Chris Christofi

Life in Ootali Chris Christofi

Life in Ootali is a family saga spanning a number of generations. The story is embedded in the cultural and social history of a village in the south of Cyprus. It is about deep love and close friendships across an ethnic and religious divide. Continual pressures existed for Greeks and Turks to conform to the expectations of their individual communities. At times these pressures manifested themselves into violence. The story commences in the earlier part of the 19th century in Ottoman Istanbul. It opens with the life of a young orphaned Greek girl, Rebecca who is drawn into prostitution. Rebecca falls pregnant and not wishing to abort her baby abandons her life as a prostitute and joins a traders' caravan. To improve her prospects in life she takes on a Muslim alias, Nejla. Eventually, she abandons the caravan to settle in the village of Evra on the east Aegean coast. She lodges with the Kyriacous (Anatolian Greeks): she receives board and lodgings in exchange for carrying out daily chores. Nejla and her son, Kaya become accepted as family members. But it is not long before Nejla becomes restless. Her reckless, sexual antics in a Muslim world lead to dire consequences. Kaya is informally adopted by the Kyriacous but as much as they love him they arrange a passage for him on a fishing boat to help him escape the violence and taunting he had to endure in the village. Kaya enjoys the camaraderie and friendship he receives amongst the fisherman and stays with them for some time. But, on a fishing trip to Cyprus, he chooses to make this home. He settles in the predominantly Turkish village of Ootali, with its large Greek minority. The story then takes us through the next three generations of Kaya's descendants and their lives, love and relationships. In every generation, Kaya's descendants form close friendships with their Greek neighbours, much to the disapproval of some members of both communities. The story culminates with Kaya's great-grand-daughter, Aesha and her tragic relationship with Petros, a Greek boy. In many ways, this is a normal young couple, madly and passionately in love, but the difference in their ethnic and religious backgrounds means that their fate is doomed from the outset.