Ayia Zone Church

Ayia Zone is typical of Orthodox churches built in later medieval times, with Gothic architecture incorporated into otherwise Byzantine forms. In the south east of Famagusta, close to St Nikolas church, it's one of 3 remaining Byzantine churches in the area, the other being St Simeon.
A simple cross-shaped church it may well stand on earlier foundations. It's likely this church was abandoned or used for other purposes during the Ottoman reign, as it's maintained itself very well throughout hundreds of years. Ayia Zone is dedicated to the sacred belt of the Virgin Mary. According to tradition, the Holy Belt was made by the Virgin Mary herself out of camel hair, was about 90cm long, with strings at the end to tie it up. Three days after she died, during her ascension, she gave the belt to the Apostle Thomas. Thomas and the other Apostles opened her grave, but didn't find her body so the belt is seen as proof of her ascension into heaven.
At some point, it must have had a piece of this cloth, a sacred relic of the clothing of Mary. It's currently used as a rehearsal room for a local theatre group and contains fragmentary frescoes of the Archangel Michael.