The chacoan peccary is sometimes referred to as the "New World pig." I'd never seen a peccary use enrichment of any kind, let alone roll a ball around its enclosure. So, I had to create this triptych for the zoo.

 

The ball that was placed in their habitat has a hole in which food is placed. The animals need to push it in order to get the food to fall out.

President Erika D. Beck talks with the 2016 African American Enrichment Academy

STUCO

STUCO

Painting and Mural

Every Thursday afternoon the Years 5 - 8 take part in a programme of enrichment and extended project. This is one Thursday

Painting and Mural

Detroit Zoo Jan 3rd

Aujourd’hui, toutes les constructions qui lui étaient adossées ayant été démolies …, la masse vraiment gigantesque pour une église romane se présente dans toute sa grandeur dépouillée à celui qui l’aborde de l’Est. Sur la puissante structure carrée du transept se détachent les demi-cylindres des trois absides extrêmement hautes et alignées, dont la centrale ressort de façon très marquée, si bien que le rayon de sa courbe a dû décourager toute tentative ultérieure de l’intégrer dans un mur rectiligne pourvu de tours, à la façon de ce qui s’était produit pour toutes les églises de la côte. On y ouvrit seulement au centre une fenêtre monumentale, aux proportions élancées comme le requérait la structure de l’abside, et enrichie à l’époque de Frédéric de l’habituel encadrement avec archivolte en saillie retombant sur des colonnettes ; celles-ci sont portées par des animaux stylophores, mais dans une attitude insolite, dressée, pour s’adapter à la structure particulière et à la hauteur de la fenêtre. Des proportions analogues font ressembler à cette grande fenêtre toutes les ouvertures qui, dans les absides et dans la paroi lisse du fond, reflètent la structure interne de l’église. Dans la partie inférieure, ces ouvertures : trois fenêtres longues et étroites comme des archères et deux portes, auxquelles s’ajoutent portes et fenêtres dans le mur terminal du transept, correspondent à la crypte de Saint- Nicolas Pèlerin, tandis que celles immédiatement au-dessus s’ouvrent au niveau du sanctuaire de l’église supérieure. Par ces portes, peut-être à travers les édifices adossés à l’église, la crypte était accessible aux fidèles et aux pèlerins qui purent ainsi y pénétrer pendant tout le temps où l’église supérieure ne fut pas utilisable. Ce n’est pas par hasard que la fenêtre ou petite porte ouverte dans le mur Sud du transept est entourée comme un petit portail, d’une archivolte ornée de rinceaux habités que d’après ses motifs stylistiques on peut dater des débuts du XIIe siècle. Par contre aucun décor plastique n’orne les ouvertures des murs Est et Nord, peut-être destinés dès l’origine à être masqués par des locaux de service. L’élément décoratif augmente au fur et à mesure que la construction prend de la hauteur. A l’Est s’offre la grande fenêtre absidale, au Nord deux fenêtres doubles sont surmontées d’une fenêtre quadruple, richement ornée en employant les restes de la pergula de l’église Sainte-Marie reliés par des éléments sculptés dont la date va de la fin du XIIe au XIIIe siècle. Au Sud règne une rose monumentale au-dessus de deux fenêtres doubles ornées de grains de chapelet (un des chapiteaux est en relation étroite avec le ciborium de Sainte-Marie-Majeure à Barletta, du XIIIe siècle en son plein). La progression des adjonctions décoratives se conclut par la corniche à modillons peuplée d’animaux fantastiques qui semblent prêts à se jeter dans le vide, alternant avec des figures humaines nues ou vêtues de costumes étranges, parmi lesquels se détache, à un angle, l’antique tireur d’épine. … C’est à un milieu analogue que l’on peut rapporter aussi des groupes de statues, puissamment plastiques, accrochées au centre des murs terminaux du transept : au Sud deux figures masculines adossées, l’une d’elles parée à l’antique, l’autre barbue dans l’attitude contorsionnée du tireur d’épine ; au Nord, un Samson compassé luttant contre un lion. Avec une telle richesse de décor plastique contraste la file sobre et presque austère des arcades aveugles qui scande les faces latérales, à peine relevée par quelque figure d’animal appuyée à une petite console et encastrée dans la paroi, sans ordre ou programme iconographique propre à en justifier, apparemment du moins, l’emplacement particulier. La fantaisie ornementale reprend sa place sur le clocher dont elle anime la souche, percée d’un passage voûté en berceau brisé, et creusée de niches mêlant des traits arabisants et des influences gothiques tardives. Pour écarter tout doute sur sa datation, la corniche en saillie qui couronne la souche est marquée d’une inscription où figure le nom de NICOLAUS SACERDOS ETMAGISTER. … [L]e clocher [est] parcouru sur la corniche de la souche de bandeaux sculptés à rinceaux habités, repris tels quels de la bordure du portail principal, de date antérieure, puis imités dans celle des fenêtres et de la rose ouvertes plus tard au centre de la façade. Celle-ci, qui se présente comme une composition très équilibrée d’une unité et d’une cohérence bien rares, est en réalité le résultat d’une stratification complexe d’éléments remontant à des campagnes de construction souvent assez éloignées dans le temps.

L’impression que l’on en retire au premier abord est celle d’une moindre hauteur que les autres parties de l’église et d’une élégance comme d’un raffinement décoratif plus grand. La cause en est la division de la façade en deux registres, dont l’inférieur, correspondant à l’église Sainte-Marie, est précédée d’un avant-corps qui ouvre sur la place par une arcade profonde en cintre surbaissé. Réalisés entre la fin du XIIe siècle et le début du XIIIe, l’avant-corps et l’arcade supportent le double escalier d’accès au perron qui précède l’église supérieure et faisait partie à l’origine d’une galerie démolie en 1719 par l’évêque Davanzati. Du porche demeurent visibles les supports englobés dans le garde-corps (du perron) et les petites arcades à colonnettes adossées au mur de façade. Due à un tardif remaniement du XIIIe siècle, la série des arcades aux voussures finement travaillées, d’une saveur apparentée à de lointains antécédents byzantins, confèrent une note particulière de grâce et de délicatesse au registre inférieur de la façade, pur et lumineux comme un ivoire précieux, délimité par la petite corniche sculptée qui suit la ligne des rampants du toit et encore allégé par les grandes et petites fenêtres et par la rose. Tous éléments exécutés très tardivement, au plus tôt dans la seconde moitié du XIIIe siècle, mais restant dans la ligne de la tradition romane, telle qu’elle s’était fixée au XIIIe siècle en son plein.

 

Le portail principal

Conçus et réalisés ensemble et selon toute probabilité dans les années 80 du XIIe siècle, porte et portail forment, à les voir, une unité indivisible, dans un jeu subtil et continu de va-et-vient entre l’ombre, la lumière et les couleurs. … Les deux lions stylophores qui supportent les piédroits, symboles du Christ qui terrasse le démon sous la forme d’un monstre fabuleux aux ailes d’oiseau et à la queue de serpent (à gauche) tandis qu’il épargne le pécheur (à droite), se révèlent, bien que fort usés, les frères des consoles stylophores présentes sous les fenêtres du mur Sud du transept de la cathédrale de Bari. … Il est beaucoup plus simple de replacer l’ensemble du portail dans le cadre complexe d’échanges entre les Pouilles, la Terre sainte et la Sicile normande qui au milieu du XIIe siècle s’étaient développés, et d’y voir le résultat d’une somme d’expériences faites par les sculpteurs des Pouilles soit directement sur les chantiers siciliens, soit par ricochet à travers la circulation entre Pouilles et Sicile d’objets transportables et précieux qui s’était incontestablement intensifiée à l’époque. … La datation la plus probable pour [la porte de bronze] de Trani semble … être comprise dans le laps de temps des années 80, époque à laquelle le terme des travaux devait paraître assez proche en fin de compte et où l’on pouvait penser à commander au fondeur de Trani devenu célèbre les précieuses portes. Le choix fut heureux. Le relief très peu accusé des panneaux, qui représentait cependant une innovation par rapport à la technique traditionnelle, d’origine byzantine, du damasquinage, encore employée à Canosa, n’entre pas en concurrence avec la taille profonde de l’encadrement. Le moyen d’expression principal demeure celui de la couleur et du jeu d’ombre et de lumière confié au relief délicat des images au centre et aux arabesques serrées des bordures et de l’encadrement. Barisano a travaillé avec des moules et au ciseau les plaques de bronze montées ensuite sur le support en bois de la porte et fixés avec de gros cabochons à effet décoratif.

Les motifs et les scènes qui occupent le centre des panneaux et en animent les bords, appartiennent à un répertoire qui s’alimente comme toujours aux sources les plus diverses, puisant indifféremment dans la tradition byzantine, dans le monde islamique et dans le milieu culturel très vivant de la chanson de geste.

