Saturday 7 June 2025 9.30am
Visit to the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia
The Byzantine Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus, is part of the Archbishop Makarios III Cultural Foundation and houses a significant collection of Byzantine art and artifacts, including icons and mosaics. It is located within the Archbishop’s Palace compound, near St. John’s Cathedral and the Cyprus Folk Art Museum. The young people of the Bel Espoir sailing ship were welcomed and guided through the museum where they witnessed the richness of the religious heritage of the whole of Cyprus first hand. They were both impressive as well as awe inspiring, underlining the urgency also of the need for the preservation of the tremendously rich religious heritage of Cyprus by all involved.
Saturday 7 June 2025 11.30am
“Dialogue for Religious Freedom, Peace & Reconciliation”
The young people were welcomed in the Greek Orthodox Archbishopric where, after some refreshments, a conference followed presenting the history and the dialogue between the different faith communities of Cyprus so far, the difficulties and issues arising. Discussion followed in the presence of the religious leaders, with questions and answers from the participants touching on the importance of dialogue for peace in the island.
Saturday 7 June 20025 3pm
Exhibition Sector 2 (Buffer Zone Nicosia)
Traditional Lunch in Ledra Street in the center of Nicosia near the checkpoint
The young people were treated to a traditional lunch at a Cypriot Taverna, offering many exquisite dishes from the local cuisine called (“meze”), near the checkpoint which divides Ledra Street, the central shopping street of the city, in two.
Saturday 7 June 20025 3pm
Exhibition Sector 2 (Buffer Zone Nicosia)
The young people visited and had a guided tour of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia and the exhibition entitled Sector 2: Nicosia. The exhibition, presented through an innovative museological approach and experience, the story of the Green Line, a line which for 60 years now has been splitting the last divided capital of Europe in Cyprus. The title selected for the exhibition, Sector 2: Nicosia, carries symbolic significance. It not only describes the geographical division of Nicosia within the areas of control established by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, but also emphasises, devoid of sentimentality, the shared ‘fate’ of the city under a different light determined as Sector 2.
Saturday 7 June 2025 7.30pm
Liturgy and Dinner at the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Graces
In late afternoon, the young people visited the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Graces where they were welcomed and attended the liturgy in the Maronite Rite. They were then offered a delicious dinner with a rich variety of dishes which included both Cypriot and Lebanese delicacies.
Sunday 8 June 2025 10.30am
Mass for the Feast of Pentecost at the Latin Church of the Holy Cross Nicosia
The Catholics of Cyprus celebrated the Feast of Pentecost together with the Orthodox majority for the sake of the unity of Christians. The mass at the Latin Church of the Holy Cross was presided by Bishop Bruno Varriano who welcomed especially the young people. At the end of the mass Bishop Bruno presented the young people and their mission in more detail to the congregation in a church packed with faithful from many different countries.
Sunday 8 June 2025 13.30am
Lunch with the Latin Catholic parish communities at the Holy Cross Church
Lunch was offered to the young people, following the mass for the Feast of the Pentecost, at the Latin Church of the Holy Cross, by the various Latin Catholic communities of the parish. There was a variety of chicken dishes with recipes from various countries representing the different nationalities of Catholics which worship at the parish, as well sweets and local fresh fruit.
Sunday 8 June 2025 3.30pm
Visit to the Pournara Reception Center for asylum seekers
The Pournara Reception Centre, is located outside Kokkinotrimithia a village not far from Nicosia, in Cyprus. It serves as a primary reception point for individuals entering the Republic of Cyprus irregularly, primarily for public safety and health reasons. The center handles procedures like fingerprinting, investigative checks, and medical examinations for communicable diseases. Residents typically stay for about 15 days, during which time they are not allowed to leave the center. The young people visited the center and spent some time conversing with asylum seekers, adults and children.
Sunday 8 June 2025 7.30pm
Barbeque Dinner at the Sisters’ of Saint Joseph Convent in Nicosia
In the evening of Sunday there was a barbeque at the Sisters’ of Saint Joseph Convent in Nicosia where the young people were welcomed and offered different dishes, sweets and fruits, with music as well as the chance to sing and dance and enhance their confraternity further.
Monday 9 June 2025 11am
Visit to the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque in Larnaca
The Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque is one of Islam’s holiest sites, built in 1817, 3 kilometers west of the town of Larnaca on the main Salt Lake of Cyprus. Umm Haram, known as Hala Sultan in Turkish tradition, was the wife of Ubada bin al-Samit, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad,[2][3][4] and foster sister of Muhammad’s mother, Amina. The Hala Sultan Tekke complex is composed of a mosque, mausoleum, cemetery, and living quarters for men and women. The term tekke (lodge) applies to a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood, or tariqa, and may have referred to an earlier feature of the location. The young people were welcomed and were given a guided tour of the mosque complex.
Monday 9 June 2025 Afternoon
Arrival at the Sailing Ship Bel Espoir to prepare for the next leg of the journey
After lunch at a traditional Cypriot restaurant by the sea in Larnaca, the young people arrived at the port and the Sailing Ship Bel Espoir in order to prepare to sail on to Lebanon, the next step of their mission in the Mediterranean seeking and witnessing the need for dialogue and peace throughout the region.
