People from throughout Cyprus on Wednesday traveled to the Turkish-occupied coastal town Famagusta to witness a ceremony marking the completion of conservation works at the church of St. Anne, as well the neighboring tanners’ mosque.
Efforts to restore the two houses of worship in the walled city of Famagusta began in September 2017, on behalf of the bi-communal technical committee on cultural heritage and the United Nations’ Development Programme. EU funding was also utilized.
Conservators also found frescoes beneath a layer of cement, which will be uncovered in a second phase, once funding is secured.
Parts of frescoes are also visible inside the tanners’ mosque, a 15th or 16th cathedral church that was converted into a small mosque. During the Ottoman occupation it was used by tanners working nearby, hence its name.
