Byzantine frescoes, dating back to the 13th century, illegally exported from the island’s Turkish occupied northern part, are now back home, being exhibited in Nicosia.
The frescoes finally arrived home a fortnight ago, decades after their removal from a church in the occupied areas following the 1974 Turkish invasion, and are now on exhibition at the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, at the Archbishopric Palace in Nicosia.
The frescoes had been stolen from the church of Saint Euphemianos in Lysi village and were cut into 38 pieces by thieves intending to sell them on the black market.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos pointed out that the ultimate goal of the Cyprus Church and the Government is for the frescoes to return to their home, the Saint Euphemianos church in Lysi, where they belong.