Hypogean Traces - Mouttalos | Thesis project by Margarita Leriou

The thesis project is about a place of historic significance in Cyprus, Moutallos, a picturesque area in the western side of Paphos. Moutallos is the border between the old and the new town, which is situated on the edge of a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff there are some natural caves.

Nowadays, Moutallos is almost abandoned because its former inhabitants were Turkish Cypriots who were forced to leave and move to the northern side, after the Turkish invasion in Cyprus in 1974. Greek Cypriot refugees inhabited the area after the division. Therefore, the aim was to create an underground memorial space, which will narrate the history of the two communities in Cyprus, of the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots.

The visitors enter the space, passing smoothly into the artificial cave inside the rock. The first stop takes them back to the 1930s – the reconciliation. Continuing, they pass through the dark and fixed route of the 1960s – through disorientation – while gradually, it becomes evident that the relations between the two communities start to be shaken. Just before the end of the path, a wave of light awaits. There, they make a stop in the events of March 1964, the armed conflict of the two communities. The result of this battle proved to be catastrophic and ‘the first partition’ became a fact. After these conflicts, the particular area of Mouttalos became an ‘enclave’ in order to protect the Turkish Cypriot residents by keeping them restricted, while a the same time the Greek Cypriots were not allowed to visit the area. Continuing their path inside the caves, the visitors end up in the heart of the rock; a deep, cold, empty room that seems to have received bombs from above, leaves its trace on the ground. It is the ‘final stroke’ which describes the Turkish invasion of ’74. The only way out is ‘abandonment’. A steep and suffocating ascent symbolizes the movement of Turkish Cypriots from Paphos to the northern part of the island. At the same time, the Greek Cypriot refugees  left their villages and descended to the South. The visitors are now in the process of exiting the space. Leaving the first level, they are transferred to a miniature representation of contemporary times – the temporary permanence. Leaving behind the memorial traces, the visitors prepare for the ascent and the only road that leads to the outside. The route is completed.