Many medieval churches and buildings in northern Cyprus are being looted or destroyed, according to a report issued last month (2009) by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, an agency of the United States government.

The report, “Cyprus’ Religious Cultural Heritage in Peril” was authored by Byzantine art history experts Dr. Charalampos Chotzakoglou and Dr. Klaus Gallas, as well as by the journalist Michael Jansen, who has written the book “War and Cultural Heritage: Cyprus After the 1974 Turkish Invasion”. They claim that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which rules the northern third of the island, and the Turkish military, have been supporting the removal of artifacts from abandoned Christian churches and selling them internationally.

From ‘Medieval and Ancient History News’

This is a photograph of the interior of Agios Georgios Church, in the village of Kaplica in Northern Cyprus.