Au plan iconographique, les représentations au centre des panneaux ne posent aucun problème d’interprétation. Y figurent deux anges en adoration, le Christ en majesté dans la mandorle avec les symboles des évangélistes, la Vierge à l’Enfant assise, les apôtres, Jean- Baptiste et le prophète Élie, saint Georges et saint Eustache, saint Nicolas le Pèlerin, avec Barisano lui-même en adorateur. Les scènes de la Descente de croix et de la Descente aux enfers ou Anastasis dans l’iconographie byzantine traditionnelle et avec des inscriptions en grec. Dans la zone inférieure, l’élément profane (ou du moins apparemment tel) prend le dessus. Archers et lutteurs, auxquels on peut accorder une signification moralisante, alternent avec des compositions héraldiques de saveur orientale qui opposent des dragons ailés et des lions au caractéristique Arbre de vie de lointaine origine sassanide. Une variété encore plus grande marque le répertoire des motifs présents dans les petits médaillons disséminés sur les bordures, où l’on trouve la sirène, Samson combattant le lion, le centaure sagittaire, pour ne rien dire des non figuratifs offrant toutes les variations possibles sur le thème des rinceaux feuillus et fleuris simples ou doubles. Au-delà de sa valeur esthétique propre, à rattacher à tout le contexte où elle s’insère, la porte de Barisano est donc un précieux document sur la culture d’un artisan des Pouilles à la fin du XIIe siècle et sur sa capacité à utiliser et à entremêler de multiples répertoires figuratifs et ornementaux en toute liberté. La même disposition d’esprit et un goût artistique analogue président à la répartition et à la réalisation du décor de la fenêtre monumentale qui, au centre de la façade, est flanquée de colonnettes doubles posées sur des éléphants (tout à fait incongrus, ces lions couchés des colon- nettes, sculptés en série comme stylophores et placés ensuite selon les possibilités), et du décor de la rose qui s’ouvre au-dessus.

Mais les animaux fantastiques encastrés dans le mur autour de la moulure de la rose sont eux aussi le fruit d’une production en série, qui n’obéit plus à des exigences esthétiques et didactiques, mais suit une pure logique ornementale : des lions y alternent avec des griffons et sont combinés avec des personnages figurant tantôt une victime saisie dans les griffes, tantôt un agresseur. Il faut toutefois noter un écart qualitatif et chronologique sensible entre les ornements de la fenêtre encore entièrement réalisés en marbre, dont on peut considérer les motifs comme une paraphrase de ceux du portail, et la décoration de la rose qui, sculptée de façon sommaire et raide dans des blocs de calcaire, révèle une exécution très tardive, du XIIIe siècle bien avancé au minimum.

 

L’intérieur

… On entre … dans l’église Sainte-Marie, longue salle divisée en trois nefs par vingt-deux colonnes de remploi courtes et trapues, surmontés de chapiteaux de facture simple, la plupart remplacés à l’occasion des diverses restaurations. Sur les colonnes et les pilastres encastrés dans les murs latéraux retombent des voûtes d’arêtes au profil surbaissé, sans arcs pour délimiter les travées. Identifié par la tradition à l’ancienne église épiscopale, cet espace a été en fait réalisé … dans la première moitié du XIIe siècle en guise de sous-sol longitudinal de l’église supérieure, à l’emplacement de l’église plus ancienne démolie. C’est ce qu’ont révélé les fouilles … en mettant au jour, outre les blocs de fondation des colonnades et ce qui reste des fondations et des murs externes des absides, de vastes étendues de pavement en mosaïque, caractérisé par des motifs géométriques (octogones et carrés alternés), en tresse ou en écailles, ainsi qu’un lambeau de pavement, peut-être plus ancien, en opus sectile. … De l’église Sainte-Marie, en franchissant deux portes qui utilisent comme linteaux des restes de la pergola byzantine de la cathédrale primitive, on passe en descendant quelques marches, à la crypte de saint Nicolas Pèlerin, le véritable cœur de la nouvelle église. Il s’agit d’un vaste espace s’étendant sous le transept et les absides de l’église supérieure, et divisé en quarante-deux travées par vingt-huit colonnes de marbre dont quatre dans l’arrondi de l’abside servent de ciborium pour l’autel qui abrite les reliques du saint.

Précédée certes par les exemples des cathédrales d’Otrante et de Bisceglie et celui de Saint-Nicolas de Bari, eux-mêmes tributaires d’exemples campaniens, la crypte de Trani n’en suit pas servilement le modèle mais s’en distingue par un caractère propre et fortement personnalisé. De dimensions différentes, les colonnes présentent de hauts et sveltes fûts en marbre grec, homogènes entre eux sinon égaux, et l’on peut bien légitimement se demander d’où ils pouvaient provenir, d’une telle qualité et en si grand nombre. Il en résulte une impression de légèreté, d’élan, de raffinement vraiment «byzantin» et d’une atmosphère d’intimité à laquelle contribue de façon naturelle le jeu de la lumière arrivant des fenêtres donnant sur l’extérieur. … Les constructeurs de la crypte de saint Nicolas le Pèlerin ont conçu et réalisé une véritable église-sanctuaire, avec tout le soin que demandait l’entreprise. C’est pourquoi sont aussi d’un grand intérêt les chapiteaux, en partie seulement de remploi, mais en majorité exécutés en marbre spécialement pour l’église par une équipe expérimentée, qui portait ses regards sur les pièces antiques avec une attention particulière, les considérant comme des sources autorisées à imiter. … Entre les deux cryptes, deux petits escaliers à l’endroit des nefs latérales mènent à l’église supérieure. Celle-ci est un vaste espace divisé en trois nefs par une double rangée de six colonnes géminées, reliées entre elles par des arcs à double rouleau, aux voussoirs en croissant, surmontés par les baies triples des tribunes au rythme régulier et en parfaite correspondance avec eux ; au-dessus, un registre percé de fenêtres simples. Les tribunes sont portées par des voûtes d’arêtes délimitées par des arcs transversaux légèrement surhaussés et retombant sur les rangées de colonnes tournées vers les nefs latérales et sur les demi-colonnes adossées aux murs gouttereaux. L’alignement imparfait des colonnes géminées et des demi-colonnes rend très irrégulier le déploiement des voûtes d’arêtes et le tracé des arcs transversaux, entraînant d’incontestables répercussions sur la stabilité de la construction. Ce sont cependant des écarts et des irrégularités qui échappent au visiteur ébloui par la lumière qui, de façon peut-être excessive, se déverse par la fenêtre et la rose ouvertes dans la façade et dépourvues aujourd’hui des claustra de pierre qui à l’origine devaient en atténuer la luminosité. L’impression générale est plutôt de régularité dans la scansion rythmique des éléments verticaux et du développement en hauteur de la nef centrale, … Les deux tribunes de Trani se présentent en effet elles aussi comme des espaces accessibles,

éclairés par des fenêtres percées dans les flancs et dans la façade, donnant sur la nef centrale par des baies triples au-dessus d’une sorte de garde-corps, comme nous le retrouvons à Saint-Nicolas. Il n’y manque pas davantage la fenêtre double qui au fond dans le mur oriental donne sur les parties plus hautes du transept. Ce transept, vaste espace d’un seul tenant couvert d’un toit à charpente apparente, est inondé de la lumière qui se déverse par la rose ouverte au Sud et la fenêtre quadruple au Nord face à la mer, ainsi que par une série de fenêtres simples et doubles ouvertes à l’Est, au milieu des absides, au-dessus et aux côtés de celles-ci, et dans les deux murs terminaux Nord et Sud. L’excès de lumière tend à aplatir les surfaces et enlève son relief à l’espace et sa fascination à l’ensemble qui, après les importantes interventions de restauration et de remise en état, et privé de tout son mobilier, apparaît véritablement comme un pur squelette, fantôme de ce qu’il a dû être jadis. … Unique témoin de la splendeur passée et de la parure colorée qui devaient enrichir l’église : les vastes étendues de pavement en mosaïque réapparus autour de l’autel majeur. … Parmi les quelques scènes encore en place, un panneau avec Adam et Ève à côté de l’arbre autour duquel s’enroule le serpent, un cerf et un chien affrontés, un éléphant terrassé par un griffon et, incomplète, la scène classique d’Alexandre emporté au ciel par deux griffons, attirés par la viande enfilée sur deux broches que brandit le roi. … Du tapis de mosaïque il ne reste que bien peu de chose, suffisamment pour nous donner l’idée d’une église profondément différente, somptueusement décorée et riche de couleur, comme le furent toutes les cathédrales des Pouilles. …

 

(extrait de : Pouilles romanes ; Pina Belli D’Elia ; Ed. Zodiaque, Coll. La nuit des Temps, 1987, pp. 281-318)

 

Coordonnées GPS : N41°16’56’’ ; E16°25’07’’

 

Enrichment is an integral part of the daily care of the animals in the National Zoo. It helps animals demonstrate their natural behavior, adds variety to their day, allows them exercise, gives them choices in their environment, and enhances their well-being. Enrichment also gives Zoo scientists the chance to study and observe the animals' behavior.

