Cypria: A Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean
Autor Alex Christofien Limba Engleză Hardback – 9 mai 2024
"A brilliant exploration of Cyprus's long history of cultural resilience. Superbly composed." -- Guardian
"Poetic...Compelling" -- New Statesman
One of National Geographic's Summer Reads 2024
Think of a place where you can stand at the intersection of Christian and Arab cultures, at the crossroads of the British, Ottoman, Byzantine, Roman and Egyptian empires; a place marked by the struggle between fascism and communism and where the capital city is divided in half as a result of bloody conflict; where the ancient olive trees of Homer's time exist alongside the undersea cables which link up the world's internet.
In Cypria, named after a lost Cypriot epic which was the prequel to The Odyssey, British Cypriot writer Alex Christofi writes a deeply personal, lyrical history of the island of Cyprus, from the era of goddesses and mythical beasts to the present day.
This sprawling, evocative and poetic book begins with the legend of the cyclops and the storytelling at the heart of the Mediterranean culture. Christofi travels to salt lakes, crusader castles, mosques and the eerie town deserted at the start of the 1974 war. He retells the particularly bloody history of Cyprus during the twentieth century and considers his own identity as traveler and returner, as Odysseus was.
Written in sensitive, witty and beautifully rendered prose, with a novelist's flair and eye for detail, Cypria combines the political, cultural and geographical history of Cyprus with reflections on time, place and belonging.
| Toate formatele și edițiile | Preț | Express |
|---|---|---|
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| Bloomsbury Publishing – 8 mai 2025 | 56.23 lei 22-36 zile | +34.10 lei 5-11 zile |
| Bloomsbury Publishing – 9 mai 2024 | 85.76 lei 22-36 zile | +51.44 lei 5-11 zile |
| Hardback (1) | 102.29 lei 22-36 zile | |
| Bloomsbury Publishing – 9 mai 2024 | 102.29 lei 22-36 zile |
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781399401883
ISBN-10: 1399401882
Pagini: 352
Ilustrații: 8 pages of colour photographs.
Dimensiuni: 153 x 234 x 32 mm
Greutate: 0.59 kg
Editura: Bloomsbury Publishing
Colecția Bloomsbury Continuum
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
ISBN-10: 1399401882
Pagini: 352
Ilustrații: 8 pages of colour photographs.
Dimensiuni: 153 x 234 x 32 mm
Greutate: 0.59 kg
Editura: Bloomsbury Publishing
Colecția Bloomsbury Continuum
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
Cuprins
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
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
Recenzii
Engaging, vigorous and at times passionate.Christofi offers a personal account as well as a carefully-annotated history. Rich in curious information.
From ancient myth to modern militarism, a brilliant exploration of Cyprus's long history of cultural resilience. Superbly composed.
A remarkable book about a beautiful island that has lain in the path of every Mediterranean storm. Christofi is a witty and elegant guide to Cyprus's history.
An engaging portrait of Cyprus's variegated and sometimes troubled past.
In this finely crafted new history of Cyprus, Christofi tells a remarkable story of an island where Christian and Arab cultures meet at a crossroads of empires, British, Ottoman, Byzantine, Roman and Egyptian. A lyrical account of a divided place that is in a way a microcosm of the European 20th century, but with olive trees.
In poetic prose, Cypria tells a wide-ranging national story. Christofi makes a compelling case for Cyprus as a uniquely clear vantage point from which to view the birth of the modern world.
In this beautifully-written book, Alex Christofi tells of the contradictions that make Cyprus so fascinating, an island as ageless as its olive trees and contestations over its historical memory.
Christofi sees Cyprus from both the inside and outside, as a returnee and a traveller. The result is a modern, original book that reinvigorates writing about place in an arresting, lucid, and connected way. It puts the island back in the middle of the map, brought to life in Christofi's always beautiful, erudite prose.
