Famagusta, Cyprus. A study is set to begin on the conservation of the St George of the Greeks church, bicommunal technical committee on cultural heritage co-chairman Sotos Ktoris said.
Church history and construction
The church dates back to the 14th century and was built immediately to the west of an earlier church also dedicated to St George. Famagusta’s Greek Orthodox community at the time is said to have wanted to build a cathedral to rival the grandeur of the town’s Latin St Nicholas cathedral, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque.
Damage during the Ottoman siege
The church suffered cannonball damage during the Ottoman siege of Famagusta in the 16th century, and the damage remains visible on the outer walls.
Later use and markings
In the centuries that followed, much of Famagusta’s walled city was abandoned. The church was used as a shooting gallery, and sailors from ships arriving at the nearby port are known to have etched drawings of their ships into the church’s walls.
What priorities would you like to see addressed first in the conservation study of the church?