 

Zoo staff has created a wish list of items that you can buy and donate to the Zoo, including Kong toys, rubber chew toys, mirrors, laser pointers, radios, feeder balls, feather dusters, tools, and much, much more. Items can be purchased and/or donations can be made on the Zoo’s online enrichment store or you can drop off or purchase at the Giant Panda Gift Shop. Additionally, special Giving Tree toy chests will be set up throughout the Zoo during our annual ZooLights event.

 

To donate, visit the Zoo’s website at: nationalzoo.si.edu/Support/MakeDonation/GivingTree.cfm.

 

Photo credit: Meghan Murphy / Smithsonian's National Zoo

All Hallows School

A piece of bamboo made great enrichment for this pygmy goat. He rubbed against it and cuddled with it for a long time.

Aujourd’hui, toutes les constructions qui lui étaient adossées ayant été démolies …, la masse vraiment gigantesque pour une église romane se présente dans toute sa grandeur dépouillée à celui qui l’aborde de l’Est. Sur la puissante structure carrée du transept se détachent les demi-cylindres des trois absides extrêmement hautes et alignées, dont la centrale ressort de façon très marquée, si bien que le rayon de sa courbe a dû décourager toute tentative ultérieure de l’intégrer dans un mur rectiligne pourvu de tours, à la façon de ce qui s’était produit pour toutes les églises de la côte. On y ouvrit seulement au centre une fenêtre monumentale, aux proportions élancées comme le requérait la structure de l’abside, et enrichie à l’époque de Frédéric de l’habituel encadrement avec archivolte en saillie retombant sur des colonnettes ; celles-ci sont portées par des animaux stylophores, mais dans une attitude insolite, dressée, pour s’adapter à la structure particulière et à la hauteur de la fenêtre. Des proportions analogues font ressembler à cette grande fenêtre toutes les ouvertures qui, dans les absides et dans la paroi lisse du fond, reflètent la structure interne de l’église. Dans la partie inférieure, ces ouvertures : trois fenêtres longues et étroites comme des archères et deux portes, auxquelles s’ajoutent portes et fenêtres dans le mur terminal du transept, correspondent à la crypte de Saint- Nicolas Pèlerin, tandis que celles immédiatement au-dessus s’ouvrent au niveau du sanctuaire de l’église supérieure. Par ces portes, peut-être à travers les édifices adossés à l’église, la crypte était accessible aux fidèles et aux pèlerins qui purent ainsi y pénétrer pendant tout le temps où l’église supérieure ne fut pas utilisable. Ce n’est pas par hasard que la fenêtre ou petite porte ouverte dans le mur Sud du transept est entourée comme un petit portail, d’une archivolte ornée de rinceaux habités que d’après ses motifs stylistiques on peut dater des débuts du XIIe siècle. Par contre aucun décor plastique n’orne les ouvertures des murs Est et Nord, peut-être destinés dès l’origine à être masqués par des locaux de service. L’élément décoratif augmente au fur et à mesure que la construction prend de la hauteur. A l’Est s’offre la grande fenêtre absidale, au Nord deux fenêtres doubles sont surmontées d’une fenêtre quadruple, richement ornée en employant les restes de la pergula de l’église Sainte-Marie reliés par des éléments sculptés dont la date va de la fin du XIIe au XIIIe siècle. Au Sud règne une rose monumentale au-dessus de deux fenêtres doubles ornées de grains de chapelet (un des chapiteaux est en relation étroite avec le ciborium de Sainte-Marie-Majeure à Barletta, du XIIIe siècle en son plein). La progression des adjonctions décoratives se conclut par la corniche à modillons peuplée d’animaux fantastiques qui semblent prêts à se jeter dans le vide, alternant avec des figures humaines nues ou vêtues de costumes étranges, parmi lesquels se détache, à un angle, l’antique tireur d’épine. … C’est à un milieu analogue que l’on peut rapporter aussi des groupes de statues, puissamment plastiques, accrochées au centre des murs terminaux du transept : au Sud deux figures masculines adossées, l’une d’elles parée à l’antique, l’autre barbue dans l’attitude contorsionnée du tireur d’épine ; au Nord, un Samson compassé luttant contre un lion. Avec une telle richesse de décor plastique contraste la file sobre et presque austère des arcades aveugles qui scande les faces latérales, à peine relevée par quelque figure d’animal appuyée à une petite console et encastrée dans la paroi, sans ordre ou programme iconographique propre à en justifier, apparemment du moins, l’emplacement particulier. La fantaisie ornementale reprend sa place sur le clocher dont elle anime la souche, percée d’un passage voûté en berceau brisé, et creusée de niches mêlant des traits arabisants et des influences gothiques tardives. Pour écarter tout doute sur sa datation, la corniche en saillie qui couronne la souche est marquée d’une inscription où figure le nom de NICOLAUS SACERDOS ETMAGISTER. … [L]e clocher [est] parcouru sur la corniche de la souche de bandeaux sculptés à rinceaux habités, repris tels quels de la bordure du portail principal, de date antérieure, puis imités dans celle des fenêtres et de la rose ouvertes plus tard au centre de la façade. Celle-ci, qui se présente comme une composition très équilibrée d’une unité et d’une cohérence bien rares, est en réalité le résultat d’une stratification complexe d’éléments remontant à des campagnes de construction souvent assez éloignées dans le temps.

L’impression que l’on en retire au premier abord est celle d’une moindre hauteur que les autres parties de l’église et d’une élégance comme d’un raffinement décoratif plus grand. La cause en est la division de la façade en deux registres, dont l’inférieur, correspondant à l’église Sainte-Marie, est précédée d’un avant-corps qui ouvre sur la place par une arcade profonde en cintre surbaissé. Réalisés entre la fin du XIIe siècle et le début du XIIIe, l’avant-corps et l’arcade supportent le double escalier d’accès au perron qui précède l’église supérieure et faisait partie à l’origine d’une galerie démolie en 1719 par l’évêque Davanzati. Du porche demeurent visibles les supports englobés dans le garde-corps (du perron) et les petites arcades à colonnettes adossées au mur de façade. Due à un tardif remaniement du XIIIe siècle, la série des arcades aux voussures finement travaillées, d’une saveur apparentée à de lointains antécédents byzantins, confèrent une note particulière de grâce et de délicatesse au registre inférieur de la façade, pur et lumineux comme un ivoire précieux, délimité par la petite corniche sculptée qui suit la ligne des rampants du toit et encore allégé par les grandes et petites fenêtres et par la rose. Tous éléments exécutés très tardivement, au plus tôt dans la seconde moitié du XIIIe siècle, mais restant dans la ligne de la tradition romane, telle qu’elle s’était fixée au XIIIe siècle en son plein.

 

Le portail principal

Conçus et réalisés ensemble et selon toute probabilité dans les années 80 du XIIe siècle, porte et portail forment, à les voir, une unité indivisible, dans un jeu subtil et continu de va-et-vient entre l’ombre, la lumière et les couleurs. … Les deux lions stylophores qui supportent les piédroits, symboles du Christ qui terrasse le démon sous la forme d’un monstre fabuleux aux ailes d’oiseau et à la queue de serpent (à gauche) tandis qu’il épargne le pécheur (à droite), se révèlent, bien que fort usés, les frères des consoles stylophores présentes sous les fenêtres du mur Sud du transept de la cathédrale de Bari. … Il est beaucoup plus simple de replacer l’ensemble du portail dans le cadre complexe d’échanges entre les Pouilles, la Terre sainte et la Sicile normande qui au milieu du XIIe siècle s’étaient développés, et d’y voir le résultat d’une somme d’expériences faites par les sculpteurs des Pouilles soit directement sur les chantiers siciliens, soit par ricochet à travers la circulation entre Pouilles et Sicile d’objets transportables et précieux qui s’était incontestablement intensifiée à l’époque. … La datation la plus probable pour [la porte de bronze] de Trani semble … être comprise dans le laps de temps des années 80, époque à laquelle le terme des travaux devait paraître assez proche en fin de compte et où l’on pouvait penser à commander au fondeur de Trani devenu célèbre les précieuses portes. Le choix fut heureux. Le relief très peu accusé des panneaux, qui représentait cependant une innovation par rapport à la technique traditionnelle, d’origine byzantine, du damasquinage, encore employée à Canosa, n’entre pas en concurrence avec la taille profonde de l’encadrement. Le moyen d’expression principal demeure celui de la couleur et du jeu d’ombre et de lumière confié au relief délicat des images au centre et aux arabesques serrées des bordures et de l’encadrement. Barisano a travaillé avec des moules et au ciseau les plaques de bronze montées ensuite sur le support en bois de la porte et fixés avec de gros cabochons à effet décoratif.

Les motifs et les scènes qui occupent le centre des panneaux et en animent les bords, appartiennent à un répertoire qui s’alimente comme toujours aux sources les plus diverses, puisant indifféremment dans la tradition byzantine, dans le monde islamique et dans le milieu culturel très vivant de la chanson de geste.

