Captured as a prisoner of war during Greece's struggle for independence, Ismail Ferik Pasha is taken from Crete to Egypt. His name, his language, his religion and his identity are transformed, as he rises to become the Minister of War.<BR>But he remains haunted by the conflict between the land of his birth and his adoptive culture. Nearly fifty years after being taken captive, he returns to quell an uprising in Crete, and there he dies in battle.<BR>Based on historical events, The Life of Ismail Ferik Pasha is a timely examination of nationalism and cultural identity, and a pioneering attempt to assimilate the Ottoman occupation into the Greek cultural heritage. It is a portrayal of a fragmented country, and of a soul divided against itself.