The history of the island of Cyprus is in many ways a world history. Its strategic position
means it has been coveted by one foreign power after another. All came here: the Phoenicians
Greeks Romans Byzantines crusaders Venetians Genoese Ottomans British and they all left
their mark. Aside from the Roman and early-Byzantine ruins of Salamis the most impressive
monuments date from the Frankish and Venetian times: the Abbey of Bellapais the fortified
harbour of Kyrenia the magnificent cathedrals of Nicosia and Famagusta the setting for
Shakespeare's Othello. Sartorius lived in Cyprus for three years. In The Geckos of Bellapais he
returns to the cultures and legends to the colours and the light of the Levant sifting the
sediments of the island's history including its division after the Turkish invasion of 1974
and the difficulties that followed. Yet this is not the work of a historian or a political
scientist but of a poet who with the help of friends both Greek and Turkish Cypriots tries
to understand this unique place.