Au plan iconographique, les représentations au centre des panneaux ne posent aucun problème d’interprétation. Y figurent deux anges en adoration, le Christ en majesté dans la mandorle avec les symboles des évangélistes, la Vierge à l’Enfant assise, les apôtres, Jean- Baptiste et le prophète Élie, saint Georges et saint Eustache, saint Nicolas le Pèlerin, avec Barisano lui-même en adorateur. Les scènes de la Descente de croix et de la Descente aux enfers ou Anastasis dans l’iconographie byzantine traditionnelle et avec des inscriptions en grec. Dans la zone inférieure, l’élément profane (ou du moins apparemment tel) prend le dessus. Archers et lutteurs, auxquels on peut accorder une signification moralisante, alternent avec des compositions héraldiques de saveur orientale qui opposent des dragons ailés et des lions au caractéristique Arbre de vie de lointaine origine sassanide. Une variété encore plus grande marque le répertoire des motifs présents dans les petits médaillons disséminés sur les bordures, où l’on trouve la sirène, Samson combattant le lion, le centaure sagittaire, pour ne rien dire des non figuratifs offrant toutes les variations possibles sur le thème des rinceaux feuillus et fleuris simples ou doubles. Au-delà de sa valeur esthétique propre, à rattacher à tout le contexte où elle s’insère, la porte de Barisano est donc un précieux document sur la culture d’un artisan des Pouilles à la fin du XIIe siècle et sur sa capacité à utiliser et à entremêler de multiples répertoires figuratifs et ornementaux en toute liberté. La même disposition d’esprit et un goût artistique analogue président à la répartition et à la réalisation du décor de la fenêtre monumentale qui, au centre de la façade, est flanquée de colonnettes doubles posées sur des éléphants (tout à fait incongrus, ces lions couchés des colon- nettes, sculptés en série comme stylophores et placés ensuite selon les possibilités), et du décor de la rose qui s’ouvre au-dessus.

Mais les animaux fantastiques encastrés dans le mur autour de la moulure de la rose sont eux aussi le fruit d’une production en série, qui n’obéit plus à des exigences esthétiques et didactiques, mais suit une pure logique ornementale : des lions y alternent avec des griffons et sont combinés avec des personnages figurant tantôt une victime saisie dans les griffes, tantôt un agresseur. Il faut toutefois noter un écart qualitatif et chronologique sensible entre les ornements de la fenêtre encore entièrement réalisés en marbre, dont on peut considérer les motifs comme une paraphrase de ceux du portail, et la décoration de la rose qui, sculptée de façon sommaire et raide dans des blocs de calcaire, révèle une exécution très tardive, du XIIIe siècle bien avancé au minimum.

 

L’intérieur

… On entre … dans l’église Sainte-Marie, longue salle divisée en trois nefs par vingt-deux colonnes de remploi courtes et trapues, surmontés de chapiteaux de facture simple, la plupart remplacés à l’occasion des diverses restaurations. Sur les colonnes et les pilastres encastrés dans les murs latéraux retombent des voûtes d’arêtes au profil surbaissé, sans arcs pour délimiter les travées. Identifié par la tradition à l’ancienne église épiscopale, cet espace a été en fait réalisé … dans la première moitié du XIIe siècle en guise de sous-sol longitudinal de l’église supérieure, à l’emplacement de l’église plus ancienne démolie. C’est ce qu’ont révélé les fouilles … en mettant au jour, outre les blocs de fondation des colonnades et ce qui reste des fondations et des murs externes des absides, de vastes étendues de pavement en mosaïque, caractérisé par des motifs géométriques (octogones et carrés alternés), en tresse ou en écailles, ainsi qu’un lambeau de pavement, peut-être plus ancien, en opus sectile. … De l’église Sainte-Marie, en franchissant deux portes qui utilisent comme linteaux des restes de la pergola byzantine de la cathédrale primitive, on passe en descendant quelques marches, à la crypte de saint Nicolas Pèlerin, le véritable cœur de la nouvelle église. Il s’agit d’un vaste espace s’étendant sous le transept et les absides de l’église supérieure, et divisé en quarante-deux travées par vingt-huit colonnes de marbre dont quatre dans l’arrondi de l’abside servent de ciborium pour l’autel qui abrite les reliques du saint.

Précédée certes par les exemples des cathédrales d’Otrante et de Bisceglie et celui de Saint-Nicolas de Bari, eux-mêmes tributaires d’exemples campaniens, la crypte de Trani n’en suit pas servilement le modèle mais s’en distingue par un caractère propre et fortement personnalisé. De dimensions différentes, les colonnes présentent de hauts et sveltes fûts en marbre grec, homogènes entre eux sinon égaux, et l’on peut bien légitimement se demander d’où ils pouvaient provenir, d’une telle qualité et en si grand nombre. Il en résulte une impression de légèreté, d’élan, de raffinement vraiment «byzantin» et d’une atmosphère d’intimité à laquelle contribue de façon naturelle le jeu de la lumière arrivant des fenêtres donnant sur l’extérieur. … Les constructeurs de la crypte de saint Nicolas le Pèlerin ont conçu et réalisé une véritable église-sanctuaire, avec tout le soin que demandait l’entreprise. C’est pourquoi sont aussi d’un grand intérêt les chapiteaux, en partie seulement de remploi, mais en majorité exécutés en marbre spécialement pour l’église par une équipe expérimentée, qui portait ses regards sur les pièces antiques avec une attention particulière, les considérant comme des sources autorisées à imiter. … Entre les deux cryptes, deux petits escaliers à l’endroit des nefs latérales mènent à l’église supérieure. Celle-ci est un vaste espace divisé en trois nefs par une double rangée de six colonnes géminées, reliées entre elles par des arcs à double rouleau, aux voussoirs en croissant, surmontés par les baies triples des tribunes au rythme régulier et en parfaite correspondance avec eux ; au-dessus, un registre percé de fenêtres simples. Les tribunes sont portées par des voûtes d’arêtes délimitées par des arcs transversaux légèrement surhaussés et retombant sur les rangées de colonnes tournées vers les nefs latérales et sur les demi-colonnes adossées aux murs gouttereaux. L’alignement imparfait des colonnes géminées et des demi-colonnes rend très irrégulier le déploiement des voûtes d’arêtes et le tracé des arcs transversaux, entraînant d’incontestables répercussions sur la stabilité de la construction. Ce sont cependant des écarts et des irrégularités qui échappent au visiteur ébloui par la lumière qui, de façon peut-être excessive, se déverse par la fenêtre et la rose ouvertes dans la façade et dépourvues aujourd’hui des claustra de pierre qui à l’origine devaient en atténuer la luminosité. L’impression générale est plutôt de régularité dans la scansion rythmique des éléments verticaux et du développement en hauteur de la nef centrale, … Les deux tribunes de Trani se présentent en effet elles aussi comme des espaces accessibles,

éclairés par des fenêtres percées dans les flancs et dans la façade, donnant sur la nef centrale par des baies triples au-dessus d’une sorte de garde-corps, comme nous le retrouvons à Saint-Nicolas. Il n’y manque pas davantage la fenêtre double qui au fond dans le mur oriental donne sur les parties plus hautes du transept. Ce transept, vaste espace d’un seul tenant couvert d’un toit à charpente apparente, est inondé de la lumière qui se déverse par la rose ouverte au Sud et la fenêtre quadruple au Nord face à la mer, ainsi que par une série de fenêtres simples et doubles ouvertes à l’Est, au milieu des absides, au-dessus et aux côtés de celles-ci, et dans les deux murs terminaux Nord et Sud. L’excès de lumière tend à aplatir les surfaces et enlève son relief à l’espace et sa fascination à l’ensemble qui, après les importantes interventions de restauration et de remise en état, et privé de tout son mobilier, apparaît véritablement comme un pur squelette, fantôme de ce qu’il a dû être jadis. … Unique témoin de la splendeur passée et de la parure colorée qui devaient enrichir l’église : les vastes étendues de pavement en mosaïque réapparus autour de l’autel majeur. … Parmi les quelques scènes encore en place, un panneau avec Adam et Ève à côté de l’arbre autour duquel s’enroule le serpent, un cerf et un chien affrontés, un éléphant terrassé par un griffon et, incomplète, la scène classique d’Alexandre emporté au ciel par deux griffons, attirés par la viande enfilée sur deux broches que brandit le roi. … Du tapis de mosaïque il ne reste que bien peu de chose, suffisamment pour nous donner l’idée d’une église profondément différente, somptueusement décorée et riche de couleur, comme le furent toutes les cathédrales des Pouilles. …

 

(extrait de : Pouilles romanes ; Pina Belli D’Elia ; Ed. Zodiaque, Coll. La nuit des Temps, 1987, pp. 281-318)

 

Coordonnées GPS : N41°16’56’’ ; E16°25’07’’

 

The mills are an important feature of Maynard's development. The earliest saw and grist mills were built in the early 18th century. Two of the earliest mills were the Puffer Mill and the Asa Smith's Mill, which were located on Taylor Brook and Mill Street, respectively. These were the first mills to use the Assabet River for power; therefore, they were very slow and sluggish. The grist and saw mill were then followed by paper mills, which were built starting in 1820.

