Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Icon Hunter
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1959
WEBSITE: http://www.tasoulahadjitofi.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: Netherlands
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1959, in Famagusta, Cyprus.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and activist. Founder of Walk of Truth (non-governmental organization); founder of Octagon Professionals International, Den Haag, Netherlands. Honorary Consul of Cyprus in the Netherlands, beginning 1987.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Tasoula Hadjitofi is a writer and activist living in the Netherlands. She was born in Cyprus and is of Greek Cypriot heritage. When Turkey invaded her country in 1974, Hadjitofi, then fourteen years old, and her family left Cyprus. They immigrated as refugees to the Netherlands. In 1987, the government of the Netherlands named Hadjitofi the Honorary Consul of Cyprus. She is the founder of a tech recruitment firm called Octagon Professionals International. Hadjitofi is perhaps best known for her work as a cultural activist, whose mission has been to stop art traffickers from selling invaluable artifacts from Cyprus. She spent about thirty years recovering important pieces and returning them to her motherland. Hadjitofi is the founder of a non-governmental organization called Walk of Truth, which seeks to gain support from the public in efforts involving cultural activism.
In 2017, Hadjitofi released The Icon Hunter: A Refugee’s Quest to Reclaim Her Nation’s Stolen Heritage, in which she chronicles her experiences tracking Cypriot artifacts. She focuses on a particular sting operation that she organized called the “Munich Case.” Hadjitofi and her operatives track stolen artifacts for over two decades. Her mission brought her to locations around the world, including a Japanese university. Hadjitofi worked with collaborators, including Michel Van Rijn, an art dealer from the Netherlands who proved to be unreliable. Eventually, she was able to confront Aydin Dikmen, the Turkish art trafficker in possession of the priceless Cypriot sacred icons. Hadjitofi proudly returned the art to Cyprus.
Hadjitofi’s book received favorable assessments from critics. A Kirkus Reviews contributor asserted: “Her journey is endearing, and she brings the plight of the Cypriots into sharper focus.” The same contributor described the volume as “an intimate trek into the venal world of art looting and selling.” “The book is a powerful and important chronicle of art trafficking … and Hadjitofi is a caring and exacting storyteller,” wrote a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. Dina Gold, critic on the Washington Independent Review of Books website, called the book “a fascinating account of a Greek Cypriot woman’s journey to return pillaged, priceless objects.” Gold also commented: “The Icon Hunter is filled with a rich cast of characters—rogue antique merchants, dodgy financiers, greedy purchasers, a private detective, an archbishop, a notorious Turkish smuggler, and others.” Gold added: “The Icon Hunter offers penetrating insights into the seedy, avaricious world of antique traffickers. If you knew nothing of the plunder of Cyprus and the laws that hinder restitution, then this is a book for you.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2017, review of The Icon Hunter: A Refugee’s Quest to Reclaim Her Nation’s Stolen Heritage.
Publishers Weekly, February 27, 2017, review of The Icon Hunter, p. 92.
ONLINE
Tasoula Hadjitofi Website, http://www.tasoulahadjitofi.com/ (October 20, 2017).
Washington Independent Review of Books, http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/ (April 27, 2017), Dina Gold, review of The Icon Hunter.*
The Icon Hunter
Tasoula Hadjitofi, “The Icon Hunter,” is renowned worldwide for her work combatting art trafficking. In 1997, she coordinated “The Munich Case,” one of the largest art trafficking sting operations in European history since WWII. More than 5000 artifacts were found hidden in the double ceilings and hollow floors of the Munich apartments of Aydin Dikmen, a Turkish dealer known as “The Archaeologist.” Tasoula’s work as a campaigner to protect the world’s cultural heritage spans over 30 years.
Her memoir, “The Icon Hunter” is based on her life’s work.
“A gripping memoir. As a former refugee, she reveals the despair and irreparable loss of losing not only a nation but also its cultural heritage. She exposes the “underworld of art traffickers” with intricate detail as she documents all the legal loopholes and battles that stand in the way of repatriating stolen artifacts. The book is a powerful and important chronicle of art trafficking and its impact on the lives of those torn apart by war, and Hadjitofi is a caring and exacting storyteller.”—Publishers Weekly
Tasoula Culture Activist
Cultural Activist
In 2011, Tasoula founded “Walk of Truth”, a non-governmental organization whose mission is to engage the public about the importance of protecting and preserving cultural heritage in areas of conflict. The NGO rallies legislators and political leaders to strengthen the laws around art trafficking and restitution and continues to help others in their efforts to repatriate looted artifacts. She has dedicated her life to bringing looted artifacts home to her native Cyprus in an effort to compensate for her own inability to return home. On August 14, 2018 she is organizing a silent “Ghandi” style walk to Famagusta, Cyprus to raise awareness about the continued military occupation. To register, please click here.
