Seven monuments, which were in ruins, were damaged by the recent wildfires in Limassol district, Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou, said on Monday, during her visit to the fire-stricken villages of the region and her meeting in Omodos village with the leaders of the local communities.

Kassianidou expressed the intention of the Culture Deputy Ministry to support the communities that were forced to cancel cultural events.

She also toured the ancient monuments in the region that were damaged by the wildfires.

The Deputy Minister of Culture clarified that “the monuments that were damaged were already in a dilapidated state, but that does not mean that they do not have their value and that they do not need our care.” As she explained, “the Department of Antiquities, as soon as it could and the circumstances allowed, sent a team to record them,” adding that “we have the information about what has been damaged and then everything necessary will be done to support them and prevent further damage.”

Kassianidou noted that 7 monuments were damaged, including ruins of early Christian churches, Byzantine churches and two complexes.

Referring to the cultural events that have been cancelled due to the wildfires, she said that the Deputy Ministry of Culture requested information from the leaders of the fire-stricken communities regarding the monuments that were damaged and the events that were cancelled.

“For artists, this is a loss of income and we are also interested in the people, not just the monuments,” she noted.

“We are here to support the communities, which may have already paid for these events, to see how we can support them,” she added.