Clear, erudite and wonderfully affable, Christofi's ability to fuse his own family's relationship to Cyprus with that of its wider history, makes Cypria a necessary and illuminating read. Warm, poised and informative, Christofi's reach is expansive, bringing Cyprus into sharper focus without jettisoning or shying away from complex and sometimes unpleasant aspects of its recent past.
This beautifully-written book is a delight from start to finish, with gems on every page. Alex Christofi is a fond yet even handed guide to Cyprus. If you have never been this book will make you want to go.
Alex Christofi's new book offers readers a thoughtful, unexpected look at Cyprus's history.
[Alex Christofi] brings a novelist's eye to the subject, and a turn of phrase to leave the academic historians in the dust... It's a book that has the unmistakable whiff of a quality piece of publishing and has clearly been a labour of love.
Cypria is an impressively wide-ranging history of a fascinating island, written with a grace and lightness of touch that still manages to convey much of the bitterness of Cyprus's recent past. It is a book to be enjoyed on a hot summer's day.but also to be pondered when darker nights draw in.
This is an entertaining and well-researched history of the island.
Hippos[.]along with dwarf elephants, used to roam the island of Cyprus, one of many pleasing facts in Alex Christofi's Cypria. Blending millennia of history with modern-day travelogue, the author covers the island as both the birthplace of Stoicism and a centre of the war trade, from the forging of Alexnader the Great's favourite sword to its present use as a platform for RAF jets.
From ancient myth to modern militarism, a brilliant exploration of Cyprus's long history of cultural resilience. Superbly composed.
A remarkable book about a beautiful island that has lain in the path of every Mediterranean storm. Christofi is a witty and elegant guide to Cyprus's history.
An engaging portrait of Cyprus's variegated and sometimes troubled past.
In this finely crafted new history of Cyprus, Christofi tells a remarkable story of an island where Christian and Arab cultures meet at a crossroads of empires, British, Ottoman, Byzantine, Roman and Egyptian. A lyrical account of a divided place that is in a way a microcosm of the European 20th century, but with olive trees.
In poetic prose, Cypria tells a wide-ranging national story. Christofi makes a compelling case for Cyprus as a uniquely clear vantage point from which to view the birth of the modern world.
In this beautifully-written book, Alex Christofi tells of the contradictions that make Cyprus so fascinating, an island as ageless as its olive trees and contestations over its historical memory.
Christofi sees Cyprus from both the inside and outside, as a returnee and a traveller. The result is a modern, original book that reinvigorates writing about place in an arresting, lucid, and connected way. It puts the island back in the middle of the map, brought to life in Christofi's always beautiful, erudite prose.
Clear, erudite and wonderfully affable, Christofi's ability to fuse his own family's relationship to Cyprus with that of its wider history, makes Cypria a necessary and illuminating read. Warm, poised and informative, Christofi's reach is expansive, bringing Cyprus into sharper focus without jettisoning or shying away from complex and sometimes unpleasant aspects of its recent past.
This beautifully-written book is a delight from start to finish, with gems on every page. Alex Christofi is a fond yet even handed guide to Cyprus. If you have never been this book will make you want to go.
Alex Christofi's new book offers readers a thoughtful, unexpected look at Cyprus's history.
[Alex Christofi] brings a novelist's eye to the subject, and a turn of phrase to leave the academic historians in the dust... It's a book that has the unmistakable whiff of a quality piece of publishing and has clearly been a labour of love.
Cypria is an impressively wide-ranging history of a fascinating island, written with a grace and lightness of touch that still manages to convey much of the bitterness of Cyprus's recent past. It is a book to be enjoyed on a hot summer's day.but also to be pondered when darker nights draw in.
This is an entertaining and well-researched history of the island.
Hippos[.]along with dwarf elephants, used to roam the island of Cyprus, one of many pleasing facts in Alex Christofi's Cypria. Blending millennia of history with modern-day travelogue, the author covers the island as both the birthplace of Stoicism and a centre of the war trade, from the forging of Alexnader the Great's favourite sword to its present use as a platform for RAF jets.