Culture Crime Watcher
Walk of Truth receives anonymous tips from around the world about stolen artifacts. The NGO attracts volunteers who are interested in joining its effort to protect and preserve cultural heritage. Walk of Truth welcomes refugees, immigrants and displaced people who have been forced to flee their homelands due to violence and invites them to join the Walk of Truth platform so that they can protect, restore and repatriate their own cultural heritage as a way to reclaim their identity. Tasoula travels to refugee camps in an effort to inspire people using her own story of survival as inspiration. Walk of Truth offers to teach refugees skills that can provide them with the self-sufficiency they need to rebuild. Tasoula says, “I want to empower the refugees to rebuild their future with the ruins of their past.”
Tasoula Culture Crime Watcher
Tasoula Honorary Consul
Honorary Consul
In 1987, Mrs. Hadjitofi was appointed Honorary Consul of Cyprus in the Netherlands. Her inspiration to tackle art trafficking came when art dealers tried to sell her artifacts that were stolen from Cyprus. This led to nearly three decades of tracking down leads from art dealers, detectives, and lawyers, to recover the stolen religious heritage of her motherland.
Entrepreneur
As an adult, Tasoula became a successful entrepreneur in her adopted country, founding Octagon Professionals International, an IT recruitment agency that serves clients throughout Europe and Asia.
Tasoula Entrepreneur
Tasoula aged 14 refugee
Refugee
Tasoula was born and raised in Famagusta Cyprus. In 1974, at the age of 14, she and her family fled their home to escape the Turkish military invasion of Cyprus. They eventually settled in the Netherlands as refugees.
The Icon Hunter’s book has been welcomed by the literary community. Read more
“The Icon Hunter is not only a quest for justice but for spirituality as well. Tasoula Hadjitofi achieves both. She is truly brave and her work is a shining example to us all that a persevering woman is a force to reckon with. In the age of ISIS and the routine destruction of historic sites, art, and artifacts, Tasoula’s work is timely and an inspiration for all who care to preserve the human legacy of art. I simply cannot wait for this story to be turned into a movie. As a book, it is impossible to put down.” Ayaan Hirsi Ali, New York Times bestselling author of “Infidel” and “Heretic”
“In a memoir that reads like a high-stakes mystery, Cypriot refugee Tasoula Hadjitofi struggles to find her rightful place in the world and to return the religious treasures of her homeland to theirs. Along the way, her compelling personal tale illustrates the devastating cultural, historic, spiritual and moral consequences of illegal art trafficking.” Nicholas Gage, author of Eleni and Greek Fire
“An explosive account. Tasoula’s life is derailed during the Turkish military invasion of Cyprus, but years later her life comes full circle as she seeks justice for the hundreds of churches that were looted and destroyed in the occupied areas. Through Tasoula’s efforts and passion, we learn the deeper meaning these artifacts hold for Orthodox Christians worldwide.
The Icon Hunter is a timely story to be savored and treasured.” Priscilla Jana, author of Fighting for Mandela
Buy 'The Icon Hunter' today. All proceeds go to 'Walk of Truth'. Thank you.
QUOTED: "Her journey is endearing, and she brings the plight of the Cypriots into sharper focus."
"an intimate trek into the venal world of art looting and selling."
Hadjitofi , Tasoula: THE ICON HUNTER
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Hadjitofi , Tasoula THE ICON HUNTER Pegasus (Adult Nonfiction) $27.95 4, 11 ISBN: 978-1-68177-323-0
A Greek Cypriot refugee in the Netherlands chronicles her fierce determination to return stolen artifacts to her country
through years of dangerous underworld operations.Having fled her hometown of Famagusta, Cyprus, at age 14 with
her family when the Turkish military invaded the country in 1974, Hadjitofi relocated to The Hague and became, in her
early 20s, a businesswoman and honorary consul to her country. While there, she was approached by a Dutch art dealer
with a special interest in Byzantine icons and religious paintings, many looted shamelessly from the hundreds of
ancient churches located in the occupied area of Cyprus after the Turkish invasion. In this detailed narrative, rendered
in occasionally stilted English, the author moves back and forth in time to give a sense of her life in Cyprus before the
invasion among her intensely pious Christian community, and she shows how crucial to their religion these icons were.
