Preserving the past to build a future

TRANSCENDING politics is no easy feat on this island, yet a team of “pioneering” villagers, engineers and architects have done just that.
Leaving political persuasion, ethnicity and property rights aside, the former Greek Cypriot residents of Kontea village on the southeastern plains of Mesaoria have spent the last three years collaborating with the current Turkish Cypriot residents to protect and preserve the cultural and natural heritage of a village that captured the hearts of the Crusaders and French Lusignans centuries ago.
This unprecedented collaboration culminates today in a celebration of the completion of the first phase of the project, the opening of the Carob Tree Peace Park which the organisers hope will serve as a meeting place for all Cypriots.
In 1965, the government planted 1,300 carob trees in 40 acres of land on a plateau near the village as an agricultural experiment. By 1974, as the 1,600 Greek Cypriot inhabitants of Kontea were forced to leave and around 900 Turkish Cypriots from Plataniskia and Ayios Thomas came in their place, the trees had grown by a few feet.
Nearly 30 years later after the checkpoints opened, and the former inhabitants returned to visit their village, the trees had reached an impressive height but the rich cultural heritage surrounding the place was slowly rotting. They decided that something had to be done. They set about convincing the current residents of the village that Kontea should be preserved for future generations, despite the continued political uncertainty. 
The landscape of Kontea, 35 minutes from Nicosia, tells a much older story of many cultures coming together over 500 years. The Lusignans who lived there left a 200-year-old marble plaque hanging from the Frankish manor house which reads: “Kontea is the name and rightfully deserves the fame.”
On an elevated site near the village sit the remains of historic treasures, including the Frankish manor, a Roman Catholic chapel and cemetery, an Ottoman irrigation system of stone cisterns and aqueducts, an Orthodox church and cloisters, an old school and a contemporary mosque.
Once the former and current residents of Kontea agreed to work on preserving and restoring these treasures, former inhabitant and mechanical engineer, Charalambos Pericleous, set about finding willing partners in the north to take on the project.
In 2007, the UNDP-ACT agreed to fund preservation work undertaken jointly by the Kontea Heritage Foundation, headed by Pericleous, and the Union of Chambers of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects.
Twenty-four Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot engineers and architects were found to work on the project, some with links to Kontea, while two steering committees of past and present inhabitants were formed to ensure consensus every step of the way. 
To exclude the notion of narrow interests in the protection of cultural heritage, the Foundation set as its motto: “Keepers of each other’s culture.”
“The first thing is to create trust between people so people could visualise the project as beneficial,” said Pericleous.
Three years on, and the first phase is now complete. The 40 acres of carob trees were fenced off to keep out grazing animals, while two acres were used to create a barbeque area, hygiene facilities, picnic tables, a children’s playground and a fountain.
“The aim is to make it a gathering point for Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. We wanted to convince people of the value in what we’re doing, in connecting people and creating a common meeting place,” said Pericleous. In the meantime, designs are being prepared for another five projects on the restoration and preservation of the historic buildings nearby.  
“The basis of the whole project is the relationship between current and former residents, and seeing the common value and concern in preserving our natural and cultural heritage and monuments,” he said.
Now, with the completion of the first phase, the people “who were beginning to wonder if it would ever happen because it was taking a long time, now have something concrete”.
Apart from the peace park, the inhabitants past and present and teams of engineers and architects have gained much more through their collaboration in the last three years.
“We have come to a point where we understand why things have happened. Why it’s come to this point, and that problems are not only on one side like we used to think, but on both sides.
“Before we thought we were the losers and they the winners. Now we see we are all losers together, but that we can be winners,” said Pericleous.
The villagers of Kontea from both communities now know each other by name and can stroll through the village with ease, regardless of current abode.
“We don’t separate now between a Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot. We eat, drink, joke together. I believe the feelings are genuine. We don’t talk politics, we are just tired of it.”
Pericleous maintains that so many people are working together, yet no one inquires about where they belong on the political spectrum. “I believe we have all the political preferences in the group. That’s what I personally like, that we don’t differentiate. The project is being appreciated not by its colour but by its content,” he said.
It was not all milk and honey though. “Things were not rosy all the way. We had a lot of negative responses. There are still people who ask why we’re working with Turks or why we’re working with Greeks.
“We had obstacles on the way. People argued with us and reported us but we kept a low profile and did what we thought was right.”
Now, they have something to show for it and are ready to show the world. “(Today) is a landmark. We are honoured to have the US ambassador come to the opening. We are proud that our work has been appreciated by lots of groups who ask us how we did it. 
“We feel we are pioneers in this regard. But we were lucky we found the right people to cooperate with,” he added.