You could buy a rough guide and you could look up the history of the island on wikipedia. Gregory and other stories does all that and many more. It's a journey through time and in all honesty, done in a masterful way. Ioannides' short stories not only manage to inform you about the island's turbulent history, the characters he creates are amazingly real and human and more often than not, controversial. My favorite story is about the ancient king Cinyras, the first religious/political leader of the island, and if I am not mistaken, Cinyras mirrors Archibishop Makarios III, a modern religious/political figure of the island. Ioannides' language is deceptively simple but packed with hidden meanings and rich imagery. A true master of prose...