Hear my prayer!

On the serene coast of the Karpasia province ( English and Turkish-Karpaz) lies the monastery of Apostolos Andreas ( Saint Andrew). Forgotten in time, before the invasion of Turkish Military forces, this monastery was single handedly the most famous monstery on the island. Being the patron Saint of the Island, it is said that Saint Andrew stopped in Cyprus on his travels to and from present day Palestine. He is very honoured and revered by the locals, even now, in the Cyprus of 2010 where they need to cross a green line in order to visit his monastery.

When you do cross this green line however, what remains of this once beautiful monastery is a run-down hovel of a building literally crumbling. Unpreserved for a period of over 30 years, the monastery has obviously not been on the high priority preservation list of the North Cypriot Turkish Authorities. Upon first visit, to a foreigner who has never heard of it before, the monastery is not evocative of it's once fresh exterior. The forgotten building is looked after by Despina, an old Greek Cypriot woman in her 80's who lives in the nearby village of Rizokarpaso and, the running of the monastery ( it requires candles and needs to be cleaned) relies upon the cents left in the church from visitors. The Cyprus Turkish authorities do not fund any part of the interior care of the building nd Despina is most certainly not paid. Nevertheless, the building and it's story remains a tourist attraction and Despina urges the Greek speaking visitors to give her the donations directly, as the authorities often take even these meagre amounts. The monastery in it's poor condition is still a source of income for the so called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as the authorities have allowed profit making stalls to be places outside it. There was even a period where visitors were charged for entering the monastery, with the authorities again pocketing a nifty sum.

Is it not dispicable that every possible endeavour has been made to profit from the existance of the monastery, and not one effort has been made to preserve it from falling to rubble or restore it to its former condition. It does not take an expert in heritage conservation to remark that this building is in dire need of attention, and if this does not happen soon there will be no building left.  Ottoman Mosques in the north have been cared for by the Cypriot authorities and are often still in use today by other expatriate muslim communities in Southern Cyprus, this is not the case with the Christian places of worship in the North, which on the contrary have been abandoned and very commonly defaced. The faces of icons of Saints and Christ have often been scratched out,not to mention crosses on tombstones that have been broken and deshevelled. It is a shame because whether muslim or christian, a place of worship constitutes the whole island's heritage and it's a pity that the leaders of this fake republic do not respect this reality. The 30th November marked the feast day of Saint Andrew, and Cypriot Christians everywhere remembered this desolate place which is hanging onto existance by a delicate thread.