Paphos: Maintenance works at Terra mosque in the Paphos district have been completed, as announced by Sotos Ktoris, the Greek Cypriot co-chair of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, via a Facebook post.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the project was funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP. The handover ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, was attended by numerous Turkish Cypriots of Terra origin as well as Greek Cypriots from neighboring villages.
Ktoris mentioned that the initial phase of the mosque’s construction likely dates back to the first half of the 19th century, as indicated by the stone water tank outside the mosque bearing an Ottoman inscription dated 1813. He added that the mosque, which lacks a minaret, was possibly built during the same period or shortly thereafter. Adjacent to the mosque, there was once a small hall that served as a primary school.
Craftsmen from Paphos and surrounding villages carried out various repairs on the mosque. The first recorded repair occurred in 1927 by stone craftsman Ismail Mehmet from Paphos. Subsequent repairs were conducted by Nikolakis Kallas, Michael Charalambous from Kritou Terra, Michael Sophocleous, and Nikolas Savvas in 1934. In 1953, further repairs were necessitated by the devastating earthquakes that affected the entire Paphos region.
The mosque features a mihrab built into the wall facing Mecca and a wooden minbar with floral decoration on its sides. During the maintenance, fragmentary frescoes with geometric shapes were discovered, Ktoris concluded.