A Land for Strangers. Non-Native Individuals and Communities in Cyprus

What happens when ‘strangers’ become part of the very fabric of a place? In Cyprus, newcomers have never been a rarity. Owing to the island’s strategic position at the crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean, they have long played a central role in its history. Far from disrupting the cohesion of local society, their presence has often enriched Cypriot culture, fostering coexistence and diversity rather than friction and division. This volume comprises seven essays that explore the diverse circumstances, narratives and contributions of non-native individuals to Cypriot society, economy, politics and culture – from prehistory to the present day. The authors, whose expertise spans archaeology, epigraphy, history and anthropology, apply distinct methodologies to a broad range of topics: the circulation of Aegean pottery; epigraphic practices in Hellenistic inscriptions; the presence of Greek Orthodox Venetians in mid-eighteenth-century Larnaca; the activities of French consuls in Cyprus during the mid-nineteenth century; the 1962 visit of Soviet professor Sergey Kisselyoff, marking the first contact between the USSR and Cyprus; the service of Václav Ježek as a priest in twentieth-century rural Cyprus; and a reflection on Cypriot antiquities collections through the work of contemporary artist Marianna Christofides. A thought-provoking preface and an introspective afterword provide the broader interpretive frame for the volume. A Land for Strangers offers insight into Cyprus’s identity as a meeting ground for human encounters, while also proposing a model of fruitful coexistence of lasting relevance to contemporary societies.