From a height of approximately 750 metres, beneath one of the peaks of the Pentadaktylos mountain range, the Holy Monastery of Panagia Apsinthiotissa, near Synghari, now overlooks the Mesaoria plain with a new appearance: no longer in ruins, no longer abandoned. A few kilometres further down, on the plain itself, the parish church of Saint Prokopios in Sygkrasi has also been restored. Crosses have been placed on the graves in the adjacent cemetery, which has been cleared and tidied.
To date, the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage has restored more than 210 religious monuments, both large and small, belonging to all religious communities across Cyprus, as well as approximately 70 cemeteries. On Friday, the Holy Monastery of Panagia Apsinthiotissa, an impressive 12th-century building, and the Church of Saint Prokopios, dating back to the 10th century, were handed over following restoration. These monuments date from a period when relatively few religious buildings had been constructed in Cyprus.
Sotos Ktoris and Ali Tuncay, the Co-Chairs of the Technical Committee, told the Cyprus News Agency that they were delighted with the work carried out, explaining that these monuments represent ‘our shared cultural heritage.’ This is not a project of conflict, but one of cooperation and confidence-building, they said.
Asked about the cemeteries, Tuncay said that across Cyprus there were 70 cemeteries where restoration work had been completed, was nearing completion or had already begun. ‘There are difficulties, but we overcome them and continue to move forward.’
‘The conservation of Panagia Apsinthiotissa in Synghari and Saint Prokopios in Sygkrasi reaffirms our shared commitment, as Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to working together to preserve the monuments bequeathed to us by the history of this land,’ Ktoris said.
‘This commitment stems from our sense of duty towards these monuments, both Muslim and Christian, and from our deep conviction that cooperation creates the conditions for highlighting mutual respect and strengthening trust between the two communities’, he added.
The Holy Monastery of Panagia Apsinthiotissa was built in the 12th century. It belongs to the rare hexagonal architectural type and takes its name from the wormwood plant (Artemisia absinthium). According to tradition, an icon of the Virgin Mary was discovered in a cave covered with wormwood plants.
The Church of Saint Prokopios in Sygkrasi is a 10th-century monument and a key example of the architecture of that period. It is a domed, cross-in-square church featuring a variation of the Greek architectural type. One indication that the church dates back to the 10th century, is an inscription inside the building recounting events that took place in 978 AD.
The community leader of Synghari for the past 15 years is Philippos Philippou, who is now 78. The monastery belongs to the Exarchate of Jerusalem and has held a service only once since the crossing points opened, and that was without permission. As a result, he was arrested at the time but was subsequently released, he said.
His complaint, he said, is that they submit an application every year to hold a service at the church on 21 November, but it is never approved.
Chrysi Giangouli, 77, also from Synghari, remembers visiting the monastery frequently. She returned a few years ago, after the crossing points opened, and went again this time to see how the restoration had turned out and reminisce about the past.
Nicos Charalambous from Famagusta told CNA that during the summers of his childhood, until 1974, would spend his holidays in Sygkrasi, his mother’s ancestral village. ‘My best childhood memories are from this village. We used to hide in the fields of grain, which were as tall as I was at the time. My grandmother kept chickens and guinea fowl in the yard, and there was a well and fresh eggs,’ he said.
His grandmother’s house no longer exists, he added, as it was demolished.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. María Angela Holguín, Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.