She re-creates the time she was first approached by the dealer, Michel Van Rijn, in 1988; he held out to her tantalizing
possibilities of retrieving many sacred icons from Aydin Dikmen, a Turkish dealer with whom he maintained shadowy
dealings. In return, she and her country would have to come up with staggering amounts of money. Over more than 10
years, Hadjitofi managed to use the highly volatile Van Rijn to get at Dikmen through an extensive undercover sting
operation. Her adventures took her to Munich and London and Cyprus, and she effectively kept the police at bay to
lure Dikmen into the trap and the ultimate discovery of priceless artifacts. The author's work is also a personal memoir,
not only of her life in Cyprus, but also of her struggles as a young woman trying to start a family and maintain her IT
business, Octagon. Her journey is endearing, and she brings the plight of the Cypriots into sharper focus. An intimate
trek into the venal world of art looting and selling.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Hadjitofi , Tasoula: THE ICON HUNTER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA482911725&it=r&asid=318f13e3fcf04c5a27bf2f7b3e4c9ec4.
Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A482911725
QUOTED: "The book is a powerful and important chronicle of art trafficking ... and Hadjitofi is a caring and exacting storyteller."
10/7/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1507420324644 2/2
The Icon Hunter: A Refugee's Quest to Reclaim
Her Nation's Stolen Heritage
Publishers Weekly.
264.9 (Feb. 27, 2017): p92.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Icon Hunter: A Refugee's Quest to Reclaim Her Nation's Stolen Heritage
Tasoula Hadjitofi. Pegasus, $27.95 (384p)
ISBN 978-1-68177-323-0
In this gripping memoir, Hadjitofi, former Honorary Consul of Cyprus in the Netherlands and founder of the NGO
Walk of Truth, chronicles the Munich sting operation that uncovered and repatriated stolen artifacts and icons looted
from Cypriot churches during the Turkish occupation of Cyprus in 1974. The sting that led to the "Munich Case" lasted
more than two decades. Hadjitofi recounts her quest to locate scattered Byzantine masterpieces that are worth millions;
she went all over the world, from a university in Japan to the Munich doorstep of a corrupt art trader. She partnered
with Dutch art trader Michel Van Rijn, a corrupt and unreliable informant, who introduced danger along the journey.
Hadjitofi felt driven to return the artifacts to the Orthodox Christian churches that represent both her religion and her
home. As a former refugee, she reveals the despair and irreparable loss of losing not only a nation but also its cultural
heritage. She exposes the "underworld of art traffickers" with intricate detail as she documents all the legal loopholes
and battles that stand in the way of repatriating stolen artifacts. The book is a powerful and important chronicle of art
trafficking and its impact on the lives of those torn apart by war, and Hadjitofi is a caring and exacting storyteller.
(Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Icon Hunter: A Refugee's Quest to Reclaim Her Nation's Stolen Heritage." Publishers Weekly, 27 Feb. 2017, p.
92. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485671234&it=r&asid=8a9f159ea176915f1b3995b864b2ebe9.
Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485671234
QUOTED: "a fascinating account of a Greek Cypriot woman's journey to return pillaged, priceless objects."
"The Icon Hunter is filled with a rich cast of characters — rogue antique merchants, dodgy financiers, greedy purchasers, a private detective, an archbishop, a notorious Turkish smuggler, and others."
"The Icon Hunter offers penetrating insights into the seedy, avaricious world of antique traffickers. If you knew nothing of the plunder of Cyprus and the laws that hinder restitution, then this is a book for you."
The Icon Hunter: A Refugee’s Quest to Reclaim Her Nation’s Stolen Heritage
By Tasoula Hadjitofi Pegasus Books 400 pp.
Reviewed by Dina Gold
April 27, 2017
A fascinating account of a Greek Cypriot woman's journey to return pillaged, priceless objects.
Tasoula Hadjitofi is a singularly focused woman. She is driven to find and return the precious treasures stolen from her native Cyprus when the Turkish army invaded the island in 1974.
The first 14 years of her life were idyllic, growing up alongside her two sisters and brother in the city of Famagusta on the east coast of Cyprus. In The Icon Hunter, she so richly describes the details of Orthodox religious rituals, Greek Cypriot foods, and local customs that it is easy to understand why the author says she cherishes these memories of Cyprus “as if they were priceless personal antiquities.”
But in 1974, the horrific bombing campaign of the Turkish air force and subsequent invasion force the author and her family to flee for their lives to Limassol on the southern coast.
