*****
 |
| Othello's Tower - Circa !950's |
He showed Lucky square holes cut through the wall’s
foundation. "The catapults were set up here – they drove timbers through
those holes to brace the weapons. Then they lifted the stones up – using hoists
- placed them in the cradle of the catapult, then loosed the trigger rope and
let fly."
Jim peered out to sea as if tracing the path of the
imaginary shot. He indicated a distant jetty. "They could reach that point
with admirable accuracy," he said, surprising Lucky because it was so far
away and the boulders were so enormous – they stood chest high to him and two
men with very long encircling arms might have just been able to touch fingers.
Lucky imagined the stones crashing into a Turkish
ship – models of which were on display in the much-neglected museum. Big as those ships were –
three deckers rowed by hundreds of slaves – the boulders would have crashed
through the timbers and ripped out the bottoms.
"Thousands of poor prisoners went to their
deaths," Jim said, as if reading Lucky’s mind, "when the ships sank.
They were chained to their oars, if you can imagine, so they couldn’t escape."
Jim was telling Lucky about the great Sixteenth
Century siege of Famagusta by the Turks. It was during the era when the
Venetians ruled the island. Their influence, as Jim pointed out, was everywhere
in Cyprus. The walls of Nicosia showed traces of their design, as did many of
the buildings. As for Famagusta, Jim said it was so Venetian in design that if
you transported it whole to Italy it would fit in perfectly with the local
architecture.
Actually, there was Old Famagusta and New Famagusta.
Old Famagusta consisted of the original walled city, including the famous Tower
Of Othello. This area had been nearly abandoned and was little more than a
museum site with little money to maintain it. Most of the homes and shops in
Old Famagusta had long been abandoned, their roofs stove in, windows and doors
gaping blankly like pulled teeth, and only derelicts and Gypsies living here -
along with an incredible number of rats. As they drove to the harbor Lucky saw
rats big enough to challenge dogs strolling along the rooftops, acting as if
they feared nothing in this world or the next.
The harbor itself was just as desolate – so silted
up, as Jim explained, that no ship of any size could use it. The ramparts of
the fort were etched with strange symbols carved into the stone and Jim said
these were Christian prayers scraped by the castle’s defenders over many long
months of misery during the Turkish siege. Othello’s Tower turned out to be as
bleak as Shakespeare's play. It was actually a series of four buildings – fortress bastions
that guarded the harbor. The main tower, many stories high, loomed over the
ancient defenses, a broken stone edifice swarming with lizards to complete the
portrait of defeat.
Eventually the Turks prevailed, but at a loss of
upwards of 50,000 men against the 8,000 defending Greeks and their Italian
masters. It was a brutal victory, Jim said, that hardened the heart of the
Turks against Greek Cypriots forever. Later, Lucky would come to realize just
how understanding – and forgiving - Jim’s statement was. His teacher did not
agree with the old Greek adage that "to understand the heart of a Turk,
you must cut it out, roast it and eat it whole."
When the boy stepped through the portal into the main
tower – the one purporting to be Othello’s – Lucky was nearly overwhelmed by
the oppressive, humid air that smelled of rat feces and dank mold. He didn’t
want to explore further, but Jim moved blithely onward, climbing the circular
steps and calling for Lucky to follow. The story of Othello, he explained as he
mounted the steps, was allegedly based on a true incident. An Italian count, so
dark in countenance that he was called "The Moor," was accused of unnamed
crimes by the mysterious Venetian "Council Of Ten." He was sentenced
to exile in Cyprus, along with his subordinates, Iago and Cassio.
But Jim was careful to point out that the story was
far from accurate – except in its intent. There was an obscure Italian novel by
the even more obscure Italian author – Cintio – that was probably the basis for
Shakespeare’s play. "I found a discarded copy when I was at school in
Athens," Jim said, "and I read it thinking that I might find some
great insight about Shakespeare. But it was a very bad book and if you read it
yourself, you’d never think that so great a literary work could come from
something so awful."
Lucky was astonished. "You mean Shakespeare
stole the idea from a book?"
"No, no, no," Jim said. "He didn’t
steal anything. He only learned about the story of the people trapped in such
an injustice. Like the ‘Count Of Monte Cristo,’ you know. Also a piece of great
fiction based on partially true events – a man falsely accused by men so
powerful and evil that they don’t even name his supposed crimes."
