Assessment of Bedestan (St. Nicholas Church) on the first decade of conservation works

Abstract

St. Nicholas Church (Bedestan) is one of the most significant monuments located exactly in the centre of the walled city of Nicosia, in the Selimiye Quarter. The significance of the heritage building lies on its temporal transformation. Bedestan initially built by Byzantines in the 5th century, and was later enlarged during the Lusignan, Venetian, Ottoman and British period. Between 2004 and 2009 had gone through conservation works by United Nations Development Programme Partnership for Future (UNDP-PFF) which is funded by European Union. In 2009 the project has won Europa Nostra Award between 140 projects. The project consisted of both architectural and structural strengthening interventions. The aim of the study is to assess current condition of the structure on the first decade of conservation works. The method had three objectives. Firstly, the literature was reviewed in order to understand the historical process of the building. Then, site survey was completed for further understanding of the applied intervention to the structure. Finally, the current condition of the structure was observed after ten years of completed restoration works. Deterioration on used materials as well as durability of strengthening works was assessed and observations were listed herein.