A fresh portrait of Greece's forgotten Near Eastern identity, with old cultural, political and economic ties reforming in today's turbulent world.
Caught between wars raging in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Greece is an island of relative stability. Popularly considered the cradle of Western civilisation, this is a Christian Orthodox state on the edge of the Islamic world. And, after a half-century of integration into NATO and the EU, Greece is now reabsorbing into the Near East, as the West fractures and new Middle Eastern powers rise. The country's importance as a cultural and geopolitical hybrid is growing.
Travelling through the region, Sean Mathews explores at ground level the tectonic shifts reshaping Europe and the Middle East. He meets the last Greek merchants in Cairo, and hears from Istanbul's remaining Greeks about Turkey's break with the West. In Jerusalem, he discovers a budding alliance between Greece and Israel; and in a faded Ottoman port, he encounters football hooligans loyal to a Russian oligarch.
This bold reappraisal of Greece as a Near Eastern nation uncovers its Byzantine and Ottoman past as a key to survival in today's chaotic, shrinking world.
'A major contribution to a slim field of books about modern Greece. Colourfully written and deeply researched, Mathews' travels through the country reveal a compelling cast of characters and a story about how a small country on the fringe of Europe is transforming itself into a cultural and diplomatic powerhouse.' Hannah Lucinda Smith, Istanbul correspondent and author ofErdoan Rising
'The eastern Mediterranean or greater Levant has been a pivotal region in imperial history and now again in postmodern geopolitics. Mathews expertly guides the reader through not only the sights and smells of the region, but its political and cultural layers. This is what travel writing is supposed to do: blend description with analysis.' Robert D. Kaplan, author of Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis
'A sweeping, historically rich and provocative book that will challenge conventional thinking about both geography and politics.' David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorkerstaff writer and author of Into the Hands of Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East
'Highly enjoyable. With sharp reporting and narrative flair, Mathews uncovers Greece's enduring entanglement with the Middle East. His fresh, insightful revelations made me want to book a flight immediately: Greece will never seem quite the same again.' Erika Fatland, author of The Border,Sovietistanand High
'A timely and colourful journey through Greece's oriental past and increasingly Middle Eastern future. The author identifies the new frontier between Europe and the Middle East and it runs through Greece.' Michael Vatikiotis, author of Lives Between the Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant
