ABOUT THE MONASTERY

Located in Myrtou/Çamlıbel, Agios Panteleimonas Monastery is considered by the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage one of four Large Projects along with Apostalos Andreas Monastery, the Othello Tower and the Famagusta Walls Complex. The Committee considers these large-scale monuments to be of great historical and social value.

The manastery is considered an important site given its history and significance. It is a physical testament to the history of the region and Cyprus Itself. The monastic complex is composed of three main parts: the landscape features and archaeological remains, the surrounding monastic buildings, and the main central church. Originally, all of these parts functioned together as the monastery was a self-sufficient complex, school, community and religious centre. While the church was the spiritual centre, the monastic buildings were the learning working and living centres. These buildings housed the meeting and reception rooms, offices, school, living quarters and dining facilities of the monastery.

The present church, approximately at the centre of the enclosed area of the monastery, dates from 1600 with later interventions. The bell was danated and sent by Cypriots of Venice in 1830 and installed in 1839. Historians place the date of erection of the monastic buildings to the 18th Century, describing a monastic complex with arcades that surround the church along the southern, western and part of the northern side.

THE CONSERVATION PROJECT

A’Survey, Investigations, Assessment and Project Design’study was carried out between April and May 2014. Conservation works focused on the stabilisation of the monastic buildings (refectory building, reredorter building, south dorter and north dorter buildings), conservation of wall paintings inside the church, and repair works to the roof of the church, Other works included the structural stabilisation of elevations, vaults, cracks, and finishes, control and drainage of water around the entire site, site clearing, exterior surface treatments of the doister, dosing off unsafe buildings, installation of didactic informational materials and provision of access for persons with disabilities.

On the occasion of the 2016 International Day for Monuments and Sites, hundreds of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots of the village and university graduate students from both communities visited the monastery,

Hundreds of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots attended the completion ceremony on 18 May 2017.