Popular Stories

I must admit, before I created Tales of Cyprus, I knew very little about Cyprus or my cultural heritage. However, after conducting hundreds of ‘face to face’ interviews and spending countless hours with research, I am pleased to say that my knowledge and level of understanding about the past has been elevated to great heights. So you see, Tales of Cyprus has been a wonderful education for me. Not only did I discover many historical truths and untold stories about the past, but I was also able to share my new-found knowledge with so many people from around the world.

Through Tales of Cyprus I have also been fortunate and privileged to have met (or at least communicated with) the direct descendants of so many important Cypriots who were largely forgotten by our historians. Bringing their stories to light remains one of my greatest achievements.

So what did I learn exactly?

What has Tales of Cyprus taught me?

Here is a brief summary of some of my greatest discoveries which in turn, became some of my most popular articles.

𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗔

I discovered that Cyprus was the first country in the world to eradicate Malaria back in the late 1940s. Who knew? It was all thanks to an incredible Cypriot man named Mehmet Aziz. After spending a year researching and interviewing a few prominent Turkish Cypriots, I was able to learn about the extraordinary achievements of Mr Aziz and his faithful team of sanitary workers. In 2015, I published his life story for the first time. My article received quite a lot of attention from Cypriots around the world. It’s true that many Turkish Cypriots already knew about Mr Aziz, but most Greek Cypriots had never heard about him. I have now proudly added Mehmet Aziz to my pantheon of Cypriot Unsung Heroes. In September 2016, I came close to meeting his two daughters, Kamran and Türkan, but sadly their ill health had prevented my visit. This remains one of my biggest regrets as they both passed away soon after. I really have to thank author Tabitha Morgan for bringing this great man to my attention. Special thanks to my Turkish Cypriot friends, Sermen Erdogan, Mehmet Barışsever and Kadir Kaba for all their help and support along the way.

𝗟𝗘𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗬

I always knew about the leper colony on the island of Spinalonga, near Crete, but I had no idea that there was also a leper colony in Cyprus. It was located on the outskirts of Nicosia after being established in the early part of the 19th Century. I discovered that lepers in Cyprus were once feared and treated terribly by the locals at the time. Even the church failed to offer them any real compassion. Many Cypriot lepers were shunned by their families and banished from their homes and villages. Quite a few were forced to live a nomadic life, begging outside the gates of Nicosia. Once again, this was something I did not know about until I began my research with Tales of Cyprus.

𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗦

I always knew that the palm tree promenade in Scala town was called the ‘Phinikoudes’ but I had no idea about the history of this famous promenade. Once again, through extensive research and various interviews, I discovered that the foreshore of Scala once boasted some rather beautiful and impressive buildings such as; the Beau Rivage Hotel (formerly the Royal Hotel), the Tessera Fanaria (Four Lanterns) Hotel, the Grand Hotel and the original Sun Hall Lounge. There were also grand mansions that belonged to the Valdaserides, Pieridou, Ousmianis, Michaelides and Frangeskidis families. Sadly, all of these historical buildings were demolished in the second half of the 20th Century, apparently in the name of progress. It still bothers me greatly to learn how many historical buildings in Cyprus were destroyed without any real public outcry or government protection.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗬𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗨𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗣 & 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗬𝗣𝗥𝗨𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧

I discovered that during the First World War, approximately 14,000 Cypriots joined the Cypriot Mule Corp to support the British and Allied forces in Macedonia and Russia and during the Second World War, approximately 30,000 Cypriots joined the Cyprus Regiment to fight alongside the British Army against Germany and Italy. With regards to the Cyprus Regiment, I was fortunately to have interviewed over 40 volunteers who allowed me to write, document and preserve their extraordinary experience during the Second World War. I discovered that most volunteers (if not all of them) joined the British Army because of the money (they were paid a few shillings a week). Some joined for the adventure and were happy to receive clean clothes, boots and food. I had no idea that so many Cypriots were actively involved in both World Wars and that some were even captured and sent to Concentration Camps. What a pity that there is no monument, like a Shrine of Remembrance in Cyprus to honour these forgotten heroes and their sacrifice.

𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗞𝗘

Although my parents were from Paphos, they never mentioned the great earthquake of 1953. I am therefore fortunate to have interviewed a few survivors of this earthquake who gave me a first-hand, eye-witness account of what actually happened on that fateful morning in September, 1953. Survivors such as Cleopatra Papageorgiou-Sofianou, Agathi Constantinou and Eleni Pari who were all from the village of Stroumbi.

𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗭𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗦

Tales of Cyprus has also opened my eyes to some truly remarkable photographers such as; John Thomson, John Paul Foscolo, Theodoulos Nikolaou Toufexis, Ahmet Şevki, Haigaz Mangoian, Eric Matson, Leopold Glaszner, John Lindros, Edwards of Limassol, Fevzi Akarsu, George Lanitis and Reno Wideson. With the help of some of their descendants, I was able to write and document their life stories for the very first time.

𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦

I also discovered that Cyprus was visited by many foreign travel writers during the late 19th and early 20th century. These travel writers left us a wealth of valuable and important geographic and ethnographic information about our island and its people from that period. Travel writers such as; William Turner, Samuel White Baker, Olive Murray Chapman, Lady Anne Brassey, Henry Vollam Morton. Gladys Peto, Esme Scott-Stevenson. Eric Matson and Edward Vizetelly. After purchasing their books and conducting extensive research, I was able to document their travels on the island for Tales of Cyprus.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

I learnt all about the Swedish Archaeological Expedition that took place in Cyprus between 1927 and 1931. With the assistance of some of their children and descendants, I was able to successfully write the life stories of two important members of the group, namely John Lindros and Ttoulis Souidos.

𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗘𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

Speaking of archaeology, I also wrote an extensive piece about the important work conducted by Leonard Halford Dudley Buxton who was sent to Cyprus in 1913 to supervise and record the excavation of various sites and tombs on the island and another important historical article all about the excavation at Salamis in 1952 by the famous Cypriot archaeologist, Vassos Karageorghis. Special thanks to my lovely wife Christina (herself a talented archaeologist) and her esteemed colleagues, Dr. David Frankel and Dr. Jenny Webb who helped me write these articles. Special thanks to Rita Severis from CVAR for her help and support along the way.

𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗦

I was able to discover the history of some legendary hotels such as the Berengaria hotel and the Forrest Park hotel. In fact, in 2016, I was privileged to stay at the Forrest Park Hotel with my family where I met and interviewed Mr Eraclis (Heraklis) Skyrianides who told me about his famous father George (Giorgos) Skyrianides and grandfather Heraclis Skyrianides, often regarded as the pioneers of Cypriot tourism and the developers of tourist accommodation.

𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟𝗦

As a teacher, I was pleased to discover that Cyprus had some truly amazing forward-thinking educators and educational facilities. Schools such as the American Academy in Larnaca and the English School and Shakespeare School in Nicosia. With regards to the Shakespeare School, I was able to interview former students who helped me to write the life story of its founder and principal, Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalızade. I think I may be the first Greek Cypriot to write and document his life story. Once again, wouldn’t it be great if there was a monument or statue in Nicosia that honoured great educators such as Bodamyalızade?

𝗖𝗬𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 & 𝗖𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗦

Growing up in a traditional Cypriot household I was well aware that Cypriots had some special traditions and customs, especially relating to marriage, death and funerals. However, after interviewing many Cypriots for Tales of Cyprus, I was able to gain a more thorough and in-depth understanding of our customs and traditions. I even discovered some rather extraordinary rites of passage with regards to arranged marriages, (including mail-order brides, prika and dowries) and the way Cypriots used to deal with death, complete with its fair share of superstition.

𝗖𝗬𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

Speaking of superstition, my knowledge increased ten-fold once I started to interview elderly Cypriots like my mother. In fact, my mother seemed equally obsessed by the supernatural as she was with God. I can tell you, she shared quite a few scary stories with me by the time I was eight years old. It’s a miracle I was ever able to sleep at all. Once again, through many interviews with elderly Cypriots from my mother’s generation, I discovered some rather wacky and extraordinary superstitious beliefs from years gone by.

𝗖𝗬𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

As the son of Cypriot migrants, I really didn’t know a lot about their journey to Australia. I now know quite a lot about post-war Cypriot migration, thanks largely to my interviews with over 100 men and women who left Cyprus during the late 1940s and 1950s. Before Tales of Cyprus, I really had no idea what really prompted the mass exodus from Cyprus and what the voyages by ship were really like. I even published a book all about a dilapidated ship named the Corsica which only made one trip to Australia at the end of 1951 with over 700 frightened and disappointed Cypriots on board. I was fortunate to have interviewed over 40 survivors of that trip as well as scan some truly rare documents and photographs.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗬𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗧 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦

Before Tales of Cyprus, I really didn’t know much about the origin of Cypriot names. I have since discovered just how unique, sometimes bizarre and often wonderful our naming conventions really are. I had no idea, before I started Tales of Cyprus how many Cypriot names were chosen or given or inherited. For instance, if I was born in the 1930s, people may have called me ‘kontos’ due to my short stature as a child, or ‘spanos’ due to my hairless body or perhaps even ‘zographos’ due to my interest in art.