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Journey into Cyprus by Colin Thubron: book review



Journey into Cyprus (1975, this edition 1992) is the memoir of Colin Thubron’s 600 mile (966 kilometre) walking trek in Cyprus in 1972 – before the country was divided into two – Greek Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus. 

Before the Turkish invasion in 1974, Thubron traversed the island of Cyprus mingling with the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots in their villages, enjoying their hospitality, but feeling the growing tension. There were no borders, and people lived side by side. 

Cyprus has been ruled by the Assyrians, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans and Byzantines from the ancient world. The Middle Ages saw the invasions of the Crusaders, Lusignans, the Genoese and the Venetians. In recent times, the Ottomans and the British ruled Cyprus. 

In 1974, Greek Cypriots conducted a military coup with the support of military junta in Greece. Unable to secure multilateral support against the coup, Turkey invaded the northern portion of the island. Turkish forces remained after a cease-fire, resulting in the partition (separation) of the island. The de factostate of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed in 1975.

While the island is independent, geopolitically it is subdivided into four main segments. The Republic of Cyprus occupies the southern two-thirds of the island (59.74%). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third (34.85%), and the United Nations-controlled Green Line provides a buffer zone that separates the two and covers 2.67% of the island. Lastly, two bases under British sovereignty are located on the island at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, covering the remaining 2.74%.

After Cyprus became a member of the European Union in 2004, it adopted the euro currency on 1 January 2008, replacing the Cypriot pound. Northern Cyprus, suspended from the EU until settlement of the border situation, continues to use the Turkish lira. 

But all of this had not yet happened when British travel writer Colin Thubron (1939-) went for a long walk – which makes this an interesting read in hindsight. 

He dedicates a whole chapter to the copper mines – still in operation during his walk (they closed in 1978). And he writes of the ancient ruins around the island, such as the Amathous ruins dating to 11thcentury BC. 

Mostly though, rather than being a conventional travelogue, it is an account of the island with all of its Greek mythology and ancient history. 











MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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