Notre Dame de Tyre
| Notre Dame de Tyre | |
|---|---|
| Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Tyre | |
Notre Dame de Tyre in 2014 | |
Notre Dame de Tyre | |
| Location | Arab Ahmet, Nicosia |
| Country | de jure Cyprus de facto Northern Cyprus |
| Denomination | Armenian Apostolic |
| Previous denomination | Benedictine |
| History | |
| Founded | 13th century |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic |
Notre Dame de Tyre or Our Lady of Tyre (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստուածածին եկեղեցի), or simply the Armenian church (Turkish: Meryam Ana Ermeni Kilisesi) is located in Nicosia, Cyprus, in the Arab Ahmet Pasha quarter, in Salahi Şevket Street, formerly known as Victoria Street.[1]
History
It was originally built in 1116 by the King of Jerusalem Baldwin de Buillon. After the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187, it was used to house the administration of various religious orders. A few years after the start of the Frankish Era (1192), it became an abbey for the Carthusian nuns. Following the Siege of Antioch (1268) and the Siege of Antioch (1268) and the Fall of Acre (1291), Benedictine nuns settled here, who initially shared the nunnery with the Carthusians.
It was destroyed by the strong 1303 earthquake, and was re-built between 1308–1310 by King Henry II de Lusignan. As many of the nuns were Armenian in origin, it came under the Armenian Church between 1491–1504.[2]
In 1570, following the conquest of Nicosia by the Ottomans, the church and the keeping of the Paphos Gate were granted to the Armenians by Sultan Selim II.[3]
It was restored in 1688, 1884, 1904 and 1930, the baptistery was built in 1788, the buttresses supporting the northern porch were erected in 1858, the belfry was erected in 1860 (one of the first in Ottoman Cyprus) and the choir gallery was constructed in 1945. In 1950 the belfry was repaired, while in 1961 a new floor was installed, as between 1960–1961 the Antiquities Department removed the mediaeval tombstones that were covered by carpets. The cathedral was listed as an ancient monument on 18 December 1936.
Next to the church was the building of the Armenian Prelature of Cyprus (1789) and kindergarten (1950), which was built on the site where the Shoushanian girls' school used to be (1902). Across the church, the children of landowner Artin Bey Melikian erected the Melikian Elementary School in 1921, while across the Prelature entrepreneur Dickran Ouzounian erected in 1938 the Ouzounian Elementary School in 1938; as of 1939, the buildings operated as a single school, under the name of Melikian-Ouzounian Elementary School.
Next to Ouzounian was the Armenian Genocide Monument (1932), the second oldest of its kind around the world. Within the Armenian complex were several other auxiliary buildings, as well as the Melikian family mansion, believed to have been the original monastery building and it later on housed the Prelature. Across the Armenian compound was the Armenian Club (to the south) and the AGBU clubhouse (to the west). About 200 metres westwards was AYMA's clubhouse.
Nicosia's Armenian Quarter was taken over by the TMT during the 1963–1964 inter-communal troubles. Between 1964–1974, the compound was used by the Turkish-Cypriot militia, whereas after the 1974 Turkish invasion it was used as barracks for Turkish soldiers. After the 1998 earthquake, the army left and Anatolian settlers moved in, until 2007.[4]
Architecture and Sepulchral Monuments
The existing building is gothic in style and consists of a square nave, with a semi-octagonal apse, cross vaults an arch covering the western part, a bell tower (built in 1860) and convent buildings to the north of the church. To the east of the nunnery buildings is the sarcophagus of Lady Dampierre, an Abbess of the nunnery. A number of tomb slabs in the floor of the church dating from the 14th and 15th centuries were noted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but these were lifted in the 1960s as a conservation measure and kept in the north porch.[5]
Restoration
The church was reportedly damaged following its placement in the Turkish Cypriot part of the city following the 1963 division and the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. After 1963, it suffered from neglect and misuse, which put it in dire need of repair as some parts collapsed. In 2007, the UNDP began working on its preservation and restoration.[4] The renovation was completed in 2013[6] and won the EU Prize For Cultural Heritage (Europa Nostra Award) in 2015.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Keshishian, Kevork K. (1978). Nicosia: Capital of Cyprus Then and Now. The Mouflon Book and Art Centre. p. 150.
- ^ Hadjilyra, Alexander-Michael (May 2009). "Booklet on the Armenians of Cyprus". Kalaydjian Foundation. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ^ Hadjilyra, Alexander-Michael (May 2009). "Book The Armenians of Cyprus" (PDF). Kalaydjian Foundation. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ^ a b Vitti, Paolo. "The Armenian Church and Monastery Restoration Project" (PDF). UNDP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ Camille Enlart, L'art gothique et la renaissance en Chypre, illustré de 34 planches et de 421 figures (Paris: E. Leroux, 1899).
- ^ "Reconciliation through Preservation: Celebrating Restoration of Unique Part of Cyprus' Cultural Heritage". US Embassy in Cyprus. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "ARMENIAN CHURCH AND MONASTERY IN NICOSIA". Europa Nostra. Retrieved 26 October 2015.