Cyprus: Divided Nicosia/Lefkosa

The old town of Nicosia is a circular walled (built by the Venetians) city. It looks really cool on the map. The other feature of Nicosia that stands out on the map is that it's a divided city, between the north and south, in the same way Berlin was divided between the east and west. There is a  checkpoint that works like any border crossing, Turkey to the north, Republic of Cyprus to the south. 

Our guidebooks seem to suggest that many people come to Cyprus for the beaches and bypass Nicosia completely. Taking the two halves in the city as a whole, the city is a really interesting place to explore. There are walls, bastions, and gates. There are traditional neighborhoods, houses, and markets. There are hans, hamans, and tekkes. There are mosques, churches, and museums. The Cyprus Museum was particularly interesting. There was material evidence from every culture that passed through Cyprus. The history of Cyprus is the history of the Mediterranean. 

On the bus to Nicosia.




Nicosia Walled City Self Guided Walking Route Map (Follow the Blue Line Or the Metal Plate).






This is Ledra Street Crossing, where pedestrians (like us) are able to cross between the North and the South.


Our fav building in South Nicosia was "The House of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios", who lived in Nicosia between 1779 and 1809.










The Great Han (Caravan resting place) in North Nicosia


Central Market Hall in North Nicosia .


Social housing project in North Nicosia.


These trendy cafes along the City Wall in North Nicosia were very busy the afternoon we walked by. And the Ottoman houses behind them were beautiful.






The Armenian Church in North Nicosia


Court Buildings in North Nisocia


Orthodox church in South Nicosia.




The Green Line buffer zone between the Greek Side and Turkish side of Nicosia. Cats are everywhere in Cyprus.




My laptop is broken but still usable, so we checked out tablets at this Xiaomi Mi Store located outside the walls in South Nicosia.




The Cyprus Archaeological Museum in Nicosia was amazing. First below are 2 Mycenaean Style Octopus Vases (16th Century BC).




More artifacts from the Cyprus Archaeological Museum.












Statue of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (2nd Century AD.

Cyprus: Surreal Famagusta/Gazimagusa

Another day trip from Nicosia to the north was to Famagusta. At first we had ambitions of visiting the archeological site of Salamis from Famagusta. Once we figured out the bus schedule, we decided against going. We ended up having a most unusual day in Famagusta.

Famagusta is another port city with its Venetian walls that withstood the Ottomans for 11 months in 1570. All the walls are very much intact today, though the town itself stands among ruins. The main square is around the ruined Venetian Palace. The mosque is a skinny minaret attached to the 13th century Gothic Church (right out of France), or whatever is left. Around the city there are over a dozen churches, of every different sect of christianity,, in various states of ruiness, on regular streets with houses, schools, businesses. It was bizarre. 

Things got even more bizarre when we walked south to see the ghost town of Varosha. Until the 1974 conflict, half of all tourists to the island came to this area. Today most of the zone is fenced off with barbed wire, guarded by armed soldiers, warning signs of no photos. The hundreds of buildings have stood empty for almost 50 years. Right around them, life goes on, shops, restaurants, hotels....

On the bus from north Nicosia to Famagusta.




The Land Gate of the Venetian City Walls.


The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (Formerly Saint Sophia). Notice the minaret at left "plopped" on an uncompleted church tower. All Christian images have been removed from the interior but it still looks like a French church, no?






View of the Venetian Walls from the Sea Gate


Some ruined churches around town. The first two photos below are of the ruins of Church of St. George of the Greeks (Orthodox).








The so-called 13th-century "Twin Crusaders Churches"; now, De Molay Bar.


We are outside the city walls and headed towards the beach and Varosha.


We make our way past war-damaged buildings, LOVE MAGUSA giant letters, barbed wire, and around checkpoints to the beautiful beach.










And finally we are stopped by a fence. Is that Varosha?