THE results of a first-time study on the Greek and Turkish Cypriot neighbourhoods of the old town of Limassol were presented to the Interior Minister and local authorities yesterday.
The project, initiated by the Cyprus Conservation Foundation (CCF) at the end of 2002, involved a team of 17 Greek and Turkish Cypriots, mostly from Limassol, who researched an area of 160,000 square metres, considered to be the core of the town’s historic centre.
Based on an 1883 map of Limassol by Horatio Kitchener, the team of experts studied the architecture and land uses of the old town as a basis for understanding the town’s multi-cultural significance.
The area under study encompassed some of the oldest and most characteristic streets, including Ankara Street with its Ottoman architecture and Eirinis Street where the emerging merchant class built their impressive residences.
The study, supported by UNDP and USAID, focused on the architectural and cultural evolution of the area, but also its current socio-economic condition. It was considered innovative in its approach because it joins a Greek and Turkish Cypriot neighbourhood and studies the two communities as one combined unit. The usual distinction of Greek and Turkish Cypriot quarters was not considered in this case, since the area contained historical and social elements of both communities.
In its conclusions, the CCF came up with proposals for rehabilitation of the area so as not to lose its cultural significance. In the process, new information came to light on Ottoman monuments and architecture, as well as the interaction between the two communities.
“For several centuries Limassol has been inhabited by Greek Cypriot and Muslim populations and the architectural and cultural heritage of each communities has helped form the city’s identity,” said the report summary.
The experts went door-to-door recording the architectural and historic content of the area and the origins of its inhabitants. It identified the fabric of the old Ottoman city, still evident in Ankara Street, and traced its progress as a result of the upgrading of the harbour by the British Colonial administration, which had a specific impact on Eleftherias Street.
The team noted that overseas trading influenced the development of the residential quarter on Eirinis Street, highlighted by the striking houses of the emerging merchant class.
The experts discovered that many of the properties recorded on Kitchener’s map still exist today, in terms of buildings and their gardens, providing invaluable insights to the character of the city and the relationship between built and open space.
A study of the socio-historic findings concludes that Greek and Turkish Cypriot properties were far more interspersed than is realised today. Even when each community withdrew to its separate neighbourhoods, trade and other business activities continued in mixed areas.
In its current state, the CCF suggested that the total worth of the area would rise in a decade from £12 million to £15 million if regular residents co-existed with commercial users in the area, providing authenticity and attracting quality tourism. If the area is used inappropriately by commercial users who come and go depending on market forces, the value would drop to £10 million in 10 years, said the study.
Regarding its cultural significance, the study concludes that the harbour town gave rise to a burgeoning new social order based on wealth acquired from commerce as well as being an area where the island’s two main communities co-existed peacefully and interacted with each other.
Despite its “dilapidated condition”, the area has a lot to offer residents and tourists and presents a valuable resource for the CTO in repositioning Limassol’s tourist image.
Finally, the authors of the study add that its results could be used as a tool for acquiring further funding from the government and EU, as well as acting as a model for a sound bi-communal relationship, since it advocates respect for Turkish Cypriot monuments and properties in a way which is beneficial to Limassol as a whole.
