Conservation works at the Kato Polemidia Mosque have been completed within the framework of the actions of The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage (TCCH), which aim to preserve the monuments and cultural heritage sites of Cyprus. The project was made possible with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU). The co-president of the Committee, Sotos Ktoris, told CNA, the mosque is located in the historic core of Kato Polemidia and is surrounded by a courtyard with stone fencing along the road. The main building is made of local stone masonry and is covered with a gabled wooden roof. Along its northern side extends a later semi-outdoor space made of reinforced concrete, while in the northwest corner there is a minaret. Internally the areas including the wooden balcony of the women's loft were preserved. The mosque served not only the Turkish Cypriots of Kato Polemidia, but also those of the surrounding area. It's initial construction phase is not known, h owever sources indicate that some repair work was done inside in 1900. In 1923 residents of Kato Polemidia applied for the mosque's expansion as it could not serve the increasing number of believers. A marble inscription on its outer north wall testifies to the renovation that took place in 1932. An additional renovation is recorded in 1955, during which the minaret was built. The main works carried out for the conservation of the mosque include the repair and maintenance of the doors and windows and all wooden elements, the removal of loose and incompatible coatings, the application of new coating and painting, the leveling of the floor, cleaning and grouting of the stonework, repair works on the minaret, as well as cleaning and landscaping. Referring to the project, Ktoris noted that "religious monuments are not just places of worship but also arks for the preservation of our collective memory, which testify in an irrefutable way to the history of the place and the multicultural heritage of Cyprus". The monuments confront, he noted, "with their presence, intolerant narratives and nationalist fantasies". Source: Cyprus News Agency