On Saturday evening, March 8, in the village of Vuno (Kyrenia region), located in the occupied territory of Cyprus, the historic Church of St. George collapsed.

Fortunately, the tragedy was avoided — the temple collapsed at night when there were no people around. However, the incident caused a wave of indignation and alarm among local residents.

The mukhtar of the village of Vuno, Durmus Asandir, openly accused the authorities of inaction, saying that the church had been in disrepair for a long time, but no measures had been taken. According to him, a few years ago, local residents noticed cracking walls and a leaking roof. They contacted the Department of Antiquities, but the officials only conducted an inspection and forgot about it. To avoid danger, residents forbade children to play near the church.

Meanwhile, the Greek Cypriots who had previously lived in Vouno offered to fully finance the restoration of the temple. They were ready to restore it at their own expense, but their initiative was harshly rejected by the authorities. The answer was categorical: “You’re not even allowed to drive a nail.”

It should be noted that until 1974, Greek Cypriots and Maronites lived in the village of Vouno, and St. George’s Church was one of the two Orthodox shrines of the village. After the Turkish invasion and partition of the island, the Greek Cypriots left Vuno, and their place was taken by Turkish Cypriots from the village of Tokhni (Larnaca district).

Despite the population change, the church remained a historical and spiritual symbol of the past. However, as the tragic outcome showed, the indifference and negligence of the authorities led to the fact that the unique architectural monument was lost.

The collapse of St. George’s Church is far from an isolated case of the destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied territories of Cyprus. In recent decades, there has been massive looting of churches and monasteries, the sale of iconostases, frescoes and church relics on the black market, the transformation of temples into garbage warehouses, stables and mosques without regard for historical value.

The residents of Wuno hoped that their church would be preserved and restored, but now only ruins remain of it. And this is another reminder of the fragility of Cyprus’ cultural heritage, which continues to disappear due to the indifference of the authorities and lack of proper control.

A source: reporter.com.cy

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/okkupirovannyix-territoriyax-kipra-obrushilsya-xram