Conservation works completed on the St. Mary and the Carmelite Church

A ceremony was held on Saturday, May 26 in Mağusa to mark the completion of conservation works on two historic churches, with the financial contribution of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and technical support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The Director of Structural Reform Support Service of the European Commission, Mary McCarthy, the Turkish Cypriot Representative of Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, Ali Tuncay, Greek Cypriot Representative Takis Hacidimitriu and the UNDP Cyprus Senior Programme Manager and Head of Office Tiziana Zennaro each made a speech at the event.

In his speech, the Turkish Cypriot representative of the Committee, Ali Tuncay, emphasized that cultural heritage and different cultures should no longer be factors that cause conflicts but factors that contribute to cooperation, peace and prosperous living of Turkish Cypriots, Greek Cypriots, Armenians and other communities.

Stating that the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage has shown how productive it can be if they work and collaborate together, Tuncay said that this experience had proven that all parties can work for the benefit of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, on the basis of respect, equality and mutual trust without imposing on each other.

Tuncay said that with these restoration works, they had not only helped to repair two historic churches, but at the same time created an environment of peace and trust between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots at a time when it was most needed.