On Saturday evening, on March 8, in the village of Wino (Kireniy district), located in the occupied territory of Cyprus, the historical church of St. George occurred.
Fortunately, the tragedy was avoided - the temple collapsed at night when there were no people around. However, the incident caused a wave of indignation and anxiety among local residents.
Mukhtar of the village of Wino Durmus Asandyr openly accused the authorities of inaction, saying that the church was in disrepair, but no measures were taken. According to him, a few years ago, local residents noticed cracking walls and a flowing roof. They turned to the Department of Antiquities, but the officials only examined and forgot about it. To avoid danger, residents forbade children to play next to the church.
Meanwhile, the Greek kipriotes who had previously lived in Wino proposed to completely finance the restoration of the temple. They were ready to restore it at their own expense, but their initiative was tightly rejected by the authorities. The answer was categorical: "You are not even allowed to drive a nail."
It should be noted that until 1974, Greek-kipriotes and Maronites lived in the village of Wino, and the Church of St. George was one of the two Orthodox shrines of the village. After the Turkish invasion and the section of the islands of the Greco-kypriots, they left Wino, and their place was taken by Turks-kipriots from the village of Tokhni (Larnaca District).
Despite the change of population, the church remained a historical and spiritual symbol of the past. However, as the tragic denouement showed, the indifference and negligence of the authorities led to the fact that the unique architectural monument was lost.
The collapse of the temple of St. George is far from an isolated case of destruction of cultural heritage in the occupied territories of Cyprus. In recent decades, a massive looting of churches and monasteries has been recorded, the sale of iconostases, frescoes and church relics in the black market, the transformation of temples into garbage warehouses, stables and mosque without historical value.
The inhabitants of Wino hoped that their church would be preserved and restored, but now only the ruins remained from it. And this is another reminder of the fragility of the cultural heritage of Cyprus, which continues to disappear due to the indifference of the authorities and the lack of proper control.
Source: Reporter.com.cy