 

The Mill is easily Maynard's most prominent feature. The complex takes up 11 acres in the middleof what we call downtown. The Mill complex began in 1847 as set of wooden buildings used to manufacture carpets and carpet yarn. Amory Maynard helped construct this mill. His partner, William H. Knight, helped him build a dam across the Assabet and dug a canal channeling a portion of the river into what is called Mill Pond. The Mill changed hands a few times but it would eventually become the largest woolen factory in the world till the 1930s.

 

The 1950's ushered in a change from textiles to businesses like computer manufacturing. With the start of the final decade of the century the Mill is on the cusp of being transformed again.

 

It is said that "as the Mill goes, so goes Maynard". While the town isn't as dependent on the Mill as it was in 19th century it continues to play an important role in shaping the character of the town.

 

We hope you enjoy this historical perspective of the Mill. It has been pieced together from a variety of sources and continues to be enriched as we discover new materials to include, increase the number of hyperlinks and add pictures, diagrams, and sound..

The Mill from 1847 to 1977

 

The site of the mill was once part of the town of Sudbury, while the opposite bank of the Assabet River belonged to Stow. The present town, formed in 1871, was named for the man most responsible for its development, Amory Maynard.

 

Born in 1804, Maynard was running his own sawmill business at the age of sixteen. In the 1840's, he went into partnership with a carpet manufacturer for whom he'd done contracting. They dammed up the Assabet and diverted water into a millpond to provide power for a new mill, which opened in 1847, producing carpet yarn and carpets. Only one of the original mill buildings survives: it was moved across Main Street and now is an apartment house.

 

Amory Maynard's carpet firm failed in the business panic of 1857. But the Civil War allowed the Assabet Manufacturing Company, organized in 1862 with Maynard as the managing "agent", to prosper by producing woolens, flannels and blankets for the army. This work was carried on in new brick mill buildings.

 

Expansion of the mill over many years is evidenced by the variations in the architecture of the structures still standing.

 

The oldest portion of Building 3 dates from 1859, making it the oldest part of the mill in existence today, but several additions were made afterwards. Buildings constructed in the late 1800's frequently featured brick arches over the windows, and at times new additions were made to match neighboring structures.

 

The best-known feature is the clock donated in memory of Amory Maynard by his son Lorenzo in 1892. Its four faces, each nine feet in diameter, are mechanically controlled by a small timer inside the tower. Neither the timer nor the bell mechanism has ever been electrified; custodians still climb 120 steps to wind the clock every week- 90 turns for the timer and 330 turns for the striker.

 

Amory Maynard died in 1890, but his son and grandson still held high positions in the mill's management. The family's local popularity plummeted, however, when the Assabet Manufacturing Company failed late in 1898. Workers lost nearly half of their savings which they had deposited with the company, since there were no banks in town. Their disillusionment nearly resulted in changing the town's name from Maynard to Assabet.

 

Prosperity returned in 1899 when the American Woolen Company, an industrial giant, bought the Assabet Mills and began to expand them, adding most of the structures now standing. The biggest new unit was Building 5, 610 feet long which contained more looms than any other woolen mill in the world. Building 1, completed in 1918, is the newest; the mill pond had been drained to permit construction of its foundation. These buildings have little decoration, but their massiveness is emphasized by the buttress-like brick columns between their windows.

 

The turn of the century saw a changeover from gas to electric lights at the mill. Until the 1930's the mill generated not only its own power but also electricity for Maynard and several other towns. For years the mill used 40-cycle current. Into the late 1960's power produced by a water wheel was used for outdoor lighting, including the Christmas tree near Main Street. The complex system of shafts and belts once used to distribute power from a central source was rendered obsolete by more efficient small electric motors, just as inexpensive minicomputers have often replaced terminals tied to one large processor.

 

As the mill grew, so did the town. Even in 1871, the nearly 2,000 people who became Maynard's first citizens outnumbered the people left in either Sudbury or Stow. Maynard's first population almost doubled in the decade between 1895 and 1905, when reached nearly 7,000 people. Most of the workers lived in houses owned by the company, many of which have been refurbished and are used today. The trains that served th town and the mill, however, are long gone - the depot site is now occupied by a gas station.

 

Most of the original mill workers had been local Yankees and Irish immigrants. But by the early 1900's, the Assabet Mills were employing large numbers of newcomers from Finland, Poland, Russia and Italy. The latest arrivals were often escorted to their relatives or friends by obliging post office workers. The immigrants made Maynard a bustling, multi-ethnic community while Stow, Sudbury and Acton remained small, rural villages. Farmers and their families rode the trolley to Maynard to shop and to visit urban attractions then unknown in their own towns, including barrooms and movie houses.

 

Wages were low and the hours were long. Early payrolls show wages of four cents an hour for a sixty hour week. Ralph Sheridan of the Maynard Historical Society confirmed that in 1889 his eldest brother was making 5 1/2 cents an hour in the mill's rag shop at the age of fourteen, while their father was earning 16 1/2 cents per hour in the boiler room. (As of 1891 one-eighth of the workers were less than 16 years old, and one-quarter were women.)

 

Sheridan's own first job at the mill, in the summer of 1915, paid $6.35 for a work week limited to 48 hours by child labor laws. The indestructible "bullseye" safe still remains in the old Office Building.

 

Sheridan remembers the bell that was perched on top of Building 3:

 

"...the whistle on the engine room gave one blast at quarter of the hour, and then at about five minutes of the hour the gave one blast again. And everyone was supposed to be inside the gate when that second whistle blew. And then at one minute of the hour this bell rang just once, a quick ring- and we referred to it as "The Tick" because of that..... everybody was supposed to start work at that time, at that moment."

 

A worker was sent home if he'd forgotten to wear his employee's button, marked "A.W.Co.,Assabet".

 

The millhands really had to work, too. Sheridan recalls one winter evening when there was such a rush to get out an order of cloth for Henry Ford that the men were ordered to invoice it from the warehouse, now Building 21, instead of from the usual shipping room:

 

"There was no heat in the building, never had been. And it was so cold that I remember that I had to cut the forefinger and the thumb from the glove that I was wearing in order to handle the pencil to do the invoicing....the yard superintendant at the time brought in some kerosene lanterns and put 'em under our chairs to keep our feet warm."

 

Building 21, built out over the pond, remained unheated until DIGITAL took it over.

 

As in most Northern mill towns, labor relations were often troubled. In 1911 the company used Poles to break the strike of Finnish workers. When no longer able to play off one nationality against another, management for years took advantage of rivalries between different unions. The Great Depression hit the company hard, however. In 1934 it sold all the houses it owned, mostly to the employees who lived in them; and New Deal labor laws encouraged the workers to form a single industrial union, which joined the C.I.O.

 

World War II brought a final few years of good times to the woolens industry. The mill in Maynard operated around the clock with over two thousand employees producing such items as blankets and cloth for overcoats for the armed forces. But when peace returned, the long-term trends resumed their downward drift, and in 1950 the American Woolen Company shut down its Assabet Mills entirely. Like many New England mills, Maynard's had succumbed to a combination of Southern and foreign competition, relatively high costs and low productivity, and the growing use of synthetic fibers.

 

'Til then a one-industry town, Maynard was in trouble. In 1953, however, ten Worcester businessmen bought the mill and began leasing space to tenants, some of which were established firms, while others were just getting started. One of the new companies which found the low cost of Maynard Industries' space appealing was Digital Equipment Corporation, which started operations in 8,680 square feet in the mill in 1957.

A Mill Chronology

1846 Amory Maynard and William Knight form Assabet Mills.

1847 Maynard and Knight install a water wheel and build a new factory on the banks of the Assabet River.

1848 The Assabet Mills business is valued at $150,000.

The Lowell and Framingham Railroad carries passengers over branch road.

1855 The Mill now has three buildings on the site. Massachusetts is producing one-third of the textiles in the United States.

1857 Assabet Mills collapses after a business panic. The Mill complex is sold at an auction.

1862 The Mills are reorganized as Assabet Manufacturing Company. This involve replacing wooden buildings with brick, and the installation of new machinery. To fulfill contracts to the government during the Civil War production is switched from carpets to woolen cloth, blankets, and flannel.

The first tenement for employees are also constructed.

1869 Millhands peition President Ulysses S. Grant for a shorter work week ... 55 hours.

1871 The Town of Maynard incorporates. The population stands at 2,000

1888 A reservoir is installed for $70,000 to supply a growing population.

1890 The Assabet Manufacturing Company is valued at $1,500,000.

1892 Lorenzo Maynard donates clock in his father's name.

The Mill Complex contains seven buildings.

1898 Assabet Manufacturing Company declares bankruptcy. Many people in town lose much of their savings as banks have not yet been established.

1899 American Woolen Company purchases the Mill complex for $400,000. This company would eventually control 20% of the woolen textile market in the U.S. Wool was shipped all over the country to keep up with demand.

1901 160 additional tenements are constructed with their own sewage system. The streets are named after U.S. presidents.

The first electric trolley in Maynard begins service.

Building Number 5, the Mill complex's largest, is built in nine months. Electric power is introduced with the addition of dynamos on site.

