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Outlook: Hunting for icons in the underworld, part 1

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Tasoula with icons HiRes.jpg

22/01/2024 GMT

Hunting for icons in the underworld, part 1

BBC World Service - Outlook, Hunting for icons in the underworld, part 1

Tasoula Hadjitofi uncovered a shady network looting her country's most sacred relics

Tasoula Hadjitofi fled war-torn Cyprus as a child. Years later, she was shocked to discover a shady network looting her country's most sacred relics.

In 1974 Tasoula's country, Cyprus, was torn in two by war. Distraught and unable to return home she ended up in the Netherlands where some years later a shadowy art dealer approached her with some astonishing news. Religious artefacts sacred to her faith that had adorned the churches she prayed in as a girl had been chiselled away, and were now being sold on the black market. And so began Tasoula's decade-long search for the stolen relics. But she would first have to learn from the criminals in order to catch them.

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Edgar Maddicott
Sound Design: Joe Munday
Editor: Harry Graham


Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Tasaoula Hadjitofi. Credit: Courtesy of Walk of Truth Archive)

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