Sunday evening, June 28th - Development of the Monastery

Sister Maria, who is one of the only nuns who speaks English, came here from South Africa 13 years ago. I found out yesterday her parents were from Cyprus but got displaced and moved to England in 1970 where she was born. First hand information like this would be EXTREMELY important in fully understanding the issues on the island more deeply, and informing better research. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know a whole lot outside of the fact that her parents (Greek Cypriots) owned land on the north half of the island. As segregation began within the island, her family was displaced and lost everything… Though she couldn’t tell me anything more than that because she hasn’t looked into the politics behind the issue and was never a part of it, there is another sister that has more information about it and I will hopefully have the opportunity to talk to her about it in the next couple of days before I leave.

After talking about Cyprus, I asked her and another nun, Sister Katherine from Texas, about renovation that’s happening around the monastery and specifically the relationship they have with their main architect Pandalis. They both rolled their eyes because he is apparently quite a character, but then they began to express their concerns about his work. This monastery has built elements from the 13th century that must be preserved, but at what point do the nuns needs take precedent. This is a family, business, religious institution, educational facility, etc. combined into one package covered in a beautiful wrapping paper that looks best untouched. This is a highly unusual example of preservation work because the building is not just a monument, but a living environment that has specific requirements for operation. This is exactly their struggle… They also want to preserve the buildings as much as possible, but also refuse to compromise on issues like a second exit for emergency purposes, natural lighting in their kitchen area, and so on. A good question they brought up was, “What will the people centuries from now see as a historical monument if we can’t continue tradition as a monastic community today?” (This is paraphrased of course). Hearing this was extremely enlightening, as I feel that many of my experiences this week have been, and will definitely make me think more about the decisions being made in my research in Cyprus and future design work.

I had assumed that much of their money came from grants, and asked about their process for applying or receiving them. They said that much of that money has run out, and they have been forced to find more sources as a result. The EU, Levantis foundation, archeological foundations, UNESCO, etc. have money, but funding has been short lately and the amount that they give out is not nearly enough to complete the projects that they still need at the quality that is required. They said that they have been offered many times alternate sources of money, what they call “Black Money,” and what we would call laundered money… However, the repercussions that would result such as the favors they would then owe, and the immorality of the origins of the money keeps them away from danger but also finishing the project. Many other monasteries, such as the sister monastery I mentioned earlier took that route and as I reported, have ended up in a poorly executed development. They believe that if they would have taken some of the offers they received, the entire monastery would have been completed in two years… At this rate the work will continue forever, which in my point of view is best.

As I told them, I will hopefully be working with Nikos over the next year to develop proposals for the resurrection of a few chapels near the complex. Any little bit helps, and these would be great projects to work on, not only for career development but also as a relaxing setting that cuts to the core of design intervention. Every bit of development must be justified.