Site Characterization by in Situ and Laboratory Tests for the Structural & Architectural Restoration of Saint Nicholas Church, Nicosia, Cyprus

The Bedestan (Saint Nicholas Church) is located in Cyprus, in the Turkish part of the historic heart of the city of Nicosia only a step away from the ancient Latin Cathedral of Santa Sofia, today the Selimiye mosque. It gets its name from its function of cloth and precious object market during the Ottoman period (1570-1878) following the transformation of a pre-existing Christian church. The action objectives are the enhancement of a building of great architectural value by means of action aimed at its static consolidation, conservative resto-ration and its requalification and re-insertion inside the historic quarter of Selimye. The development of the project is preceded by a thorough diagnostic study. In order to study the soil-structure interaction a comprehensive in situ and laboratory investigation has been carried out to obtain a soil profile. For site characteriza-tion of soil deep site investigations have been undertaken. Borings and SPT have been performed. Moreover samples were retrieved for laboratory tests.