Published by the Cyprus Turkish Education Foundation with a grant from the USAID-funded Supporting Activities that Value the Environment (SAVE) project, the volume will contribute to international scholarship by filling a long recognized void

United in their conviction that protecting Cyprus' cultural heritage is part of building a more peaceful future, a large and diverse group welcomed the launch of Dr. Tuncer Bagiskan's volume, Ottoman, Islamic and Islamised Monuments in Cyprus, at an event in the historic center of old Nicosia on October 27, 2009. "This book is unique [in its content and in what it contributes to scholarship on an important topic]", said Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat in his remarks at the event.

Published by the Cyprus Turkish Education Foundation with a grant from the USAID-funded Supporting Activities that Value the Environment (SAVE) project, the volume will contribute to international scholarship by filling a long recognized void. Bagiskan's work on this topic was originally published in Turkish. Translated into English by Dr. Tom Sinclair of the University of Cyprus with funding from the UNDP Action for Cooperation and Trust (ACT) program, the work is now accessible to international researchers and historians.

In their remarks to the audience that included community leaders, academics, and supporters of the arts from both sides of the dividing Green Line, Mr. Mustafa Ozgu, Director of the Cyprus Turkish Education Foundation; Ms. Barbara Rossmiller, Chief of Party of SAVE; Dr. Tuncer Bagiskan; and Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, all emphasized the role cultural heritage can play in informing current generations of their multicultural, and shared, past as well as of helping us all shape a better future.