Good examples are The Danger Zone of Europe, Changes and Problems in the Near East or War and Diplomacy in the Balkans by H.C. Woods, the former published in 1911.

What also catches my attention here is the term ‘Near East’ which seems to have fallen into disuse while ‘Middle East’ and ‘Far East’ still persist. Thus we have a parallel situation in which a Balkanism that is a complex of negatively connot ed ascribed characteristics has a superficial resemblance to Orientalism but differs fundamentally because it applies to real territories rather than an indefinable, because imagined, domain. In addition it is only in relatively recent times that the term Balkans has taken on pejorative implications, as opposed to being a contestable geographical category.

What interests both L and myself is how people here see themselves in relation to their neighbours and the rest of Europe which they will soon be ‘joining’.

On a more prosaic level L is making photos of everyday Orientalist images and objects that have found their way into popular culture here. The tikis and totem poles we found in front of nearby restaurants, for example. Tikis are part of the 1930 beachcomber fad, a fascination with things ‘Polynesian’ which began with restaurants and developed through the 40s, 50s and 60s as a style of furnishings, fittings and other objects such as mugs.