ottoman's tag archives
The Great Inn (The Buyuk Han)
Posted under Nicosia on Sunday, 25 October 2009 by Lavinia Neville Smith
The Great Inn (Buyuk Han) | Nicosia
This Great Inn is the most important Ottoman structure on the whole of the island. Construction began in 1572 under the guidance of Mustafa Pasha who was the first Ottoman governor of Cyprus and it was quickly established as the major trading point. These Inns...
The Bedestan
Posted under Nicosia on Sunday, 25 October 2009 by Lavinia Neville Smith
The Bedestan, is to be found immediately adjacent to the Selimiye Mosque and is an amalgamation of two churches. One dedicated to St. Nicholas of the English and the other dedicated to The Virgin Mary. It became the Orthodox Metropolitan cathedral, and during Ottoman rule was turned into a...
The Selimiye Mosque (Cathedral of St. Sophia)
Posted under Nicosia on Sunday, 25 October 2009 by Lavinia Neville Smith
The Selimiye Mosque (Cathedral of St. Sophia) | Famagusta
The name Sophia means “divine wisdom” and this great Gothic building erected during the Lusignan period was to be the most important church on the island. The foundation stone was laid in 1209 under the ecumenical rule of Archbishop...
Ataturk Square
Posted under Nicosia on Sunday, 25 October 2009 by Lavinia Neville Smith
Ataturk Square | Nicosia
Continuing along Girne Caddesi, it is a five minute walk to Ataturk Square, formerly Konak Square, dominated by the granite column that is topped with a bronze sphere. This column was a symbol of Venetian rule and originally had a marble Lion of St. Mark on the top. When...
Nicosia
Posted under Nicosia on Sunday, 25 October 2009 by Lavinia Neville Smith
Nicosia | North Cyprus
The capital city of Cyprus is Nicosia, Lefkosa in Turkish, Lefkosia in Greek. It is the only divided capital city in the world and is the administrative centre for both the recognised Republic of South Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.
The inland position,...
Kyrenia Castle
Posted under Kyrenia on Sunday, 25 October 2009 by Lavinia Neville Smith
Kyrenia Castle | Kyrenia
The history of Kyrenia castle, shares its origin with the mountain castles and was built by the Byzantines for the same defensive reasons, to repel the Arab raiders of the 7th C. It is possible that there may have been a Roman fort to protect the trading route that brought...