After examining the tower, which was too depressing
to invite a long visit, Jim showed Lucky the rest of the fortifications,
especially the great stone pits that marked the area around the battlements.
"These served two purposes," Jim informed Lucky. "The first
purpose was to draw off the smoke of the cannons and the Greek fire during
battle. The second was to torture the captives."
He took Lucky to one particularly deep pit. There
were no protective barriers and when Lucky leaned down and gazed into infinite
darkness it made him dizzy. Jim pulled him back. He laughed, saying,
"Don’t look into the devil’s eye, Lucky, for he will be sure to come and
get you."
And this is how Lucky learned the name of these pits
– devil’s eyes. Their purpose – other than drawing off cannon smoke – was soon
demonstrated by Jim, who lit a rolled up newspaper and dropped it into the
depths. The makeshift torch floated downward, sparking flame and smoke. It took
a long time for it to reach the bottom and there it smoldered and sparked. The
chamber became brighter still when Jim sent another newspaper torch to the
bottom.
"I want you to take a good look, Lucky,"
Jim said, urging him forward. Lucky hesitated, but Jim gripped the back of his
belt and leaned him forward, so that he was practically hovering over the pit.
"Do you see the bones, Lucky" he asked. "Do you see the remains
of men?"
The question scared the hell out of the boy, but also
intrigued him. So, hanging by his belt he peered down into the gloom at shaft’s
bottom where he could see the shattered objects with forms of grisly familiarity.
They immediately became recognizable when he saw all the broken skulls
scattered through the ancient carnage.
Jim pulled him back in and Lucky was so shocked by
what he had seen that all fear drained out of him. "Who were those
people?" he asked.
"Prisoners," Jim replied. "But they
were prisoners of the Turks. Men taken when the siege was broken. This is where
the Turks took their revenge."
He said they threw people bodily into the pits -
which were so deep that all their bones were broken, but not so deep that they
died right away. Then they’d interrogate these men, rubbing mutton grease on
them to attract the rats and then they’d continue to question them while swarms
of feeding rats covered them. If the prisoners were cooperative, the Turks would
shoot them through the head to end their agony and then walk away. If they were
not, the Turks would just walk away. In either case, the rats had their meal.
"I have it on good authority," Jim said,
"that your good friend Mr. Edgar Allen Poe was inspired to write his
famous story, ‘The Pit And The Pendulum,’ after reading about the devil’s eyes
of Famagusta."
Lucky grinned as insight dawned. "All roads lead
to Cyprus," he said, "and not Rome."
Jim chuckled in appreciation. "Oh, but the
Romans were here too," he murmured, "and for a very long time. So
even their roads led to Cyprus."
*****
They had lunch at a fisherman’s taverna on the
outskirts of Famagusta. As they savored the delightful dishes of smoked squid
and bits of different kinds of fish "cooked" ceviche style in lemon
and spring onions and spices, along with bread and olives and olive oil, Jim
told Lucky what it was like to be an islander.
"When I was in Athens I realized that life on an
island is different than any other sort of place," Jim said.."Except,
perhaps, mountain folk – who also live isolated lives, marked by stimulating
visits from strangers. In Cyprus we have both – the islanders in the flatlands
of the Nicosia plain and the mountains, like Troodos where I was born. But let
me stay with the culture of the island – it explains both regions very well. My
country is no more than one hundred and forty miles long and at its widest
point, ninety miles across," Jim said. "It sits at the far edge of a
great inland sea – the Mediterranean - where all of Western art and culture and
science and thought originated. And during that golden era, Cyprus was always
the center of whatever occurred.
"Everything comes to an island. The process is
well known: An island begins as bare rock, or coral. Seeds float in, animals
who have been washed out to sea clinging to a piece of wood, the birds in the
sky, also dropping seeds when they come to rest. Forests spring up as do the
grassy plains. The people follow – fleeing enemies, or looking for a new life.
They arrive in log canoes – or possibly rafts made of reed; then in ships with
sails. People of all sorts – refugees, shipwrecked sailors, saints and
scoundrels. Ideas arrive, from bad men and good, from criminals and artists.
