NEW EPISODE! 54. From Sufis to Secularists: Identity and Religion amongst Turkish Cypriots with Mete Hatay

In this episode, we explore the complex history and contemporary character of Turkish Cypriot Islam, a tradition often described as highly secular, private, or even residual. My guest, Mete Hatay (Senior Research Consultant from the Peach Research Institute in Oslo), helps me unpack the many explanations Turkish Cypriots themselves have given for this secularism -- from claims of Alevi or crypto-Christian ancestry to broader narratives shaped by modern Turkish nationalism and a long history of religious marginalization. We trace Islam’s arrival in Cyprus and examine how early patterns of settlement—including the banishment of heterodox or “undesirable” Muslim groups to the island—shaped the religious landscape. The episode examines how the mid-19th century Ottoman reforms began dismantling these traditions long before modern secularism took hold. We explore how efforts to centralize authority, suppress heterodox practices, and control waqf resources alienated Cypriot Muslims from their own religious institutions. British colonial rule, despite preserving formal autonomy through the Evkaf, further weakened Islamic infrastructure. We also look at how Cyprus became an unexpected refuge for Young Turks and how, in the early 20th century, Kemalist ideals found unusually fertile ground among Turkish Cypriots--shaping attitudes toward religion, education, and public life for decades to come.

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NEW! LIV: William Turner's Observations on Turkish Cypriots

William Turner, a British traveller in the early 1800s, left one of the more vivid foreign descriptions of Cyprus under Ottoman rule. He claimed that Turkish Cypriots practiced a more relaxed form of ...

16 Elo 1min

53. Fragments of Faience, Glints of Gold: Cyprus and Egypt in Contact with Louise Steel

Dr. Louise Steel is an archaeologist whose work focuses on challenging colonial interpretations of Cypriot history by emphasizing the agency of the local population. Through postcolonial theory, she e...

2 Elo 49min

Primary Source LIII: The Misfortunes of Wen-Amun

In the early 11th century BCE, the Egyptian official Wen-Amun was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Byblos to acquire timber for the sacred barque of Amun-Ra. His journey quickly unraveled -- purs...

15 Heinä 2min

52. When Kinship Failed: Cyprus & The Black Death with Tassos Papacostas

"Out of necessary cruelty, fathers abandoned their sons, and sons fled from their fathers, as the evident danger overcame all the rules of kinship, love, and nature." - Francesco Loredano AKA Henry G...

2 Heinä 1h

BONUS! Building and Living an Archaeological Fieldwork Project with Luca Bombardieri

Luca Bombardieri, Associate Professor in Aegean and Cypriot Archaeology at the University of Siena in Italy and the scientific director at the Erimi Archaeological Project in Cyprus, explores what it ...

20 Kesä 18min

Primary Source LII: Loredano & The Black Death

The Black Death swept across Europe in the mid-14th century, killing millions and leaving entire regions devastated. No corner of the continent was spared, and Cyprus too fell victim to the deadly pan...

15 Kesä 2min

51. Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: Cyprus Between Athens & Persia with Christian Körner

After the failed revolt against Persian rule, Cyprus experienced a brief and uneasy calm. But that peace quickly unraveled, as the island was drawn into the heart of the renewed conflict between Athen...

2 Kesä 42min