ABOUT THE CHURCH

Agia Marina/Gürpinar was a village situated in the Nicosia area, where Maronites and Turkish Cypriots lived together. The old church, built in the 15th Century, is in the middle of the village and there is no evidence of its exact date of construction. Agia Marina Church is the third Maronite heritage site to benefit from conservation works after the Old St. George Church (completed in November 2015) and Karpaseia/Karpaşa Church.

THE CONSERVATION PROJECT

Survey and project designs were carried out between February and March 2016. Conservation works to the church included: general deaning of the site, deaning and repairing of the existing roof including careful removal of the tiles and cement additions on the roof of the building, conservation and structural interventions to the walls, conservation of the belfry, cleaning and plastering of stonewall surfaces, construction of new drainage channels and provision of new wooden doors and windows. Hundreds of people attended the completion ceremony on 1 June 2017.

“The inclusion of Agia Marina Church in the conservation programme of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage demonstrates the respect and care for the Maronite culture, its people and its contribution to the diverse and rich heritage of Cyprus. The completion of the Church will add yet another valuable cultural landmark we will allbe proud of.” Glafkos Constantinides and Ali Tuncay on behalf of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage.