“Entertaining…Mathews shows with eloquence and clarity, there are Greek communities scattered all over the place…Along the way [he] revels in providing gems of information that few will know”

-Peter Frankopan, Financial Times

“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”

-Robert Kaplan, author of Balkan Ghosts, Adriatic and Mediterranean Winter

“Mathews does travel writing reportage very well”

-Asian Review of Books

“A sweeping, historically rich and provocative book that will challenge conventional thinking about both geography and politics”

-David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker 

“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”

-Erika Fatland, author of The Border, Sovietistan and High

“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”

-Hannah Lucinda Smith, Istanbul correspondent and author of Erdoğan Rising