Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Greek: Ακρωτήρι και Δεκέλεια, Akrotiri kai Dhekeleia; Turkish: Ağrotur ve Dikelya), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, is a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus. The Areas, which include bases and other land, were retained by the British, under the 1960 treaty of independence, agreed and signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, which granted independence to the Crown colony of Cyprus. This has an important role as a station for Signals Intelligence and provides a vital strategic part of the United Kingdom communications gathering and monitoring network in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.The territory comprises two Areas. One is Akrotiri (Greek: Ακρωτήρι [akroˈtiri]; Turkish: Ağrotur), or the "Western Sovereign Base Area" (or WSBA), which includes two main bases at RAF Akrotiri and Episkopi Cantonment, plus all of Akrotiri Village's district (including Limassol Salt Lake) and parts of eleven other village districts. The other Area is Dhekelia (Δεκέλεια [ðeˈceʎa]; Dikelya), or the "Eastern Sovereign Base Area" (or ESBA), which includes a base at Ayios Nikolaos plus parts of twelve village districts.