Daliou Mosque

The Daliou Mosque is located in the old settlement of the homonymous town of Nicosia in Cyprus.

In 2006, the Ministry of the Interior, together with the Daliou Municipality, began the actions for the preservation of the mosque as an area’s cultural attraction.

It is a large stone-built Turkish-Cypriot mosque, consisting of a basic mosque, a veranda on the north side, a minaret northwest, an auxiliary building to the east, and a courtyard in the south. Morphologically, the Daliou mosque and the minaret are buildings of the 19th century, while the auxiliary building is more modern. In any case, at the main entrance of the mosque there is an inscription, which refers to the year of its erection, 1862-1863.

More specifically, the Daliou mosque consists of the miramb (in the middle of the southern wall, opposite the entrance). At its northeastern side, there is an elevated level from where one can reach the minaret. The floor of the mosque is covered with Cypriot stucco, which was probably installed in the place of older ones. The veranda, on the other hand, has two arches, resting on a pillar, as its floor is also made of Cypriot stucco in various shapes and irregular arrangement. The mosque has a central entrance, six windows and an additional entrance, which connects the mosque with the minaret. The above, follow the structural and morphological patterns of traditional architecture, while the windows are more neoclassical. The minaret, built with hewed stones, features a 48-steps stone staircase, as well as a balcony, which in the past contributed to the functional needs of the Daliou Mosque. The auxiliary building, on the other hand, is rectangular and adjoins the porch and a part of the eastern side of the mosque while it is built with irregular stones and chalices and has a concrete floor. Finally, it has two entrances (one to the courtyard and one to the south) and three windows.