The New Byzantines (the Rise Of Greece And Return Of The Near East)

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.

Map 1. Dancing in Piraeus 2. Epirus: Pashas, Communists and Merchants 3. Pearl of the Aegean: Orientalists and Oligarchs 4. The Last Pasha of Kavala 5. Egypt: Greece’s Ally or a Ticking Time Bomb? 6. Cairo: Beer in the Greek Club 7. Priests and Crypto-Christians: Intrigue in Jerusalem 8. The Israel–Greece Alliance 9. Thrace: Greek Minarets 10. Istanbul: The Old Byzantines 11. Meze in Kadiköy Epilogue: Sea Captains on the Edge of Asia Notes Selected Bibliography Acknowledgements

''Part travelogue, part geopolitical survey, this entertaining book looks at how the country''s Near Eastern connections are being knitted back together ... [Mathews writes] with eloquence and clarity.''

‘[Mathews''s] musings as he travels in Greece and the rest of the region make for a great read.’

''Mathews reminds readers that Greece''s destiny has always been maritime, mediatory, and resilient.''

''A tremendous read, with a fresh outlook.''

‘A compelling read … [Mathews] rightly challenges us to rethink what Greece is and the potential it offers.’

‘One of the more provocative and stimulating assessments of Greece to have appeared in English in recent years.’

‘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.’

‘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.’

‘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.’

‘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.’