Conservations works at Agia Triada Basilica mosaics and Agios Philon church, in Karpasia, in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, have been completed and a ceremony to mark their completion will take place on September 21st, in the presence of a high-ranking EU official.
Greek Cypriot co-chair of the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, Takis Hadjidemetriou, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that these are two very important monuments of the Orthodox Church and of the world cultural heritage.
The monuments date back to the 4th-5th century AD and are of great archaeological value and significance, he noted, recalling that Agios Philon was the first Bishop of Karpasia.
Moreover, Hadjidemetriou said that the conservation works began last year and were completed this year, after a break during winter. They were funded by the EU. He also noted that a high-ranking EU official will be present during the project completion ceremony, which will also be open for the public.
The event will take place on Saturday, September 21, starting with an unveiling of the plaque at the Agia Triada site at 1430 local time (1130 GMT), followed by a ceremony at Agios Philon Church at 1600.
Asked about a meeting of the Greek Cypriot members of the bicommunal Technical Committees that took place on Monday, under Greek Cypriot negotiator, Andreas Mavroyiannis, Hadjidemetriou said that what has come out of the meeting is a message of boosting the role of the Technical Committees and facilitating them to address any functional problems.
He also referred to the EU-funded support facility of 1 million euros that has been made available to the bi-communal Technical Committees, for the 2019-2020 period, noting that the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage will be allocated an amount from this fund for conservation works at projects that have already been completed.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.
