Once again it is time to prepare for another tour on the frontier in a manner of speaking. The local club will have to do without my services after June as the household prepares for yet another move to lands across the sea. This time, the destination is Cyprus, which is not an onerous garrison as foreign tours of duty are concerned. It has a healthy selection of historical sRes and museums in which leisure hours can be spent in lieu of tabletop gaming. As of writing, there are no indications that gaming will be a significant pastime, although a friend was kind enough to supply me with a contact number for one club.

One of the main attractions of Cyprus will be the opportunity to visit Crusader sites on the island and hopefully in the Middle East. There has been interest expressed in these pages about the Cypriot army under the Lusignan dynasty which controlled the island during the 13-15th centuries. It was one of the last Crusader states after the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and should allow for a glimpse of the era. As Cyprus is located close to the Middle East and one can travel by daily ferry service to the Levant, it is possible to make trips to other sites occupied by the Crusaders.

Before beginning the move, there was an opportunity to conduct a reconnaissance in the form of a four week tour of Egypt, Israel and Jordan. While this was a group holiday, the bus stopped at several noteworthy sites including Kerak in Jordan which was a major Crusader castle. It was besieged by Saladin and was also the launching point for the only Crusader fleet to operate in the Red Sea. The tour included some of the well known Egyptian attractions along the Nile and near Cairo, which are interesting for the many carvings of pharaohs on military expeditions. The other sites of interest to our period were Petra and Jerash in Jordan, Acre, Masada, Jerusalem and Tiberias in Israel.

The drawback of a package tour is the lack of time to study in detail the various sites; however, it is a good way to get an overview in a limited time (and lower cost). An advantage of a quick tour is the chance to find out about other areas of interest and get a feel for travelling in the region. Some of the stops may be worth a second look, which will be noted on this trip and considered while in Cyprus. There are a number of possibilities for future vacations.

One other region that will be seriously considered is Turkey and the Aegean islands. A trip to Rhodes would complement tours of Cyprus to explore the fortress of the Hospitallers, which was occupied aRer a brief stay on Cyprus. Another is Syria which has many Crusader sites including Crak des Chevaliers, and of course Palmyra (Tadmor).

The aim of this column was not to make the readers envious of military travellers, but rather to provide an indication of what is available to all travellers (if in this particular region). Any requests for information by other members will be entertained as would advice on what to see and do. I shall be willing to offer a limited research service in Cyprus. Anyone looking for specific information can pass them along through the editor and I shall try to locate sources. I caution the eager academics that I am not a research assistant, but rather a referral service for books, brochures and museum material. I intend to photograph many sites and always collect the guide books to supplement my private library. The latter are a good source of information and the photographs in them are much better than my amateur pictures.

There is at least one club here which meets weekly, although I do not know how often I shall participate as it is about a 90 minute drive from my apartment. By North American standards that is a short trip; however, it is a long trip for Cyprus. I shall console myself with visiting the local sites including some good museums in lieu of gaming. There are of course other alternatives but they are not relevant to this column.

I hope that some of you will communicate as I will be at liberty to do much exploring without being incumbered with family. The size of Cyprus makes moving around from place to place relatively easy so that several locations can be visited on one trip. I also hope to have the opportunity to study original texts to increase my knowledge of the historical military forces of the region. One of my peeves has been the lack of access to these sources. There is a definite advantage to having Greek or Latin text to study rather than rely on the translation of an English speaking author. I want to increase my knowledge of Greek to help with those pesky quotes which are used by scholars in their papers and books. (This was the subject of an earlier column). It will be an interesting experience, at least I certainly hope so. I can be reached at ccunficy@zenon.logos.cy.net for those who prefer e-mail addresses.

Finally, while reading the March issue of Slingshot, I made note of the article listing some of the articles appearing in the Journal of Military History, which is available from The Society for Military History (George C. Marshall, Vlrginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va 24450). College or university libraries may also have it. While it covers mainly the 19th and 20th Centuries, there are many articles and book reviews covering earlier periods. I found a good essay on Vegetius in Vol. 45 No. 4 and another thought provoking one on Hastings in Vol. S2 No. 3, which looks at the size of the two armies based on Norman ship capacity and recruiting potential in England. I am fortunate to have access to a national military library which has many journals of this type. I hope that this will encourage others to report about what can be found on local shelves.

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