Terracotta Symposium in Vounous Opens in Silence in Memory of Those Who Died on the Ferry

The 8th International Terracotta Symposium has opened in Vounous, near Çatalköy. The opening ceremony was held without music or speeches — in silence, in memory of those who died and went missing when the Filo Jet ferry sank off Kyrenia.

Instead of the usual opening ceremony, participants lit torches and placed flowers on the water. Demonstrations of ancient crafts — bronze casting, pottery and fire-making using primitive methods — took place in the same restrained atmosphere: the organisers asked that each action be understood as a gesture of respect for those who died.

About 80 participants came to the symposium this year: 26 artists and researchers from abroad, with the rest being residents of the TRNC.

The site was visited by Çatalköy-Esentepe Mayor Ceyhun Kırok: he viewed the exhibition and spoke with the craftspeople.

Vounous is one of the best-known archaeological sites in Northern Cyprus: the Early Bronze Age necropolis excavated here yielded one of the island’s largest collections of ancient pottery. The symposium is held at the same site and focuses on those same firing techniques.

The exhibition is open to visitors until 16 September.