New UNDP head visits conservation sites

THE new head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Cyprus, Jakhongir Khaydarov, other UNDP workers and the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage (TCCH) visited conservation sites in the Gazimağusa region, also known as Famagusta, for the first time as part of the “Support to cultural heritage monuments of great importance for Cyprus” project.

The project is funded by the EU and implemented by the UNDP, which “aims to contribute and support the peace-building process in Cyprus and to enhance cooperation between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots by implementing a range of confidence building measures” a UNDP statement said on Monday.

The sites visited during the trip include the “Kampanopetra and the Agios Epiphanios basilicas in Salamis as well as the opus sectile floor of the Saint Barnabas basilica in the area”.

The group then inspected the “improvement works at the Matinengo Bastion courtyard where a team of experts composed of archaeologists and conservators, made up of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, are beginning phase three of conservation works to structurally support and physically protect the monument”.

“The beginning of conservation works at the Salamis archaeological site and the courtyard of the Martinengo Bastion are the fruits of a very successful partnership between the [TCCH], UNDP and the European Union,” Mr Khaydaro said.

“Monuments and sites preserved and restored through this partnership are able to return to having a powerful role in building bridges between people.”

Ali Tuncay, the Turkish Cypriot Co-Chair of the TCCH, said that the Salamis archaeological site and Gazimağusa’s historic walled city are “pearls of the Mediterranean”.

“They were centres of commercial activity, wealth, and cosmopolitanism,” he said.

“Monuments in Salamis and Famagusta symbolise the richness and diversity of our island’s cultural heritage. Protection of cultural heritage is a fundamental basis on which intercultural dialogue and cooperation can be established.

“As the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, we are dedicated to preserving this rich cultural heritage for future generations and as well as humanity.”

Mr Tuncay’s Greek Cypriot counterpart Takis Hadjidemetriou said: “With the completion of the works in the surrounding area, the Martinego Bastion will be accessible to visitors.

“Martinego Bastion is the most important part of the walls of Famagusta and one of the most important examples of military architecture in the world.

The [TCCH] is proud of its contribution to the maintenance of the monument.”