A walk through Agios Andreas that never ended up materialising has inspired an evening in memory of Ruth Keshishian, the woman whose name was synonymous with the Moufflon bookshop for decades.
Through memories, stories and messages, “A Cascade of Messages for Ruth” will offer a portrait of a woman who left her mark on Cyprus’s cultural life. Ahead of the event, we spoke to critical heritage curator Yianna Tsolaki, who came up with the idea.
She and Ruth had planned a walk through Agios Andreas, the neighbourhood where they had each lived at different times, to explore the personal and collective memories associated with the area. The walk never happened, but the idea lives on at the heart of the event.
What do you remember about that last conversation, and what had you hoped to explore together in the neighbourhood?
Ruth and I were in frequent contact by email and phone in the last few months before she died suddenly in August 2025. I was spending some time abroad, and we agreed to go for the walk when I returned.
Our conversations never stayed on a single subject. Every time we spoke, Ruth had this ability to take you to different places, point you towards sources of knowledge and offer insights, depending on where you were or what you were doing at the time.
The neighbourhood held memories of my childhood and of her childhood and teenage years. But it was also marked by trauma, by a “before” and an “after”: the division of Nicosia in 1963 for her, and the invasion in 1974 for me.
What did Ruth mean to you personally?
Ruth meant a great deal to many people. If I had to put it into words, I would say she looked for a spark of curiosity in anyone who came into the bookshop, a desire to learn more. She took care of the rest; she was the one who spurred you on. With Ruth’s help, each of us has built a library filled with all kinds of books.
Ruth has been described as a “living archive” of Cyprus. Many people who visited Moufflon seem to remember not just what they bought there, but above all Ruth herself.
Why do you think she made such a lasting impression?
Ruth cared deeply about people and about Cyprus, and that came across naturally to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Over time, you could form a bond with her through your conversations and the time you spent at Moufflon.
Her breadth of knowledge was extraordinary. Just as important were her generosity and her willingness to open up new possibilities for you, whether by encouraging you to take your next step or urging you to explore something new.
What made the Moufflon bookshop so special to people working in arts and culture, researchers and readers?
They could all learn from one another. The bookshop gave you the chance to explore this island’s history in depth, through accounts by foreign travellers or research by Cypriots and others interested in its rich and varied history, archaeology, culture, politics and art.
By exploring all this and picking up small but significant details, you could gradually deepen your own knowledge, learning to distinguish between different views, perspectives and ideologies and to approach subjects critically.
Many people who knew Ruth will speak at the event, each with their own story. Why did you choose to bring together so many different voices?
There could have been many more people involved, and perhaps we can continue this work and include others in a future initiative. I tried to bring together people who could each speak about a different side of Ruth, one of the many I have already mentioned.
It will be interesting to hear how naturally people from such different fields speak about her, and how they all come back to some of the same qualities.
Most of their recollections also relate to Agios Andreas, which ties in with our theme: the walk Ruth and I had planned. I have now invited her friends to join me in bringing that walk to life through our conversations.
What would you like a young person who never knew Ruth to understand about her by the end of the evening?
I don’t want to give a specific answer to that. I hope we can tell a wide-ranging story that brings together memories and messages about this place and the beautiful, leafy neighbourhood of Agios Andreas, which remains on the city’s dividing line 63 years on.
Ruth set the tone for the evening and gave us our theme. It was as though that theme had been waiting for us all along, ready to be explored.
And another thing about Ruth: she understood exactly what inclusion meant. She made no distinction between those who “belonged” to particular fields and those who did not but were eager to learn more.
Her aim was to nurture people’s curiosity and desire to learn, encouraging them to explore Moufflon’s old and new titles and build libraries of their own.
And how would you describe her role?
“It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.”
— William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116.
Event details: “A Cascade of Messages for Ruth” takes place on Thursday 22 October at 6.30pm at Dance House Lefkosia, Agios Andreas.
