ABSTRACT
Greeks tend to view Turks as crude and barbaric and Greek history books recall the suffering of their people under the oppressive Turks during Ottoman rule. Whereas Turks and Turkey feature quite prominently in Greek public life, Greeks are usually of only marginal concern for Turks. Greek-Turkish reconciliation was introduced in 1930 by their famous leaders, Ataturk of Turkey, and Venizelos of Greece, much before their own people were ready to bury the hatchet. The Greek-Turkish detente of Ataturk and Venizelos yielded agreements in the political, economic, and security spheres and weathered occasional irritants. It was in the midst of these auspicious developments that Cyprus became an arena where Greek and Turkish interests clashed, beginning in the mid-1950s. Relations between the two countries seriously deteriorated in the aftermath of the collapse of the partnership government of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus in 1963. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