1906 The Mill complex now has 13 buildings.

1910 The Mill complex grows to 25 buildings. Floor space is at 421,711 square feet. The property takes up 75 acres.

1918 With the addition of three new buildings the American Wollen Company and the Mill are in their heyday. The fortunes of the industry begin to decline over the next 30 years.

1947 After a brief spell of prosperity during World War II, the Mill phases out production as demand for woolen goods declines.

1950 Mill closes. 1,200 employees lose their jobs.

1953 Maynard Industries, Inc. purchases the Mill for $200,000. Space is rented to business and industrial tenants.

1957 Three engineers set up shop on the second floor of Building 12. With $70,000 and 8,600 square feet of rented space Digital Equipment Corporation is formed.

1960 Over thirty firms are located within the Mill complex.

1974 Digital Equipment Corporation purchases the entire Mill complex for $2.2 million. The Mill has over 1 million square feet in 19 buildings residing on 11 acres.

1992 The 100th anniversary of the Mill Clock is celebrated.

1993 Digital Equipment Corporation announces that it plans to leave the Mill complex. A search for a new tenant is started.

1995 Franklin Life Care purchases the Mill. Digital continues to rent space in Building 5.

1998 Mill purchased by Clock Tower Place.

   

Sources

 

* "Digital's Mill 1847-1977", a brochure published by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1977.

* "A Walk Through the Mill...", published by Digital Equipment Corporation for the Mill Clock Centennial.

 

President Erika D. Beck talks with the 2016 African American Enrichment Academy

Sugar sculpture of DRAGON

(japanese street style)

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_sculpture

 

Related Photo:

www.flickr.com/photos/xio_olx/10361056665/

President Erika D. Beck talks with the 2016 African American Enrichment Academy

Canbulat Tomb and Museum

Famagusta, North Cyprus

Canbulat tomb, Famagusta, North Cyprus

 

In the southeast corner of the Famagusta walls is the Canbulat Bastion. (The Venetians called it the Arsenal) and is named after Canbulat (sometimes spelt Djanboulat) who was the Bey (provincial governor) of Kilis in Turkey.

 

When the decision was taken to conquer Cyprus, Canbulat joined the invading forces. Because he played a key role in the siege of Nicosia, he was promoted to become the commander of the right wing of the Ottoman army to the south of the walled city of Famagusta. It was from here that the Ottomans bombarded the town, and why most damage to the taller buildings within the walls is on the southeast side.

 

Initially, the Ottomans tried to dig under the walls, but the Venetians blasted the tunnels, causing their collapse. It is also said that the Venetians placed sharp blades on a turning wheel at the entrance to the bastion to ensure that any attack there would lead the attacker to be cut to pieces.

 

The Canbulat Museum

Legend has it, that in order to stop the wheel and allow the Ottomans through the castle entrance, Canbulat rode his horse into the wheel. During this event, Canbulat's head was cut off, but undaunted, he picked his head up, mounted his horse, and continued to fight for the next three days with his head under his arm. This motivated the Ottomans to continue the fight and take the castle. Historians believe that what actually went in to the rotating wheel and stopped it, were simply, bales of wool. The date of his actual death is unknown, but there is documentary evidence that he was still alive in March 1572

 

Canbulat's tomb was placed in the passageway of the bastion, the name of which was changed from Arsenal to Canbulat in his honour. Supposedly a fig tree grew up alongside his tomb, the fruits of which promoted fertility in any woman who ate them. As a place of pilgrimage for Turks, this tomb ranks second in Cyprus only to the shrine of Hala Sultan Tekke at Larnaca.

 

The bastion containing his tomb was opened as a museum in 1968, and has recently been refurbished, re-opening in 2008. In the new museum, as well as the tomb of Canbulat, you will find items relating to the Ottoman times in Cyprus.

 

Famagusta is a city on the east coast of the de facto state Northern Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice), Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are de facto part of Northern Cyprus as the capital of the Gazimağusa District.

 

The city was known as Arsinoe or Arsinoë (Greek: Ἀρσινόη, Arsinóē) in antiquity, after Ptolemy II of Egypt's sister and wife Arsinoe II.

 

By the 3rd century, the city appears as Ammochostos (Greek: Ἀμμόχωστος or Αμμόχωστος, Ammókhōstos, "Hidden in Sand") in the Stadiasmus Maris Magni.[5] This name is still used in modern Greek with the pronunciation [aˈmːoxostos], while it developed into Latin Fama Augusta, French Famagouste, Italian Famagosta, and English Famagusta during the medieval period. Its informal modern Turkish name Mağusa (Turkish pronunciation: [maˈusa]) came from the same source. Since 1974, it has formally been known to Turkey and Northern Cyprus as Gazimağusa ([ɡaːzimaˈusa]), from the addition of the title gazi, meaning "veteran" or "one who has faught in a holy war".

 

In the early medieval period, the city was also known as New Justiniana (Greek: Νέα Ἰουστινιανία, Néa Ioustinianía) in appreciation for the patronage of the Byzantine emperor Justinian, whose wife Theodora was born there.

 

The old town of Famagusta has also been nicknamed "the City of 365 Churches" from the legend that, at its peak, it boasted a church for every day of the year.

 

The city was founded around 274 BC, after the serious damage to Salamis by an earthquake, by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and named "Arsinoe" after his sister.[6] Arsinoe was described as a "fishing town" by Strabo in his Geographica in the first century BC. In essence, Famagusta was the successor of the most famous and most important ancient city of Cyprus, Salamis. According to Greek mythology, Salamis was founded after the end of the Trojan War by Teucros, the son of Telamon and brother of Aedes, from the Greek island of Salamis.

 

The city experienced great prosperity much later, during the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. To honor the city, from which his wife Theodora came, Justinian enriched it with many buildings, while the inhabitants named it New Justiniania to express their gratitude. In AD 647, when the neighboring cities were destroyed by Arab raiding, the inhabitants of these cities moved to Famagusta, as a result of which the city's population increased significantly and the city experienced another boom.

 

Later, when Jerusalem was occupied by the Arabs, the Christian population fled to Famagusta, as a result of which the city became an important Christian center, but also one of the most important commercial centers in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

The turning point for Famagusta was 1192 with the onset of Lusignan rule. It was during this period that Famagusta developed as a fully-fledged town. It increased in importance to the Eastern Mediterranean due to its natural harbour and the walls that protected its inner town. Its population began to increase. This development accelerated in the 13th century as the town became a centre of commerce for both the East and West. An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest cities in Christendom.

 

In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice. This commercial activity turned Famagusta into a place where merchants and ship owners led lives of luxury. By the mid-14th century, Famagusta was said to have the richest citizens in the world. The belief that people's wealth could be measured by the churches they built inspired these merchants to have churches built in varying styles. These churches, which still exist, were the reason Famagusta came to be known as "the district of churches". The development of the town focused on the social lives of the wealthy people and was centred upon the Lusignan palace, the cathedral, the Square and the harbour.

 

In 1570–1571, Famagusta was the last stronghold in Venetian Cyprus to hold out against the Turks under Mustafa Pasha. It resisted a siege of thirteen months and a terrible bombardment, until at last the garrison surrendered. The Ottoman forces had lost 50,000 men, including Mustafa Pasha's son. Although the surrender terms had stipulated that the Venetian forces be allowed to return home, the Venetian commander, Marco Antonio Bragadin, was flayed alive, his lieutenant Tiepolo was hanged, and many other Christians were killed.

 

With the advent of the Ottoman rule, Latins lost their privileged status in Famagusta and were expelled from the city. Greek Cypriots natives were at first allowed to own and buy property in the city, but were banished from the walled city in 1573–74 and had to settle outside in the area that later developed into Varosha. Turkish families from Anatolia were resettled in the walled city but could not fill the buildings that previously hosted a population of 10,000. This caused a drastic decrease in the population of Famagusta. Merchants from Famagusta, who mostly consisted of Latins that had been expelled, resettled in Larnaca and as Larnaca flourished, Famagusta lost its importance as a trade centre. Over time, Varosha developed into a prosperous agricultural town thanks to its location away from the marshes, whilst the walled city remained dilapidated.

 

In the walled city, some buildings were repurposed to serve the interests of the Muslim population: the Cathedral of St. Nicholas was converted to a mosque (now known as Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque), a bazaar was developed, public baths, fountains and a theological school were built to accommodate the inhabitants' needs. Dead end streets, an Ottoman urban characteristic, was imported to the city and a communal spirit developed in which a small number of two-storey houses inhabited by the small upper class co-existed with the widespread one-storey houses.

 

With the British takeover, Famagusta regained its significance as a port and an economic centre and its development was specifically targeted in British plans. As soon as the British took over the island, a Famagusta Development Act was passed that aimed at the reconstruction and redevelopment of the city's streets and dilapidated buildings as well as better hygiene. The port was developed and expanded between 1903 and 1906 and Cyprus Government Railway, with its terminus in Famagusta, started construction in 1904. Whilst Larnaca continued to be used as the main port of the island for some time, after Famagusta's use as a military base in World War I trade significantly shifted to Famagusta. The city outside the walls grew at an accelerated rate, with development being centred around Varosha. Varosha became the administrative centre as the British moved their headquarters and residences there and tourism grew significantly in the last years of the British rule. Pottery and production of citrus and potatoes also significantly grew in the city outside the walls, whilst agriculture within the walled city declined to non-existence.

