I am sometimes teased that I choose beautiful and interesting islands on which to undertake research. There is truth in this and one of the reasons is that island populations can be ascertained fairly accurately since they are relatively closed communities. In 1985 a letter arrived from Dr Ntinos Myrianthopoulos, an advisor to the National Institute of Heath in Bethesda, Maryland. He told me he was a Greek Cypriot and that he considered that Cyprus would be an ideal island in which to undertake a study on the prevalence of multiple sclerosis. He said that he was friendly with one of the neurologists on the island, Dr Lefkos Middleton, who was interested in collaborating with me in such a study.

Recalling the words of well-known detective story writer Edgar Wallace – ‘case the joint’ – I decided to visit Cyprus before making up my mind. First, I found out the history of Cyprus. Over the centuries Cyprus has been invaded many times. Richard Coeur de Lion, on his way to a Crusade, conquered Cyprus in the thirteenth century and the island was sold to another Norman family, the Lusignans. The Greek-speaking Cypriots belong to the Cypriot Orthodox Church, an independent branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In 1572 Cyprus was conquered by the Turks, who then ruled the country until 1878. The Turks permitted the Orthodox bishops and priests, but not the Roman Catholics, to continue as leaders of the Christians in the country. In 1853, Turkey sold Cyprus for a nominal amount to Britain in return for its support against Russia. After the Second World War there was considerable unrest against British rule and, among many Greek Cypriots, a demand for enosis, or union, with Greece. Enosis was strongly opposed by the Turkish-speaking Cypriots and by the British, who generally used Turkish Cypriots to police the island. In 1960, Cyprus gained independence from Britain and Archbishop Makarios became president of Cyprus.