Promotional Information

An evocative and lyrical history of Cyprus and the Mediterranean.

Table of Contents

Timeline
Introduction: The City and the City
1. Spume: The birth of the Great Goddess
2. Olive Culture: How trade began
3. The Lost Kingdom of Alashiya: Diving into the Bronze Age
4. Cypria: Survivors of Mycenaean Greece
5. The Purple Ones: Phoenicians and their philosophy
6. Apostle: The Cypriots who spread Christianity
7. Monks and Cats: St Helena’s pilgrimage
8. Oasis: The Arab conquest, the Empire of Cyprus and the Third Crusade at sea
9. The Fairytale Castle: The House of Lusignan
10. Lala Mustafa Pasha: The siege of Famagusta and the formation of the Holy LeagueBattle of Lepanto
11. Linen Blend: The Turkish influence
12. Cyprus, New York: How history was weaponised as ‘civilisation’
13. Olympians: Religious and secular authority in Britain’s Christian colonyBritain’s Christian colony
14. The Philhellene: The burning down of Government House
15. Kafeneon: The left and right wing schism
16. Bitter Lemons: The struggle for enosis
17. The Battle of the Knife: The militarisation of Cyprus
18. The Ledra Palace Hotel: The war on neighbours
19. Ghosts: The tragedies of 1974
20. Ayia Napa, Ayia Napa, Ayia Napa: The holiday from the self
21. Drilling for Gods: Moscow on the Med
Epilogue: The fort, and the dangers of digging up the past

Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgements

About the Author

Alex Christofi is Editorial Director at Transworld and author of four books published in 12 languages, including the novels Let Us Be True and Glass, winner of the Betty Trask Prize for fiction. He has written for numerous publications including the Guardian, London Magazine, and the White Review. Dostoevsky in Love was named as a Literary Non-fiction Book of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times.