Scuba Diving Destinations, Scuba Diving in Europe, Scuba News

MUSAN - the museum of sunken sculptures in Cyprus is now open for divers!

On Saturday, 31 July, the museum of sunken sculptures in Ajia Napa – MUSAN – was opened in Cyprus. On this occasion the organisers invited many guests from all over the world, including us. From the very beginning it was clear that the MUSAN project was a big event for everyone. The organisers of our

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: August 3, 2021 - 09:00

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 23:01

MUSAN – the museum of sunken sculptures in Cyprus is now open for divers!

On Saturday, 31 July, the museum of sunken sculptures in Ajia Napa – MUSAN – was opened in Cyprus. On this occasion the organisers invited many guests from all over the world, including us.

From the very beginning it was clear that the MUSAN project was a big event for everyone. The organisers of our meeting and the creators of the museum of sunken sculptures put a lot of effort into presenting the new facility in the best possible light.

-- Advertisement --

The author of all the sunken statues is obviously British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor. An artist known for a great many similar projects that he has carried out around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that underwater installations They look great and have a hidden message and were created with the participation of local people.

As DIVERS24 we were invited to take part in the grand opening of museum of sunken sculptures. This gave me the opportunity to be among the first group of people who dived into MUSAN. Only after our visit and the official opening, which took place at an event organised in the evening, the site has been opened to divers.

The idea of creating MUSAN was born in 2014 and after many efforts the museum has now opened in 2021. Speaking at the opening, Minister Yiannis Karousos said the new museum would cement Cyprus as a leading direction of diving tourism.

Local authorities expect the facility to attract 50,000 visitors a year. This estimate correlates with the words of Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios, who said that diving tourism is one of the pillars of National Tourism Strategy Cypru 2030.

Total cost of creation underwater museum reached one million euros. Jason deCaires Taylor created a total of 93 works. All the sculptures were placed on the bottom at a depth of up to 10 m. Thanks to this MUSAN can be visited by divers and freedivers alike. It is undoubtedly important to emphasise that the artist designed his statues to provide a stimulus for the local flora and fauna.

More about the museum of sunken sculptures in Ajia Napa you will read in the next issue of our magazine.

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.