Stories of Famagusta is a collection of short stories that trace aspects of the life of Famagusta. Even though most of the characters featured in the stories are fictional, they represent inhabitants of the now Turkish-occupied Famagusta, where no Greek has resided since August 1974.

The walls and harbour of Famagusta, its sandy beach with the lilies of-the-shore, the promenade, the orange orchards, taverns, schoolboys and schoolgirls, boy scouts, EOKA fighters, the war, friendships and animosities with the Turks, love affairs, emigration, and the lives of refugees are all interwoven into the fabric of the narratives.

The stories span the years from before World War II to the present day, as the city lives on wherever there are Famagustans. 

Although set in different periods of time, within the 20^th century, and featuring unsimilar protagonists, the stories are inextricably held together by the city of Famagusta. Inaccessible to its inhabitants since the 1974 Turkish invasion, the city is described literally as a geographical space, an amalgamation of its land, sea and scents that impact greatly on the trades and demeanor of its people. At the same time, some of the stories are interspersed with symbolic objects like an old coin or a miniature cart, as well as with fascinating non-humans – magpies or a lizard – that defy any neatly arranged temporalization and suggest that Famagusta, now referred to across Europe as ‘the ghost-city’, encapsulates a vibrant potential of rebirth.

The stories are told by a narrator that focuses mainly on the facts as though spurning any attempt at imposing a fixed, unchallenged point of view. On the contrary, the facts are open to interpretation, sometimes privileging the protagonist and on different occasions hinting at the dynamics of fluidity across time. The space of Famagusta remains an entity throughout, but its reception lends itself to renewed perspectives that are both cognizant of the past and eager to breathe new life into one of the most extraordinary, commemorated cities in the Mediterranean.

National Prize for Literature 2015