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Nicosia’s past reflected in its monuments August 15, 2006

  Medieval fortifications, churches, mosques and baths have been restored in the divided city with United Nations funds

Only the name Saman-Bahce, or Saman Orchard, remains of the old market gardens. The 68 houses form nine small residential complexes around a small square with a hexagonal fountain (above pic), where children play and neighbors meet. Visitors to the northern occupied part of Nicosia eventually end up at Buyuk Khan. Built in 1572, it is now a venue for entertainment and cultural events.

This major city in Cyprus is the last divided capital in Europe. It is also a city with a long history and a wealth of monuments recording its eventful past. Until recently, Greeks could only view the traces of its history in half of the city, though in 1979 the Mayors of both sides began jointly implementing a master plan to restore the city’s most significant monuments with the help of UN funds.

Though a series of delays affected the work of archaeologists, conservators and architects, the results are now apparent on the Venetian walls, city gates, churches, baths, mosques and Gothic and Ottoman monuments scattered around both sides of the divided capital. In 2003, the opportunity to visit the occupied side of Nicosia for a few hours enabled visitors to get an overview of this many layered city. At the Ledra Palace checkpoint, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots cross to the other side of the city, are the master plan offices, staffed alternately by Greek and Turkish Cypriots. A stroll through both the well-known and not-so-well-known monuments of Nicosia is the best way to piece together a mosaic of the invaders, conquerors and foreigners who left traces of their culture in Cyprus.

Venetian engineer Julio Savorgnano began work on the medieval fortifications of Nicosia in 1567. The walls encircle the city, reinforced by 11 heart-shaped bastions.

For some years now the Ammohostos Gate, in the free Greek area of Nicosia, has been used as a venue for cultural events. The restored Kyrenia Gate, also known as the Porta del Proveditore, is in the northern occupied area of Nicosia. On the avenue leading to the Kyrenia Gate, the Tekes Mevlevi, which was used by the Dervishes, is now home to the Turkish Museum of Folk Art.

Public buildings > In the center of the occupied northern part, next to the market, is Buyuk Khan, restored in 2003. A large, two-story building with porticos around a square courtyard with a small mosque in its center, it is now used for restaurants, art galleries and tourist stores.

Two large historic baths, the baths of Omeriye and Buyuk Hamam, have been restored and are still in operation. The Baths of Omeriye, a late 16th-century stone edifice, was built in 1570 by Lala Mustafa Pasha to celebrate the Ottoman conquest of Nicosia. Buyuk Hamam, in the market, was a Catholic church built during the time of the Lusignans. It was turned into a bathhouse when Nicosia was taken by the Ottoman Turks. Currently under restoration is the Kumarcilar Khan, dating from the late 17th century.

Aghia Sophia, the Cathedral Church of the Lusignans, where the rulers of the Franks were crowned, was made into a mosque with 49-meter minarets by Lala Mustafa in 1570. It is one of the city’s most important monuments. Right next to Aghia Sophia is the 14th-century Church of Panaghia Hodigitria, which was the Orthodox Cathedral during the Venetian period. It later became a covered market or bedestan.

The 13th-century Lusignan-era Armenian Church in Arabhnet, the Byzantine and Gothic Cross of Misirikou, the Churches of Aghios Antonios (17th century) and Chrysaliniotissa (early 18th century), the restored mosque of Omeriye, and the Church of Panaghia Faneromeni (early 19th century) are just a few of the places of worship within the walls of free old-city of Nicosia.

A short walk through the city reveals a wealth of monuments that reflect the storied past of this historic capital.

Master plan sets designs for city > The master plan for Nicosia had its beginning in 1979. The project was based on the idea that the prolonged separate development of the divided city would make uniform development difficult in the future. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) coordinated the project with the assistance of UNHCR and European Union funding.

Third phase > In 1986 the plan entered its third phase, of protecting and reviving traditional built-up areas within the city walls that have been recognized as significant parts of Nicosia. Typical examples are to be found in the neighborhoods of Chrysaliniotissa and Arabahmet, where mostly 19th-century buildings have been restored and handed over for use as residences or as artists’ studios. The same has been done with a group of houses built in 1900 in Saman Bahce, near the Kyrenia Gate.