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Church of St. George of the Greeks

church-of-stgeorge-greeks
Church of St. George of the Greeks | Famagusta

Built beside the small Byzantine church of St Symeon, the church of St. George was the Orthodox Cathedral. An elegant mix of Gothic and Byzantine styles it was intended to rival its Catholic counterpart. However it was too big, with insufficient buttressing and a roof that was going to be too heavy. The pillars throughout the nave were expanded to take more weight and the roof was inserted with large upturned terracotta pots to spread the load. The church was not in existence long enough to find out if the builders may have eventually got things right. Taking the brunt of the Ottoman bombardment in 1571, evidence of which is still very evident in the remaining walls, the building stood for a little over a hundred years.

There are fifteenth century fresco fragments clearly visible in the three apses, though these are fading fast and there is no move to preserve them.

St. Symeon is accessible from St. George, it is a church with twin apses and is most notable for being the last resting place in Cyprus of St. Epiphanios one time Bishop of Salamis.

There are two other small churches nearby in what was once the Orthodox quarter of the city, Ayia Zoni, 14th C Byzantine, the church is intact and contains frescoes but is closed to the public. Close to it is another church of the same period, St. Nicholas (not to be confused with the catholic cathedral), a double-aisled church with two semi-circular apses and dome, otherwise a ruin.

Lavinia Neville Smith
Lavinia Neville Smith
Lavinia Neville Smith first came to North Cyprus in 1995, and fell in love with the country and the Turkish Cypriot people. A self confessed dilettante, with a varied working career, it was not until she returned in 1997 and went into tourism that she was able to put to good use her knowledge of history, ancient and modern, acquired long ago at school. She is a co-author of the Landmark Visitors Guide to North Cyprus, and continues to promote this beautiful country as far afield as possible.