Description of the attraction
The coastal city of Famagusta boasts a huge number of historical and architectural monuments built by various peoples - from Greeks to Turks. Some of them have been perfectly preserved to this day, while others remain only ruins.
So, to the north-west of the city you can find the ruins of a church of the Carmelite Order. Since the 13th century, many Christians from the Middle East were forced to hide in Cyprus from persecution. Many of them settled in Famagusta. It was they who erected this temple, which is located very close to the famous Ganchvor monastery, built by the Armenians who fled from Cilicia - that was the name of the southeastern part of Asia Minor at that time. It is believed that the building of the church began to be erected at the beginning of the XIV century, and it served as a church at the monastery.
This place gained fame due to the fact that it is there that the grave of St. Peter Tom, a monk of the Carmelite order, who was also the representative of the Pope and Patriarch of Constantinople in the East and an implacable fighter against the Ottomans, is located there. Immediately after his death in 1366, the coffin with his remains was placed in the church.
Despite the fact that only a few dilapidated walls remain of the temple, you can still see medieval frescoes on them, especially in the western part of the building. Moreover, in the painting, a rather strong influence of the traditions of the Latin Church is noticeable.
In general, one can easily imagine what this place looked like before - a large building with flat walls and almost complete absence of decorative details, with high narrow windows and wide aisles.
To date, unfortunately, money is practically not allocated for the restoration of the church, so the building continues to collapse little by little.
