The passage of time, within the context of the established order, is erosive for the monuments of our nation and this ominous perspective must be of concern, as a result of the monuments are what make this place, its individuals and its historical past, Sotos Ktoris, co-chair of the bi-communal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage advised Cyprus Information Company.
Ktoris was appointed final month, succeeding Takis Hadjidemetriou who resigned for private causes. He has been a member of the Committee for the final eight years and when CNA requested him about his predecessor he was fairly clear: “As Head of the Technical Committee, Hadjidemetriou contributed decisively to the hassle to save lots of the monuments of Cyprus.”
Particularly, he added, if we think about that earlier than the arrange of the Technical Committee, the destruction of cultural heritage fuelled the ideology of intolerance and the entire alienation of the 2 communities.
“Hadjidemetriou adopted the trail of reconciliation with the Turkish Cypriots, and, in full consensus with the Turkish Cypriot co-chair Ali Tuncay managed to work on the prospect of saving our cultural heritage. A perspective that till then appeared unimaginable,” he famous.
The work of the Technical Committee advanced, regularly, right into a mission with extensions past the preservation of monuments, because it contributes to the strengthening of the tradition of cooperation, tolerance and mutual respect between the 2 Communities, he pressured.
Ktoris went on to say that Hadjidemetriou`s contribution must be seen and evaluated on this mild.
He advised Cyprus Information Company that up till now tasks in additional than ninety monuments have already been accomplished and so they embody monasteries, church buildings, mosques, aqueducts, Ottoman baths, archaeological websites and mediaeval monuments.
Ktoris described the upkeep of the monastery of Apostolos Andreas, the works within the archaeological website of Salamina and the Zouhouri mosque in Larnaca and the upkeep of the Venetian partitions of Famagusta as landmark tasks.
“Nevertheless, every monument has its personal particular archaeological, architectural or non secular worth, particularly for communities whose reminiscences, sorrows and pleased moments are associated with the existence of those monuments,” he mentioned.
Ktoris mentioned that there are a lot of monuments which can be in a important situation and the intervention of the Committee is required. Work is at present underway on 9 extra monuments, together with the church of Agios Synesios in Rizokarpaso, the Arsenal bastion on the Venetian partitions of Famagusta, the Panagia in Acheritou, the Ottoman baths in Larnaca and the Orounda mosque.
“The planning for the following two years consists of preservation and upkeep works on greater than forty monuments all through Cyprus, together with the Second Part of the monastery of Apostolos Andreas and the archaeological websites in Solos, Vouni and Vrisi in Agios Epiktitos “, he mentioned.
However why is cultural heritage particularly of a divided nation so essential and why ought to we be involved? Ktoris famous that passage of time additionally impacts the monuments and this must be an issue as a result of the monuments are the place, the individuals and their historical past and their existence testifies to our historical past and the multicultural identification of our nation.
“We’ve got a accountability, due to this fact, to historical past and future generations to work for the preservation of our cultural heritage. But additionally accountability in direction of the people who find themselves anxious about the way forward for the place. As a result of each monument that survives contributes to the advance of the setting of belief and strengthens mutual understanding. On the finish, it strengthens the hassle for reconciliation, the attitude of Cyprus as an entire”, he pressured.
Relating to the involvement of the brand new era which can inherit the work of the Committee, Ktoris mentioned that the Technical Committee locations particular emphasis on the energetic involvement of the brand new era and that on this framework it has launched the mission “Younger Ambassadors of Cultural Heritage”. The youth, he mentioned, utilizing primarily social media, inform and lift consciousness in regards to the cultural heritage of our nation and the necessity to shield and respect the heritage of every neighborhood in Cyprus.
Ktoris mentioned that instructional visits are set to happen subsequent Spring in monuments and development websites the place younger Cypriots from numerous backgrounds and professions reminiscent of engineers, architects and archaeologists will be capable to purchase information and abilities associated to the preservation of monuments.
Ktoris additionally advised the Cyprus Information Company that the Technical Committee promotes the implementation of actions associated to Digital Heritage, which embody, amongst different issues, the digitization of all monuments which have been preserved, in addition to the event of on-line instructional video games, with the intention to give the chance for the brand new era of Cypriots, utilizing digital instruments, to get to know the cultural variety of Cyprus.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island’s northern third.