Project team:

• Özbe Deniz Kanatlı
• Melina Theodorou
• Ahmet Erden
• George Theodorou
• Christiana Eftychiou

Mapping Cultural Heritage in Cyprus

A Project by Cultural Cartographers – AHDR Peace Ambassadors
As Cultural Cartographers, we set out on a mission to map the cultural heritage of Cyprus; from festivals to crafts and traditional skills to performing arts to customs, traditions, and cultural practices.

When looking at this map, one may notice that it is unmarked by district boundaries and borders. Multiple reasons led to this decision, a primary one being that cultural heritage can have multiple places of origin. Indeed, when trying to trace cultural heritage practices back to their origins, one may find themselves standing at a crossroads, with numerous routes to take.

It is this encounter that led to the realisation that cultural heritage is not always singular nor exclusive to one place. While in some cases the origins of a cultural practice may be indisputable, others can be multifaceted, tantamount and shared by several communities.

Cultural heritage is dynamic and ever-changing, both in the ways people may enact it and also its whereabouts. As such, while the placements of these pins might be reflective of a practice’s place of inception, they are not limited to them. We hope that this map will widen, not only how we perceive our heritage but also what we consider our heritage to be. To achieve this, we must recognise the multiformity and diversity of Cypriot heritage.

It is important to note that the list of cultural practices presented here is in no way a complete record of Cyprus’s rich heritage. This map is a starting point for users and its primary function is to be a source of information and inspiration that will prompt them to not only learn more about the island’s cultural heritage but also to experience it first-hand.

Indeed, for a cultural practice to survive the test of time, it must be kept alive with present engagement and active participation. Therefore, by experiencing our cultural heritage, we may also preserve it for future generations.

Our intercommunal team, Cultural Cartographers, maintains that cultural heritage can be a bridge of communication, memory, knowledge and peace. While it is a link to our history, origins and forbearers, we believe it can also help us form new understandings of the past and bring positive change in the future.