprus flag was drawn to avoid declaring one — and that decision explains almost everything about how it looks.
Cyprus gained independence from British rule in 1960, and the new flag was adopted on 16 August that year. It was designed by İsmet Güney, a Turkish Cypriot art teacher, and chosen from 904 submissions.
A design of deliberate omissions
The brief ruled out the colours of both motherlands. No Greek blue and white; no Turkish red and white. What remained was a white ground, the copper-orange silhouette of the island, and two olive branches beneath it — a flag that took its symbolism from the territory rather than from either community.