Cyprus

The fig tree provides a fascinating description of Cyprus in the prologue: “Here is how I remember it: golden beaches, turquoise waters, lucid skies… And yet shadows found a way to creep through the light. Whispers of distrust and conspiracy rippled in the dark. For the island was divided into two pieces – the north and the south. A different language, a different script, a different memory prevailed in each, and when they prayed, the islanders, it was seldom to the same god” (10). Thus, the fig tree successfully captures Cyprus’ inherent beauty while also touching on the ethnic tensions between Greeks and Turks that exist on the island.

The Happy Fig, Nicosia

The Happy Fig is a tavern run by the couple Yusuf and Yiorgos. It is “a popular hang-out frequented by Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Maronites, UN soldiers and visitors to the island who quickly fell in step with...