Editorial

pointed out the fact that when archaeological
and religious sites, museums and libraries
are plundered or looted during wars, countries
and societies lose portions of their identity.
People become alienated from themselves
and their history is impoverished. A loss in
one country is a loss in global civilization.
Looting is a crime against humanity.
The book consists of an introduction that
deals with the situation in Iraq following the
U.S. invasion and occupation of the country
in March-April 2003, a situation analogous
to what has happened in Cyprus since
1974. The first part of the book provides essential
material on the wartime period enlivened
by the vivid and impassioned narration of
Yiannis Kleanthous, the keeper of the Kyrenia
Castle whose personal experience gives a
human dimension to the events.
The following three parts trace down the fate
of the plundered churches and the stolen artifacts
and antiquities. There is also a large focus
on the character of a Turk from Munich, Aydin
Dikmen, who is also known as the most active
and influential operator in the world of international
art theft. Although he had an interest
in collecting illegal artifacts since the 1960s,
the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus gave him
a free rein to plunder the north of the
island.
The book also deals with Dikmen’s 25 years
turbulent relationship with the art dealer Michel
van Rijn, a Dutchman who was eventually
instrumental in helping the Cyprus government
and Church to regain some of their looted
treasures. Such is the celebrated case of
the 6th century unique mosaics from the
Kanakaria church adjudicated in the courts of
the United States of America in the 1980s and
restored to their rightful owner, the Church of
Cyprus, in 1991. Another case is the 1997
"Byzantine sting" operation involving the German
police when Dikmen was finally nailed
down after 4,000 pieces, including 330 Byzan-
The Church of Ayios Themonianos, 13th century
at Lysi, plundered.
tine works from Cyprus, were found hidden
inside the wall of an apartment in Munich.
The book is minutely documented and provides
detailed evidence on the facts mentioned,
lending credibility to the incredible flow of
events. It also directs attention to the international
repercussions of the political and cultural
problem of art plundering.
Several other distinguished journalists have
tried to expose the cultural crimes against
Cyprus. Among them is the Turkish Cypriot
reporter Mehmet Yasin whose passionate articles
in the weekly magazine Olay in 1982 were
of singular significance.
As Robin Cormak, an expert in Byzantine art
summed up in a report on Cyprus in 1976:
"The cultural heritage of Cyprus is of central
importance in the history of European
art, a part of a larger cultural system rather
than a source of totally independent creation.
It is an essential witness to the art and architecture
of the other centres in the Mediterranean
within whose orbit it falls. Historians
of Classical, Medieval and Ottoman periods
must treat the culture of Cyprus as an integral
part of their material".
But in this daunting task we also need all
the help we can get: from international organizations,
from governments, from cultural
institutions, from the media and from caring
individuals.
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