In 2016, we wrote about ‘Tales of Cyprus’ – a fabulous Facebook page that charts the island’s past through interviews, footage, and photos from our bygone generations. Back then, just a few months on from its inception, the page’s author – an Australian-born Cypriot living in Melbourne – was already making a name worldwide, sharing true tales of island life in the early part of the 20th century; connecting the internet generation with their forefathers.

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Then, in 2018, the author took the page one step further, creating Tales of Cyprus, the book: a culmination of seven years spent “interviewing and documenting elderly Cypriots from the Cypriot diaspora.” Containing the living memories and life stories of over forty elderly Cypriots who were born and lived in Cyprus during the first half of the 20th century, the book is 272 pages of interviews, anecdotes, stories and vintage photos detailing a way of life which has long since disappeared.

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And now? Well, for the very first time, the man behind it all will be launching Tales of Cyprus right here on the island, presenting this glorious compendium of heart-warming, often bittersweet tales at two major events. Giving us, the residents of Cyprus, the chance to meet author Constantinos Emmanuelle in person.

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A Melbourne graphic design artist and professor, Costas Emmanuelle is now a household name across much of Cyprus: both Facebook page and book allowing for an invaluable link to a bygone era. “From the beginning, I had a single-minded ambition to document and preserve the oral histories and living memories of my parents’ generation,” he reveals. “At its core, Tales of Cyprus is a story of migration, a story of how the Cypriot diaspora (both Turkish and Greek) has managed to keep the customs and traditions of the past alive.”

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What began as a simple chat with Costas’ own émigré father quickly became a series of interviews with various members of the global diaspora, and ultimately resulted in the book. “It started as a quest to discover my ethnic roots and ancestral home, but quickly became so much more,” says Costas. “And what a world I discovered: compared to my generation, these emigrants were from a different planet altogether!”