The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme have announced the start-up of conservation works to the Holy Cross Church in the northern Turkish occupied area of Karpasia, on the eastern part of the island.
The church is one of three Maronite religious heritage sites selected by the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage to benefit from conservation interventions within the EU funded and UNDP implemented programme “Support to Monuments of Great Importance for the communities of Cyprus”.
The other two Maronite sites to benefit from similar interventions are the Old St. George Church in Kormakitis (completed in October 2015) and the Church of Agia Marina (tender currently ongoing).
Conservation works will include general cleaning of the church, replacement of metal utters and downpipes, removal of existing plaster and repainting of stonewalls surfaces, repair of the stone belfry, replacing of damaged stones and conservation of frescoes.
Works are fully funded by the European Union-estimated budget, at 34,700 EUR, and shall be completed by end of August 2016.
Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. UN-led talks are currently underway to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country, under a federal roof.
Conservation work for Holy Cross Church in Turkish occupied Karpasia begins
