Byzantine Museum, Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, Lefkosia
Church of Panagia Faneromeni The Church of Panagia Faneromeni was built in 1792 over the site of a convent of the same name that had formerly existed under Venetian rule but whose founding probably dates to the middle Byzantine period.
The Byzantine Museum is situated in the court of the Cathedral of Agios Ioannis Theologos and is considered to be the most important museum of religious art. Here are kept very important icons from the 8th to the 19th centuries, detached wall-paintings and pieces of the mosaics from the Church of Panagia Kanakaria of the 6th century A.D. that were detached by Turkish dealers in illegal antiquities after 1974 and later brought back to Cyprus. Fig. 295. Procession of a holy icon outside the Cathedral of Agios Ioannis Theologos, Lefkosia.
Fig. 298. Church of Panagia Faneromeni, Lefkosia.
Church of Panagia Chrysaliniotissa, Lefkosia The most important Byzantine church of Lefkosia, it is the only one in the mediaeval town that can be dated to the middle Byzantine period. The original church was barrel-vaulted with a dome, but during subsequent years it underwent so many additions that its original shape has been altered to a great extent. A very large number of important icons come from this church, and are on display in the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation in Lefkosia.
Fig. 296. Church of Panagia Chrysaliniotissa, Lefkosia.
Fig. 297. Church of Agios Kassianos, Lefkosia.
The Church of Timios Stavros tou Missirikou lies to the east of that of Faneromeni. It is a church of small dimensions dating to the years of Venetian rule (i.e. to the first half of the 16th century). During the period of Turkish rule the church was converted into a Muslim mosque and named Arablar Mosque (‘Mosque of the Arabs’). The church has three naves with a dome, but no wall-paintings have been preserved.
Fig. 301. Church of Timios Stavros tou Missirikou, Lefkosia.
Church of Agios Antonios, Lefkosia The Church of Agios Antonios is to be found in the centre of the old town of Lefkosia, very close to the Archbishopric, the Cathedral of Agios Ioannis and the Mansion of Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios. The church, given that it dates to the 18th century, belongs to the architectural Figs 302, 303. Room and courtyard of the type of single-aisled mansion of Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, near the Church of Agios Antonios, Lefkosia. churches roofed with tiles usually built during the late period of Turkish rule. Of particular interest are the carved wooden iconostasis and the elaborately carved stone belltower of the church. Fig. 304. Church of Agios Antonios, Lefkosia.
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Fig. 300. Faneromeni Gymnasium, Lefkosia.
Church of Timios Stavros tou Missirikou
Church of Agios Kassianos, Lefkosia The Church of Agios Kassianos is situated near that of Chrysaliniotissa and in its present form has two naves and a steeply pitched roof. The north nave was built in the 18th century, while that in the south was added in 1854. Many important icons come from this church and are today preserved in the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation in Lefkosia.
Fig. 299. Mausoleum of Faneromeni, Lefkosia.
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