Turkish Occupation Continues to Erase Ancient Heritage of Cyprus

Since the military invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish army during the summer of 1974, countless reports have been published about the atrocities the Turkish forces committed on the beautiful Mediterranean island.

But less known is the continuous effort by the Turkish occupiers to destroy the cultural identity of the northern half of Cyprus, an area with thousands of years of rich history.

History of Cyprus under threat in occupied territory

Since the violent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Greek-Cypriots from the northern part of the island in 1974, the occupied area has not been inhabited by Turkish Cypriots, who were already living on the island, but by Turkish settlers with no relationship to Cyprus.

Tens of thousands of Turkish settlers have been brought to the island from the Turkish mainland in consecutive ”waves” of re-settlements conducted by the Turkish state.

These operations by Turkey took place in an effort to completely reshape the ethnic and cultural makeup of the so-called ”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” This is in direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and is considered to be an act of ethnic cleansing.

An area rich in ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian artifacts, monuments and buildings is continuing to undergo a constant cultural attack, on a both systematic and unsystematic basis.

This has resulted in a de facto ethnic and religious cleansing, in which the Christian and Greek character of northern Cyprus has been almost completely wiped off the face of the map.

As Michael Jansen wrote in his report called “Cyprus: The Loss of a Cultural Heritage” in 1986, ”the political-demographic de facto partition imposed on Cyprus since 1974 threatens not only the unity and integrity of a modern nation-state.”

He continued that the partition also threatens “the millennial cultural integrity and continuity of the island which has been the crossroads of the civilization of the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Universities, along with the government of the Republic of Cyprus and various non-governmental organizations, have tried throughout the years to shed light on the constant cultural erosion taking place in occupied Cyprus.

Unfortunately, there have been no significant successes to report in stopping the occupying forces from continuing these practices.

Churches, monasteries, cemeteries and archaeological sites either lie abandoned and/or have been deliberately damaged throughout the occupied territories.

Turkish invasion of Cyprus has left scars on the island

More striking examples of this situation are the churches of the Apostle Barnabas in Famagusta, Saint Anthony in Lamarisso, Saint Irene in Morphou and of the Archangel Michael Church in Lefkoniko. Most of these structures are either abandoned or have been turned into sheds, where the local farmers store their products and tools.

Church icons dating back to the Middle Ages have been vandalized or even destroyed completely by perpetrators, who are rarely caught.

Buildings such as the Prophet Elias Monastery of Maronite Monks and the Antifonitis Monastery, along with the archaeological sites of Salamis and Enkomi, are badly damaged due to the Turkish-Cypriot community’s negligence and even willful destruction.

Examples of artifacts from these sites being smuggled abroad are numerous.
In addition, Christian and Jewish cemeteries have also fallen victim to ruin in northern Cyprus.

The cemeteries of Rizokarpaso, Margo and Kontea are just some examples of areas which have been completely devastated.

As shocking as all this is today, this woeful reality is not anything new. From the very beginning of the invasion until the present moment, monuments from the Cypriot past have been looted and destroyed all over occupied Cyprus.

The monastery of Saint Panteleimon in Myrto was completely destroyed, apparently by locals, who also wrote slogans on the walls and even stole the church’s 300-kilogram bell, most likely in order to sell it.

Nearly fifty years after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, it is obvious that the island is still suffering the consequences and deep scars of this dreadful incident. Worse yet, it is an ongoing situation which threatens to erase the history of this ancient state forever.