Technical Committee restores two more monuments in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus

The bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage completed the restoration of two more monuments, located in the old city of Turkish-occupied Famagusta, the Church of Saint Anne and Tanner’s mosque. A ceremony will be held on December 7, to mark the completion of the two projects.

The small and well-proportioned Church of St Anne presents a number of distinct Gothic elements. It closely resembles
 the Carmelite church in style and therefore, likely dates to the same period between the early 1320s and 1363. Due to
 its location in what is thought to have been the sector of the city inhabited by Oriental Christians, it may well
have been a Maronite church [Credit: WikiCommons]

Speaking to CNA, Takis Hadjidemetriou, the Greek Cypriot Head of the Technical Committee, referred in particular to Saint Anne, which dates from the 14th century BC, and said that the Maronite Patriarch from Lebanon will also attend the ceremony.
He also noted that a religious service was held in Saint Anne in May 2016, for the first time after almost five centuries, adding that the church is now completely renovated.

It is thought that Tanners Mosque was built in the 14th century by the Jacobites, as a small church dedicated to St Kathrena.
 In Ottoman times, it was used as a mosque by the leather tanners, who worked nearby, thus it became known
as the Tanners’ mosque or Tabakhane Mosque [Credit: Famagusta Walled City]

Next week’s event will be held in the presence of Technical Committee, UNDP and EU representatives, as well as members of the Maronite community of Cyprus. A religious ceremony will follow.
Hadjidemetriou noted finally that Famagusta continues to figure in future restoration plans of the Technical Committee, due to the various churches, monuments and parts of the city wall that exist in the old city.

Source: Cyprus News Agency [November 30, 2018]

TANN

Archive