For this month's episode, I speak with Tassos Papacostas (King's College London) about Cyprus during the Middle Byzantine Period. We touch upon the political and economic changes that characterize the period in addition to the population movement from urban centers to rural ones (focusing on the 10th century settlement of the Troodos region in particular). What precipitated the rise in villages and monasteries that dot the landscape? How did they fare as we transitioned into the Frankish period? We also discuss the architectural markers that are unique to the Painted Churches in the Troodos and how they contrast with typical church architecture on the coastal centers.