SOURP MAGAR MONASTERY

Project Title: Sourp Magar Monastery and its Landscape 
Coordinator: The Cyprus Institute
Type of funding: Private
Funding source: APAC Laboratories
Dates: September 2020 - Present
Project under development 

Description: As one of the geologically distinct landscapes of Cyprus, the Kyrenia range has a unique cultural ecosystem formed with historical political changes and geographical boundaries and nourished by the localized hubs located along with the range. Sourp Magar Monastery and its surroundings comprise a quintessential cultural landscape of the Kyrenia range nurtured by the fertility of the lush slopes of the mountain, sustained by a network of historic village communities and defined by the cultural and religious life of important medieval religious communities. Among the material remains of this important rural heritage, wood can provide an invaluable source of historical information that can help better trace the history of these structures as well as the history and economic exploitation of forests and the environment of this iconic but scholarly neglected Cypriot locality. The project aims at the systematic application of dendrochronology research to study the Sourp Magar Monastery to better understand the history as well as the socioeconomic networks of this particular locality of the Cypriot countryside.