Mosaics, icons and other works of religious art were stolen by the Turkish occupied area of ​​northern Cyprus. In Germany they brought today arrested an art dealer Aydin Dikmen. The court took the decision to return the artifacts to their homeland

Source: financialmirror.com

Germany returns to Cyprus more than 170 beautiful works of religious art - mosaics, icons and other cultural facilities. These items were mostly stolen from the Christian churches of Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus in 1974.

Returned items are included in a much larger group of artifacts discovered and seized in Munich the house of the criminal Turkish art dealer Aydin Dikmen (Aydin Dikmen) in October 1997: then the police found thousands of stolen Cyprus icons, mosaics, etc. In order to restrain the perpetrator was a large-scale operation, during which involved about 70 German police officers, and Dutch dealer Michel van Rijn (Michel van Rijn) had to play the role of an accomplice.

Among the stolen artifacts are, for example, the mosaics of the Church of Cyprus Kanakaria VI century - one of the oldest Christian churches in the world . Or murals of medieval monastery Antifonitis. Subjects remained in Germany the past 16 years, while legal battles about their fate. In March, a German court finally agreed to return more than 170 artifacts Cyprus, which was done.

about where in the end will get the returned value is not reported. The late head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus Chrysostomos I (1927-2007) offered to build for these religious objects a new church in the so-called "dead zone", held at the actual border of present-day Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Prepared by Mary Onuchina, AI

Sources : financialmirror.com , artinvestment.ru