So, you see an island is a place that fetches things to it. Whatever is
floating in the sea will someday wash up. And all these things, these ideas,
mix in and make a place like no other on the face of the earth. This is
especially so with Cyprus, because at heart we are more Greek than even the Greeks.
All the old ways that have been forgotten in Athens are with us here fresh and
new as the day they were delivered to us by the gods."
Lucky was reminded of what Joe Davis had said about
the Athenian view of Cyprus. "They think they’re a bunch of pagan hicks
from the sticks, who sound like the Greek version of Ma and Pa Kettle,"
he’d opined at a recent CIA chess party. "Athens just talks about Enosis
and freeing the Cypriots. But the junta doesn’t mean it one bit. They’re just
diddling the Turks, is all. The guys on the other side of the Black Sea. Which
has been their policy for pretty near four thousand years. Shoot, to Athens,
Enosis is a bogus idea pushed by ignorant people."
Listening to Jim, it was Lucky’s opinion that the ignorant rubes were in Athens, not Cyprus.
NEXT: St. Paul And The Mother Goddess
*****
LUCKY IN CYPRUS: IT'S A BOOK!
LUCKY IN CYPRUS: IT'S A BOOK!
Here's where to get the paperback & Kindle editions worldwide:
Here's what readers say about Lucky In Cyprus:
- "Bravo, Allan! When I finished Lucky In Cyprus I wept." - Julie Mitchell, Hot Springs, Texas
- "Lucky In Cyprus brought back many memories... A wonderful book. So many shadows blown away!" - Freddy & Maureen Smart, Episkopi,Cyprus.
- "... (Reading) Lucky In Cyprus has been a humbling, haunting, sobering and enlightening experience..." - J.A. Locke, Bookloons.com
*****
THE SPYMASTER'S DAUGHTER:
A new novel by Allan and his daughter, Susan
After laboring as a Doctors Without Borders physician in the teaming refugee camps and minefields of South Asia, Dr. Ann Donovan thought she'd seen Hell as close up as you can get. And as a fifth generation CIA brat, she thought she knew all there was to know about corruption and betrayal. But then her father - a legendary spymaster - shows up, with a ten-year-old boy in tow. A brother she never knew existed. Then in a few violent hours, her whole world is shattered, her father killed and she and her kid brother are one the run with hell hounds on their heels. They finally corner her in a clinic in Hawaii and then all the lies and treachery are revealed on one terrible, bloody storm ravaged night.
BASED ON THE CLASSIC STEN SERIES by Allan Cole & Chris Bunch: Fresh from their mission to pacify the Wolf Worlds, Sten and his Mantis Team encounter a mysterious ship that has been lost among the stars for thousands of years. At first, everyone aboard appears to be long dead. Then a strange Being beckons, pleading for help. More disturbing: the presence of AM2, a strategically vital fuel tightly controlled by their boss - The Eternal Emperor. They are ordered to retrieve the remaining AM2 "at all costs." But once Sten and his heavy worlder sidekick, Alex Kilgour, board the ship they must dare an out of control defense system that attacks without warning as they move through dark warrens filled with unimaginable horrors. When they reach their goal they find that in the midst of all that death are the "seeds" of a lost civilization.
*****
Here's where you can buy it worldwide in both paperback and Kindle editions:
United Kingdom ...........................Spain
Also: NOOK BOOK. Plus ALL E-BOOK FLAVORS.
TALES OF THE BLUE MEANIE
NOW AN AUDIOBOOK!
 |
Venice Boardwalk Circa 1969
|
In the depths of the Sixties and The Days Of Rage, a young newsman, accompanied by his pregnant wife and orphaned teenage brother, creates a Paradise of sorts in a sprawling Venice Beach community of apartments, populated by students, artists, budding scientists and engineers lifeguards, poets, bikers with a few junkies thrown in for good measure. The inhabitants come to call the place “Pepperland,” after the Beatles movie, “Yellow Submarine.” Threatening this paradise is "The Blue Meanie," a crazy giant of a man so frightening that he eventually even scares himself.
*****
STEN #1: NOW IN SPANISH!
Diaspar Magazine - the best SF magazine in South America - is publishing the first novel in the Sten series in four episodes. Here are the links:
REMEMBER - IT'S FREE!
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