FAMAGUSTA’S famous walled city has been named one of the world’s top one hundred endangered sites of historical and cultural interest, in a list compiled by the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
The organisation cited the island’s political impasse, a lack of political will in both Cyprus communities, and the developments taken by authorities in the north as contributing to the city’s decay.
As well as its significance as a hub for commercial activity during Lusignan and Venetian rule, the port city is well known for having been the setting for Shakespeare’s epic Othello.
It now lies in the occupied areas, north of Varosha, and is said to have been subject to “three centuries of neglect” before the arrival of British occupying forces in 1878.
The World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was launched as part of the WMF’s World Monuments Watch program in 1995. The List is produced every two years to raise awareness and incite local efforts to preserve sites of cultural heritage.
The Famagusta site was added to the list after an application from a professor of the art history and archaeology department of the Eastern Mediterranean University located in the north.
The walled city began to rise in prominence as one of Christendom’s principal cities when it experienced an influx of Christian refugees after the fall of Acre, Palestine to the Mamluks in 1291. It was then seized by Genoa and then the Venetians, before submitting to Ottoman rule in 1571.
The Cathedral of St. Nicholas – now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque – in the city’s main square is significant for having been the coronation site of the exiled kings of Crusader Jerusalem after Acre’s fall.
Other noted sites of cultural and historical interest are the remains of the Venetian palace, Othello’s tower, as well as the hundreds of small churches that surround the square, built by Venetian merchants as measures of wealth.
The Watch List cites the current political stalemate on the island between the two Cypriot communities as the central reason behind the city’s continued dilapidation, also noting as a factor the “lack of funding and expertise in the north Cyprus heritage sector”.
“The political situation, combined with uncontrolled and inappropriate development, has become a real threat to the island’s heritage.”
Awareness on both local and international levels, as well as local education and publicity are needed to keep the famous city from falling into further disrepair, as well as efforts from both communities to halt the misuse of historic features.
“The international community, including both nations and organisations, are also timorous of controversy and loath to recognise the heritage situation in Famagusta in any way.”
The lack of political will of the government, the Turkish Cypriot authorities and the international community are said to be contributing to the continuing degradation of the historic site. Frescoes lie open to bleaching and decay by the sun and rain, and the walls of the palaces and churches are said to be crumbling.
The list also notes the inappropriate reuse of ancient buildings, and urban development and expansion by the northern authorities, as major contributing factors.
“The principal impediment to current and future architectural conservation and preservation work is the continued political, social, and economic embargo against north Cyprus, which has been ongoing since 1974. Lack of funds and a deficiency in political will at all levels of government also play a role,” reads the list’s analysis of the Famagusta situation.
While the WMF raises funds for preservation and restoration – and has been successful in restoring over 75 per cent of sites included on its Watch Lists – local efforts are said to be essential to preserving areas of cultural heritage.
“The immediate need would be for qualified experts in history, archaeology, art history, architecture, engineering, and conservation to conduct an analysis of the current state of city. The need for funding would follow based on their recommendations,” reads the list’s description.
The WMF is a non-profit organisation founded in 1965. Its efforts to promote cultural heritage preservation have helped to save over 450 historic sites in over ninety countries.
The 2008 list includes sites thought to be at risk from global climate change, cultural sites in places of conflict, historic cities and even modern architecture that is subject to neglect.
Among the one hundred listed sites are Machu Picchu in Peru, Bethlehem’s Church of the Holy Nativity in the Palestinian territories, Old Damascus in Syria, Tara Hill in Ireland, New Orleans in Louisiana, and numerous sites in Iraq.