With more than 200,000 Greek Cypriots displaced and over 1,000 missing and feared dead, Turkey swallows up just over a third of the island. Churches and archaeological sites are looted and desecrated with abandon; where 500 churches had once stood, a mere five remain intact afterward.
Centuries’ worth of sacred artifacts are stolen from monasteries, churches, castles, and museums. Invaluable antiquities — several dozen major frescoes, 20,000 icons, thousands of chalices, bibles, coins, urns, crosses, wooden carvings, mosaics, and statues are seized by traffickers, broken up, smuggled out, and sold to investors across the world.
Greedy buyers fuel the demand while shady, secretive art dealers reap multimillion-dollar profits, all at the expense of Greek Cypriots’ cultural identity and heritage. The stolen treasures often change hands multiple times before disappearing without a trace.
At age 17, the refugee Hadjitofi left her homeland for the Netherlands. As an adult living in the Hague, she establishes a successful company, becomes honorary consul of Cyprus in the Netherlands, eventually marries Dr. Michael Hadjitofi, and embarks on a 20-year venture to track down and expose the thieves who wantonly pillaged Cyprus of its historic artifacts and repatriate her cultural heritage.
The Icon Hunter is filled with a rich cast of characters — rogue antique merchants, dodgy financiers, greedy purchasers, a private detective, an archbishop, a notorious Turkish smuggler, and others, like the intriguing Dutch art dealer Michel van Rijn, “Who does nothing without an ulterior motive.” He’s an “extrovert, falsely presenting himself as a descendant of the Dutch master painter Rembrandt van Rijn” and who “lives everywhere and nowhere, because his questionable business practices leave a trail of angry people in the wake of his deceit.”
Yet this man offers his help in exchange for immunity from prosecution and enough money to start a new life in Australia. Can Hadjitofi trust the man she compares with “a devil”?
Given the dizzying list of extraordinary players in the unfolding drama — many with Greek, Dutch, Armenian, or Japanese names — a Cast of Characters would have been extremely helpful. (Useful tip: Write one yourself or there’s a danger of losing the plot.) Nor is there an index, which would have come in handy. And readers should keep a map of Cyprus close by.
It’s not long before our heroine is deeply engaged in legal pursuit of stolen antiquities found in Japan and the United States. Tracking stolen artifacts’ whereabouts is hard enough, but there are other problems to overcome.
Under Dutch law, there is a 20-year statute of limitations, so time is of the essence. Establishing provenance is another major issue — the burden of proof of ownership lay with the church for sacred artifacts and the government of Cyprus for historical works. But the Greek Orthodox Church had not kept documentary records or photographs. Why would they? No one had ever dreamt that their daily ritual objects would be stolen.
And to complicate matters even more, art traffickers can turn an illicit item into a perfectly legally owned one since Dutch law decrees that if a stolen good has changed hands several times (in one case, it changed 36 times), then a sale can be deemed totally legitimate. As Hadjitofi says, “Being on the side of right does not guarantee justice.”
The pièce de résistance of Hadjitofi’s quest for justice on behalf of her wronged people is her part in “the Munich Case,” one of the most spectacular sting operations since the end of the Second World War. In 1997, she orchestrated the raid of the apartment of the above-mentioned Turkish smuggler, whom the Cypriot authorities believed to be the mastermind behind the trafficking of their treasures.
Not bad for a woman who says of herself, “I’m just a girl from Famagusta” and “I’m not James Bond.” Perhaps not — but she could dress to kill. She’s a woman straight out of Vogue — we are told of her pink Escada jacket, black Valentino suit, dresses by Dutch designer Gérard Brussé and Louis Féraud, and Chanel No. 5.
The Icon Hunter offers penetrating insights into the seedy, avaricious world of antique traffickers. If you knew nothing of the plunder of Cyprus and the laws that hinder restitution, then this is a book for you.
But we have not heard the last of “Cultural Crime Watcher” Tasoula Hadjitofi. She has now launched her own NGO, “Walk of Truth,” to raise the public’s awareness about the need to protect their cultural heritage from violence.
A final word of appreciation must go to the present-day saint in this story. The man rightly described by his wife as offering “calm, sturdy, dependable support” — Hadjitofi’s long-suffering husband, Michael. I trust Tasoula would agree she could never have achieved such success without him by her side.
Dina Gold is a former London-based BBC reporter and producer. She now lives in Washington, DC, and is the author of Stolen Legacy: Nazi Theft and the Quest for Justice at Krausenstrasse 17/18, Berlin, published by Ankerwycke. Find her on Twitter at @dina_gold or on her website at www.stolenlegacy.com.