Three million US citizens visit Cyprus exhibition in Washington

The exhibition, which opened in September 29, 2010 and closed on May 1, 2011, took place in the framework of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus and to highlight Cyprus’ own distinctive history and culture.

The exhibition featured about 260 items, many of which were being displayed for the first time in the USA, covering nearly 11,000 years of history, from the Cypriot-Archaic through the Venetian period, which ranged from items from the earliest villages to masterpieces of medieval religious art.

Visitors had the chance to be informed about Cyprus, its history and civilisation, its natural beauties as well as the political situation, through lectures and other events organised on the sidelines of the exhibition.

The last event, which took place in the framework of the exhibition, was a lecture by Jennifer Webb, archaeologist of the La Trobe University of Australia, under the title ''Aphrodite – Goddess of Cyprus'' that took place on the 20th of April.

The lecture was attended by members of the Smithsonian Associates of the Smithsonian Institute, members of the diplomatic corps, academics, journalists, students and others.

The event was addressed by Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington Pavlos Anastasiades, who said that through the exhibition, visitors learned about Cyprus and the destruction of its cultural heritage as a result of the Turkish invasion and occupation of one third of the island's territory in 1974.

Since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, about 550 churches have been desecrated and between 15-20,000 icons are still missing, believed to be stolen or sold on the black market.