 

New residential areas were built to accommodate the increasing population towards the end of the British rule,[11] and by 1960, Famagusta was a modern port city extending far beyond Varosha and the walled city.

 

The British period saw a significant demographic shift in the city. In 1881, Christians constituted 60% of the city's population while Muslims were at 40%. By 1960, the Turkish Cypriot population had dropped to 17.5% of the overall population, while the Greek Cypriot population had risen to 70%. The city was also the site for one of the British internment camps for nearly 50,000 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust trying to emigrate to Palestine.

 

From independence in 1960 to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, Famagusta developed toward the south west of Varosha as a well-known entertainment and tourist centre. The contribution of Famagusta to the country's economic activity by 1974 far exceeded its proportional dimensions within the country. Whilst its population was only about 7% of the total of the country, Famagusta by 1974 accounted for over 10% of the total industrial employment and production of Cyprus, concentrating mainly on light industry compatible with its activity as a tourist resort and turning out high-quality products ranging from food, beverages and tobacco to clothing, footwear, plastics, light machinery and transport equipment. It contributed 19.3% of the business units and employed 21.3% of the total number of persons engaged in commerce on the island. It acted as the main tourist destination of Cyprus, hosting 31.5% of the hotels and 45% of Cyprus' total bed capacity. Varosha acted as the main touristic and business quarters.

 

In this period, the urbanisation of Famagusta slowed down and the development of the rural areas accelerated. Therefore, economic growth was shared between the city of Famagusta and the district, which had a balanced agricultural economy, with citrus, potatoes, tobacco and wheat as main products. Famagusta maintained good communications with this hinterland. The city's port remained the island's main seaport and in 1961, it was expanded to double its capacity in order to accommodate the growing volume of exports and imports. The port handled 42.7% of Cypriot exports, 48.6% of imports and 49% of passenger traffic.

 

There has not been an official census since 1960 but the population of the town in 1974 was estimated to be around 39,000 not counting about 12,000–15,000 persons commuting daily from the surrounding villages and suburbs to work in Famagusta. The number of people staying in the city would swell to about 90,000–100,000 during the peak summer tourist period, with the influx of tourists from numerous European countries, mainly Britain, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. The majority of the city population were Greek Cypriots (26,500), with 8,500 Turkish Cypriots and 4,000 people from other ethnic groups.

 

During the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 14 August 1974 the Mesaoria plain was overrun by Turkish tanks and Famagusta was bombed by Turkish aircraft. It took two days for the Turkish Army to occupy the city, prior to which Famagusta's entire Greek Cypriot population had fled into surrounding fields. As a result of Turkish airstrikes dozens of civilians died, including tourists.

 

Unlike other parts of the Turkish-controlled areas of Cyprus, the Varosha suburb of Famagusta was fenced off by the Turkish army immediately after being captured and remained fenced off until October 2020, when the TRNC reopened some streets to visitors. Some Greek Cypriots who had fled Varosha have been allowed to view the town and journalists have been allowed in.

 

UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Famagusta by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. The UN's Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.

 

Famagusta's historic city centre is surrounded by the fortifications of Famagusta, which have a roughly rectangular shape, built mainly by the Venetians in the 15th and 16th centuries, though some sections of the walls have been dated earlier times, as far as 1211.

 

Some important landmarks and visitor attractions in the old city are:

The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque

The Othello Castle

Palazzo del Provveditore - the Venetian palace of the governor, built on the site of the former Lusignan royal palace

St. Francis' Church

Sinan Pasha Mosque

Church of St. George of the Greeks

Church of St. George of the Latins

Twin Churches

Nestorian Church (of St George the Exiler)

Namık Kemal Dungeon

Agios Ioannis Church

Venetian House

Akkule Masjid

Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Ganchvor monastery

 

In an October 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund listed Famagusta, a "maritime ancient city of crusader kings", among the 12 sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and development pressures.

 

Famagusta is an important commercial hub of Northern Cyprus. The main economic activities in the city are tourism, education, construction and industrial production. It has a 115-acre free port, which is the most important seaport of Northern Cyprus for travel and commerce. The port is an important source of income and employment for the city, though its volume of trade is restricted by the embargo against Northern Cyprus. Its historical sites, including the walled city, Salamis, the Othello Castle and the St Barnabas Church, as well as the sandy beaches surrounding it make it a tourist attraction; efforts are also underway to make the city more attractive for international congresses. The Eastern Mediterranean University is also an important employer and supplies significant income and activity, as well as opportunities for the construction sector. The university also raises a qualified workforce that stimulates the city's industry and makes communications industry viable. The city has two industrial zones: the Large Industrial Zone and the Little Industrial Zone. The city is also home to a fishing port, but inadequate infrastructure of the port restricts the growth of this sector. The industry in the city has traditionally been concentrated on processing agricultural products.

 

Historically, the port was the primary source of income and employment for the city, especially right after 1974. However, it gradually lost some of its importance to the economy as the share of its employees in the population of Famagusta diminished due to various reasons. However, it still is the primary port for commerce in Northern Cyprus, with more than half of ships that came to Northern Cyprus in 2013 coming to Famagusta. It is the second most popular seaport for passengers, after Kyrenia, with around 20,000 passengers using the port in 2013.

 

The mayor-in-exile of Famagusta is Simos Ioannou. Süleyman Uluçay heads the Turkish Cypriot municipal administration of Famagusta, which remains legal as a communal-based body under the constitutional system of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Since 1974, Greek Cypriots submitted a number of proposals within the context of bicommunal discussions for the return of Varosha to UN administration, allowing the return of its previous inhabitants, requesting also the opening of Famagusta harbour for use by both communities. Varosha would have been returned to Greek Cypriot control as part of the 2004 Annan Plan but the plan had been rejected by a majority(3/4) of Greek Cypriot voters.

 

The walled city of Famagusta contains many unique buildings. Famagusta has a walled city popular with tourists.

 

Every year, the International Famagusta Art and Culture Festival is organized in Famagusta. Concerts, dance shows and theater plays take place during the festival.

 

A growth in tourism and the city's university have fueled the development of Famagusta's vibrant nightlife. Nightlife in the city is especially active on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights and in the hotter months of the year, starting from April. Larger hotels in the city have casinos that cater to their customers. Salamis Road is an area of Famagusta with a heavy concentration of bars frequented by students and locals.

 

Famagusta's Othello Castle is the setting for Shakespeare's play Othello. The city was also the setting for Victoria Hislop's 2015 novel The Sunrise, and Michael Paraskos's 2016 novel In Search of Sixpence. The city is the birthplace of the eponymous hero of the Renaissance proto-novel Fortunatus.

 

Famagusta was home to many Greek Cypriot sport teams that left the city because of the Turkish invasion and still bear their original names. Most notable football clubs originally from the city are Anorthosis Famagusta FC and Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, both of the Cypriot First Division, which are now based in Larnaca. Usually Anorthosis Famagusta fans are politically right wing where Nea Salamis fans are left wing.

 

Famagusta is represented by Mağusa Türk Gücü in the Turkish Cypriot First Division. Dr. Fazıl Küçük Stadium is the largest football stadium in Famagusta. Many Turkish Cypriot sport teams that left Southern Cyprus because of the Cypriot intercommunal violence are based in Famagusta.

 

Famagusta is represented by DAÜ Sports Club and Magem Sports Club in North Cyprus First Volleyball Division. Gazimağusa Türk Maarif Koleji represents Famagusta in the North Cyprus High School Volleyball League.

 

Famagusta has a modern volleyball stadium called the Mağusa Arena.

 

The Eastern Mediterranean University was founded in the city in 1979. The Istanbul Technical University founded a campus in the city in 2010.

 

The Cyprus College of Art was founded in Famagusta by the Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos in 1969, before moving to Paphos in 1972 after protests from local hoteliers that the presence of art students in the city was putting off holidaymakers.

 

Famagusta has three general hospitals. Gazimağusa Devlet Hastahanesi, a state hospital, is the biggest hospital in city. Gazimağusa Tıp Merkezi and Gazimağusa Yaşam Hastahanesi are private hospitals.

 

Personalities

Saint Barnabas, born and died in Salamis, Famagusta

Chris Achilleos, illustrator of the book versions on the BBC children's series Doctor Who

Beran Bertuğ, former Governor of Famagusta, first Cypriot woman to hold this position

Marios Constantinou, former international Cypriot football midfielder and current manager.

Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Cypriot singer.

Derviş Eroğlu, former President of Northern Cyprus

Alexis Galanos, 7th President of the House of Representatives and Famagusta mayor-in-exile (2006-2019) (Republic of Cyprus)

Xanthos Hadjisoteriou, Cypriot painter

Oz Karahan, political activist, President of the Union of Cypriots

Oktay Kayalp, former Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor (Northern Cyprus)

Harry Luke British diplomat

Angelos Misos, former international footballer

Costas Montis was an influential and prolific Greek Cypriot poet, novelist, and playwright born in Famagusta.

Hal Ozsan, actor (Dawson's Creek, Kyle XY)

Dimitris Papadakis, a Greek Cypriot politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament.

Ṣubḥ-i-Azal, Persian religious leader, lived and died in exile in Famagusta

Touker Suleyman (born Türker Süleyman), British Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor and reality television personality.

Alexia Vassiliou, singer, left here as a refugee when the town was invaded.

George Vasiliou, former President of Cyprus

Vamik Volkan, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry

Derviş Zaim, film director

 

Famagusta is twinned with:

İzmir, Turkey (since 1974)

Corfu, Greece (since 1994)

Patras, Greece (since 1994)

Antalya, Turkey (since 1997)

Salamina (city), Greece (since 1998)

Struga, North Macedonia

Athens, Greece (since 2005)

Mersin, Turkey

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

All Hallows School

President Erika D. Beck talks with the 2016 African American Enrichment Academy

President Erika D. Beck talks with the 2016 African American Enrichment Academy

Andrew Mundt, Radiation Therapist Senior, from the High Potential Program.

Third grade students develop integrated mathematics and science board games.

On Mondays, I show a photo of a zoo animal to residents in a retirement community, before I begin another program. I'm posting these two images this morning, to discuss the introduction of a second ocelot at the zoo, and the use of enrichment for many of the animals.

 

This is Rio, the female ocelot. She's the newer resident.

President Erika D. Beck talks with the 2016 African American Enrichment Academy

Gary Patel, Radiology Technologist, from Leaders in Training.

video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JulkYh5gq14

 

blogged

spiritcloth.typepad.com/spirit_cloth/2010/11/getting-to-t...

 

Boo at the Zoo this weekend!

 

Almost all the animals are getting some kind of pumpkin-based enrichment. The coatis were thrilled to get pumpkins with worms in them. #‎pumpkinspiceworms

Michelle Nadalin, Cancer Nurse Navigator, was in the High Potential Program.

Zoos regularly give animals objects for "enrichment." The objects represent something different in their familiar enclosures. In this case, Titan was given a bottle from a water cooler.

Mr Billy Chua from HDB explaining on the various housing options and schemes for elderly residents, such as 2-room flexi flats and Silver Housing Bonus (SHB) scheme.

Josiah Dixon, Program Development Manager, from Leaders in Training.

feeding the male tiger Eko snacks as rewards for behavior

A - Sun Wu

Né en 1942 à Taïwan

Licencié des Beaux Arts de l'Université Nationale Normale de Taipei, en 1968

Etudes à l'Académie San Fernando de Madrid, de 1971 à 1973 dont il sort diplômé d'un master d'arts plastiques

 

1974-1977 Séjourne aux Etats-Unis

1979-1980 Séjour enrichi de multiples déplacements en Afrique

1982-1984 Séjourne en Amazonie et au Brésil

1984-1985 Séjourne de nouveau en Afrique

1987-1989 Séjour enrichi de multiples déplacements dans le Pacifique Sud,

dans l'Irian Jaya

Depuis 1990 Vit et travaille désormais entre Paris et Taipei, où il possède un double atelier

 

Expositions personnelles

 

2015 L’exposition des sculptures, Le parc national Yangmingshan,

Taipei, Taïwan

2014 Danse dans la jungle, Maison des Arts, Paris, France

L’Encre fou, Institut Xue-Xue, Taipei, Taïwan

L’exposition des sculptures, Le parc national Yangmingshan,

Taipei, Taïwan

Traversant la jungle, Galerie Nationale République Dominicaine,

République Dominicaine

2013 Galerie Friedman Vallois, New York, Etats-Unis

Galerie Momentum, Knokke Le-Zoute, Belgique

Pinacothèque communale de l’Art Contemporain

«Giovanni de Gaeta», Gaeta, Italie

Musée de Taidong, Taidong, Taïwan

2012 Galerie Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France

En traversant la nature…, Centre d’Art du port de Taichung, Taïwan

2011 Galerie Sapone, Nice, France

Galerie Vallois, Paris, France

Parc de l’Industrie Culturelle et Créative, Taichung, Taïwan

Musée de Taidong, Taidong, Taïwan

2010 Centre Culturel de Taichung, Taichung, Taïwan

Centre Culturel de Hualian, Hualian, Taïwan

Centre Culturel d’Yilan, Yilan, Taïwan

2009 La jungle: Inspirations révélatrices, Palais de Marbre

à St. Pétersbourg, Russie

Plusieurs expositions dans les différentes ville à Taiwan

Invité par l'Assoication japonaise "Soka"

Musée de Taidong, Taidong, Taïwan

2008 Totem et Légende - nous somme de la famille, Taipei, Taiwan

Nous somme de la famille--Jungle métropolitaine, Pékin, Chine

Galerie Huantie. Pékin, Chine

Galerie de l'élément de la valeur, Pékin, Chine

Musée le Pont, Pékin, Chine

'Vivre dans la jungle', Stock No.20, Taichung, Taiwan

Foire international, Bologne, Italie

2007 Galerie Sapone, Nice, France

2006 Galerie Daniel Duchoze, Rouen, France

Galerie Ming-Yuan, Shanghai, Chine

Galerie Vallois, Paris, France

Galerie Sparts, Paris, France

Musée le Pont, Pékin, Chine

Chapelle Saint-Libéral, ville de Brive-la-Gaillarde, France

2005 Galerie Vallois, Paris, France

2004 Galerie Ming-Yuan, Shanghai, Chine

Galerie Sapone, Nice, France

Galerie Nationale au Musée Mémorial Sun Yah-Sen, Taipei, Taïwan

2003 Galerie Pierre Marie Vitoux, Paris, France

Fondation Antonio Sapone, Bellona, Italie

2002 Rétrospective Galerie National, Principauté d'Andorre

Manif Art Fair, Séoul, Corée

Salle d'exposition Municipale de l'Almodi, Valencia, Espagne

Galerie New York New York, Taipei, Taïwan

Espace Culturel Nan-Yang du Temple Fo-Kong-San, I-Lan, Taiwan

Espace Culturel au Shin-Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store,

Taipei, Taïwan

2001 Fuji Television Gallery, Salon de Mars, Genève, Suisse

Galerie Arnoux, Art Paris, Paris, France

Galerie Vallois, Paris, France

Art Fair, Galerie Dorval, Strasbourg, France

Galerie Duchoze, Rouen, France

2000 Orangerie du Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France

Musée Paul Valéry, Sète, France

Galerie Greca, Barcelone, avec Miro, Saura et Gordillo, Espagne

1998 Galerie du Trianon de Bagatelle, Paris, France

Hanart Gallery, Taipei, Taïwan

1997 Musée Pu-Ten, Okinawa, Japon

1996 Chung-Shan National Gallery, Taipei, Taïwan

1995 Shibuya Seibu, Espace Culturel du Seibu Department Store

Tokyo, Japon

1994 Lan-Kwai-Fong Gallery, Hong Kong

1993 Winner Gallery, Chicago, Etats-Unis

1992 Hakone Open Air Museum, Japon

1990 Royal Gallery, Los Angeles, Etats-Unis

Galerie Pucci, Taipei, Taïwan

1987 Musée Telefom, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil

Galerie Fu-Hwa, Taipei, Taïwan

1986 Musée Royal Ueno, Tokyo, Japon

1985 Musée d'Art Moderne, Sao Paolo, Brésil

Galerie Fu-Hwa, Taipei, Taïwan

1982 Hakone Open Air Museum, Japon

Ikeda, Musée du XXème siècle, Ito, Japon

1981 Ikeda, Musée du XXème siècle, Ito, Japon

Galerie Fukujin, Tokyo, Japon

1980 Musée National d'Histoire de Taïwan, Taipei , Taïwan

1979 Galerie Taichi, Taipei, Taïwan

Galerie Fukujin, Tokyo, Japon

1977 Musée National d'Histoire de Taïwan, Taipei , Taïwan

1978 Galerie Fukujin, Tokyo, Japon

1976 Galerie Far, New York, Etats-Unis

1975 Galerie Siglados, Espagne

Galerie Dalayela, Madrid, Espagne

1973 Galerie Circulo Dos, Madrid, Talavera, Toledo, Espagne

Musée National d'Histoire de Taïwan, Taipei , Taïwan

1972 Centre Culturel Américain, Taïchung , Taïwan

Musée National d'Histoire de Taïwan, Taipei , Taïwan

1971 Galerie Ling Yun, Taipei , Taïwan

1970 Musée provincial de Taïwan, Taipei, Taïwan

1968 Musée provincial de Taïwan, Taipei, Taïwan

 

asun.wu.free.fr

 

www.spartsgallery.com/

Michelle Bartholomew, Senior Business Intelligence Analyst, was a Leader in Training.

Photo by Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Meghan Murphy

Our 3rd grade boys were able to hear a great speaker about Native American tribes.

Shishka reached the food that was placed in a tree for her.