Tag: Cyprus history

church of Saint (Ayia) Paraskevi in the illegally occupied Kato Varoshc

Restoration of Saint Paraskevi Church in Kato Varosha Completed

The Bi-communal Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage has completed the restoration of the Saint (Ayia) Paraskevi church in the illegally occupied Kato Varosha, Famagusta. Funded by the European Union and executed by the United Nations Development Project, the project preserves a site built over five phases from the 16th to 20th centuries, culminating in a neoclassical bell tower. A celebratory event marked the church’s return to its historical splendor, highlighting its value as a Cypriot cultural treasure.

Monument of Savvas Rotsidis in Mammari

Savvas Rotsidis: Hero of the Cypriot-EOKA struggle against British colonial rule

Savvas Rotsidis (1935 – November 25, 1958), from the village of Mammari near Nicosia, was a dedicated member of EOKA, the Greek-Cypriot nationalist organization that fought for the liberation of Cyprus from British colonial rule and its eventual union with Greece. An accountant by profession, Rotsidis joined EOKA in 1955 and took part in numerous operations against British forces. Captured by the British in 1958, he was tortured but refused to betray his comrades. He was executed on November 25, 1958, becoming a martyr in the struggle for Cyprus’s independence.