EUR €217.20EUR €181.00 excl. VAT
Beyond Famagusta: Cultural Memory and Historical Imagination
Series:
Author:
Famagusta has witnessed the rise and fall of empires and dynasties which have left in their wake a rich storytelling legacy. This was a city of extremes, and so while there was certainly political influence, artistic creativity, wealth and piety, there was simultaneously fear, corruption, treachery and war. After the great siege of 1571, Shakespeare strategically situated Othello in this martyred ‘seaport in Cyprus’, while operas and ballets about the triumph and tragedy of Medieval, Renaissance and Ottoman Famagusta created a European fantasy of an imagined past. Centuries later, while exiles languished in the open prison of abandoned Famagusta, French and British scholars got to work re-creating sympathetic national historical narratives and imperialists imagined and planned for alternative futures. Early photographers revelled in the desolate calm of the 19th century, film-makers documented Famagusta’s turbulent 20th century, and today digital modellers contemplate ingenious ways to re-tell the story of its majestic monuments. This book examines the complex cultural memory and historical imagination associated with the ever-enigmatic, and timeless, Famagusta.
Prices from (excl. shipping):
€217.20€181.00 excl. VAT
E-Book (PDF)
-
Hardback:€190.96€181.00 excl. VATAvailable for purchase on 08 Jul 2026
-
To place an order, please contact customerservices@brill.com
Michael J. K. Walsh, D. Phil. (2001) University of York, is Professor of Cultural Studies and Digital Humanities at Nanyang Technological University Singapore. This is his sixth book on Famagusta, including Famagusta Maritima: Mariners, Merchants and Mercenaries (Brill, 2019).
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Introduction: 1571—Aftermath and Aftermyth
1 Research in a Digital Age
2 A Famagusta Diary: Keeping a Human-in-the-Loop
3 Famagusta before the Siege: a Backwards Glance
4 Telling, Re-telling and Inventing Famagusta’s Story
1 Re-writing Famagusta: Myths, Martyrs, and Monarchs
1 Case Study: Marcantonio Bragadin
2 Case Study: Caterina Cornaro
3 Case Study: Richard the Lionheart
4 Case Study Four: a Seaport in Cyprus
5 Some Concluding Comments
2 Famagusta and Imperial Imaginations: Scholars, Artists, and Writers
1 A City of Scholars, a “mission civilisatrice”, and the “poétique des ruines”
2 Famagusta and the British Imagination
3 Famagusta’s Exiles and Artists
1 Kartirchi Janni (Kattirdji Yanni / Katırcı Yanni)
2 Mîrzâ Yahya Noûri Soubh-i-Ezèl (Subh-i-Ezel)
3 Namık Kemal
4 George Polyviou Georghiou
5 William Dreghorn
6 Concluding Thoughts
4 Framing Famagusta: Photographs and Photographers
1 Introduction
2 Glimpses of Ottoman Famagusta
3 John Thomson
4 Camille Enlart in British Famagusta
5 Theophilus Mogabgab MBE
6 Paul Kohl
7 Concluding Thoughts
5 Filming Famagusta
1 Exodus: When Hollywood Came to Famagusta
2 Famagusta and Documentary Film
3 Famagusta, Cultural Heritage and a New Era for Documentary Film
4 The Stones of Famagusta
5 Against the Clock: Saving the Endangered Heritage of Famagusta
6 The Forty: Saving the Forgotten Frescoes of Famagusta
7 Prayers Long Silent: the Armenian Church of Famagusta
8 Film as Research
9 Film as Heritage
6 Famagusta’s Hidden Heritage: Out of Sight and into Silence
1 The Bare Walls of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Its Decorated Side Chapels and Sacristy
2 Famagusta’s Underground Churches
3 Other Bits and Pieces
4 Recovering Historic Sound and Silence
7 Famagusta, the Digital Imagination and Memory Editing
1 Famagusta’s Cultural Heritage in a Digital Context
Conclusion: Culture, History, Imagination, and rapprochement
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures
Introduction: 1571—Aftermath and Aftermyth
1 Research in a Digital Age
2 A Famagusta Diary: Keeping a Human-in-the-Loop
3 Famagusta before the Siege: a Backwards Glance
4 Telling, Re-telling and Inventing Famagusta’s Story
1 Re-writing Famagusta: Myths, Martyrs, and Monarchs
1 Case Study: Marcantonio Bragadin
2 Case Study: Caterina Cornaro
3 Case Study: Richard the Lionheart
4 Case Study Four: a Seaport in Cyprus
5 Some Concluding Comments
2 Famagusta and Imperial Imaginations: Scholars, Artists, and Writers
1 A City of Scholars, a “mission civilisatrice”, and the “poétique des ruines”
2 Famagusta and the British Imagination
3 Famagusta’s Exiles and Artists
1 Kartirchi Janni (Kattirdji Yanni / Katırcı Yanni)
2 Mîrzâ Yahya Noûri Soubh-i-Ezèl (Subh-i-Ezel)
3 Namık Kemal
4 George Polyviou Georghiou
5 William Dreghorn
6 Concluding Thoughts
4 Framing Famagusta: Photographs and Photographers
1 Introduction
2 Glimpses of Ottoman Famagusta
3 John Thomson
4 Camille Enlart in British Famagusta
5 Theophilus Mogabgab MBE
6 Paul Kohl
7 Concluding Thoughts
5 Filming Famagusta
1 Exodus: When Hollywood Came to Famagusta
2 Famagusta and Documentary Film
3 Famagusta, Cultural Heritage and a New Era for Documentary Film
4 The Stones of Famagusta
5 Against the Clock: Saving the Endangered Heritage of Famagusta
6 The Forty: Saving the Forgotten Frescoes of Famagusta
7 Prayers Long Silent: the Armenian Church of Famagusta
8 Film as Research
9 Film as Heritage
6 Famagusta’s Hidden Heritage: Out of Sight and into Silence
1 The Bare Walls of St. Nicholas Cathedral, Its Decorated Side Chapels and Sacristy
2 Famagusta’s Underground Churches
3 Other Bits and Pieces
4 Recovering Historic Sound and Silence
7 Famagusta, the Digital Imagination and Memory Editing
1 Famagusta’s Cultural Heritage in a Digital Context
Conclusion: Culture, History, Imagination, and rapprochement
Bibliography
Index
This books will appeal to readers with an interest in Cyprus and the Mediterranean, and with the stories that emerged from their Medieval, Renaissance, Ottoman and British pasts. The book places particular emphasis on theatre, literature, music, photography, art history, film and digital humanities.