RESTORATION OF ARMENIAN COMPLEX IN TURKISH-OCCUPIED NICOSIA FEASIBLE IN 30 MONTHS, EXPERTS TELL COMMUNITY
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra

Gibrahayer
Wednesday 3 December, 2008

The Armenian community of Cyprus filled the Utudjian Hall of the
Armenian Prelature on Tuesday night, 2 December 2008, to listen to
the UNDP’s plan on the restoration of the medieval Armenian church
of Sourp Asdvadzadzin in occupied Nicosia. Present were the UNDP
Programme Manager for Cyprus, Jaco Cilliers, the project engineer
Stefano de Vito, and the project architect Paolo Vitti as well as
MP Vartkes Mahdessian and Father Momik Habeshian. The evening was
presented by the Chairman of the Diocesan Council Sebouh Tavitian.

In the beginning of the slide-show presentation, we were delighted to
see that this team of experts had previously undertaken the restoration
of many important monuments in Rome, Perugia, Sicily and Jerusalem.

The slide-show contained a wealth of historical information about the
church and the adjacent monastery, as well as architectural information
and pictures on the various stages at which the church building was
built. It also contained information on the Melikian mansion, which
is also scheduled to be restored in parallel with the church. This
feasibility study has taken about 18 months to complete, and it is
now ready to be put into use for the much-awaited restora tion of the
Armenian complex. While conducting the study, survey plans were used,
as well as pre-1963 photographs, which greatly helped the team to
discover what was built where, when, and for what purpose.

As the team informed us, the entire project will take about 18 months
to complete, and it includes the restoration of the old buildings and
their collapsed roofs, as well as the electrical illumination of the
complex. The ultimate goal is not to restore the church as i t was
in the 17th or the 18th century, but to restore what we have now and
to prevent the further decay of the buildings. The Melikian mansion
wall will be re-built, and a new entrance will be opened from the
north part of the complex, to allow a better view of the impressive
church and belfry. We were also prompted to keep in mind that the
programme may stop at any time, either due to lack of funding or due
to other reasons.

Let us hope that what the UNDP has planned for the last 4 years
will soon become a reality, and let us hope that once the project is
finished, all the Gibrahay community will pack the ancient church of
Sourp Asdvadzadzin for an unforgettable Badarak!