My trip to Nicosia, Cyprus in April was soooo last-minute that I didn’t plan anything. And that’s uncommon since I plan 90% of my trips. Anyway, the good thing is that I met with a friend of mine from postgraduate school that I hadn’t seen in ages. She l tipped me about restaurants and suggested a walking tour. That tour was the best (sightseeing) part of my journey! I learned so much about the city. So now let’s see what Nicosia has to offer, shall we?
Green Line
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the Green Line (demilitarized zone). Nicosia is a divided city. The division occurred after the crisis between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in 1955-64. It became a militarized border in 1974 after Turks invaded Cyprus. In 2003 one of the crossings in Nicosia reopened and two others opened up until 2008. I didn’t cross to the Turkish side, but many times I walked next to the Green Line. During the tour, I learned about buildings that were destroyed during the invasion, such as churches and schools.
Famagusta Gate
The walled city of Nicosia had 3 gates: Famagusta to the South East, Kyrenia to the North and Paphos to the West. The Venetians built Famagusta gate in 1567 and the Ottomans added the cupola on top. It was the largest gate of Nicosia and had amenities for feeding the horses as well as warehouses. The dry moat outside the gate housed (at some point) the city’s lepers. When Cyprus was under British rule, Famagusta gate has used as barracks. The soldiers fed the lepers every day. I learned more gossip about this gate, but this post is going to be huge if I write them down!
Houses of Old Nicosia
What I loved the most in the city was the architecture. I took countless photos of old buildings and their doors. Especially the doors. A lot of the houses (especially in the eastern part of the walls) have one floor only which puzzled me. I later learned that the Ottomans back in 1821 feared that the Cypriots will revolt like the Greeks did. They ordered that all Greek population lived in ground floor houses, so that police could easily raid them.
I also came across two-story houses of course. Many of them exhibited a mix and match of architecture. The ground floor was usually built in Venetian style while the first floor in Ottoman style. Such a house is Chatzigeorgakis Kornesios’ mansion. Kornesios was a dragoman (translator) who thanks o his profession acquired a lot of wealth. The house is now open as a museums Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Churches of Nicosia
Faneromeni is the largest Orthodox church in the city within the walls. The present church was built in the late 19th century but some of the icons inside the church date back to 16th century.
Michail Archangelos Trypiotis is another old church dating from the 17th century. I also visited Panagia Chrysaliniotissa Church. This church in the eastern part of the old town dates back to the 15th century. It is the oldest church in the city of Nicosia (within the walls). The church underwent many transformations, but some elements from the older buildings are still visible on the entrance of the church.
Prominent buildings of Nicosia
Walking around town alone and with the tour, I came across many important buildings. Let’s start from the Archbishop’s Palace. The building was built in the 1950s and is not open to the public. Next to the palace, you’ll find the Byzantine Museum and the Folk Museum. The latter was the old Archbishop’s Palace and built in both Venetian and Ottoman style.
Right across the street from the Archbishop’s Palace is the Pancypriot Gymnasium. This is Cyprus’ oldest middle school. It was built in 1812 and was an all-boys school. The first all-girls school was Faneromeni School for girls opposite the namesake church. Today both schools are co-educational. The number of students is decreasing, though, as fewer people live in the city within the walls.
Last but not least (on the must-see list) is the Statue of Liberty. The statue symbolizes the Cypriots’ war of Independence from the British. The statue’s inauguration was scheduled for August 1974. But on July 20th Turkey invaded Cyprus, so the inauguration never happened. The statue remained covered until the wind one day destroyed and blew off the cover!
Ledras street
Ledras is the major shopping street of the city within the walls. It has shops, restaurants, and a few cafes. On the end of the street, there is a crossing to the Turkish side of Nicosia. On my where-to-eat guide, which will come up in a future post, I’ll mention two places that I enjoyed in Ledras street. But to be brutally honest, my favorite part of Nicosia within the walls is the one on the east of Ledras street.
If you plan to visit Cyprus and Nicosia, do pin this post for future use. Also, do check out CVAR/Severis Foundation for upcoming events and tours. The tour I took part in was organized by CVAR. It was geared towards locals and that added a lot of value to it.
Have you been to Nicosia? If not, definitely spend a day there before heading to the beaches.
I'm Anna and this is my lifestyle and travel blog! 
