From TheBestLinks.com
Akrotiri and Dhekelia military bases are a UK Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus, a former British Crown Colony. A British garrison force is stationed there to defend them, and they contain a British listening post, and the only fully fledged RAF station in the Mediterranean (since Gibraltar does not have any aircraft permanently based there), RAF Akrotiri. In addition to the garrison, the UK makes a contribution to the United Nations force in Cyprus. In total, some 3,500 British personnel are based in Cyprus.
There is certain disorientation when entering a sovereign base area (unlike Guantanamo Bay, there are roads running through the bases open to traffic from Cyprus). In particular, the road names are all very English, like "Worcester Road". The legal system is administered by the British military, but is patterned on that of the Republic of Cyprus. Many Cypriots work in the SBAs, but they are not permitted to live there. However, the villages of Xylotimbou and Ormidhia, in the Republic of Cyprus, are enclaves surrounded by Dhekelia.
The Sovereign Bases in Cyprus are considered to be an overseas territory, but instead of having a Governor, like other such territories, it has an Administrator, who, while appointed by the Queen, is responsible to the Ministry of Defence, not to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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