Nicosia

Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus and the province of the same name, while it is located a little northeast of the central part of the island. It is situated about 50 kilometers north of Larnaca, 85 kilometers northeast of Limassol and 152 kilometers northeast of Paphos.

The city of two borders and an urban center with a common historical past and many heterogeneous elements that are rooted in the eternal coexistence of the East and the West, Nicosia is the only divided city in the world, cut in two, and wounded by the tumultuous history of the island. Still “aching” from the barbed wires of the road barriers, the soldiers of the UN buffer zone and the red-white flags of the Turkish pseudo-state in its northern part, the city longs for its own redemption by the resolution of the Cypriot problem and its re-unification.

The city is built on the Pedieou river, at an average altitude of 150-200 meters and today is internationally known with the Italian name Nicosia, while in Greek it is still called Lefkosia. As a capital, it is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the University of Cyprus and the seat of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, the political, economic and administrative center of the island, the core of the Cypriot culture and art. Its inhabitants are more than 300,000, along with the suburbs that are gradually being integrated into the urban fabric.

Known in Greek mythology as a siren, one of the daughters of Acheloos and Melpomeni, the name Lefkosia is translated as “White Essence,” but in antiquity it was called Ledra and was one of the ancient kingdoms of the island. Since the 10th century when it became a capital city and over the years, Nicosia has been ruled by many, the Crusaders, the Franks, the Venetians, the Ottomans and the British, finally shaping its current multicultural image reflected in its buildings, monuments, flavors and fragrances.

Its historic center is located in the Venetian Walls of Nicosia, which is the trademark of the city. Their former gates (Paphos Gate and Famagusta Gate) now function as cultural centers or attractions, while the trench that was outside and under the walls, has been turned in places into a park and elsewhere into a parking lot.

Inside the walls, lives and breathes the old town, with the Folk Neighborhood of Nicosia and the countless and original museums and cultural sights that are a center of attraction for thousands of tourists arriving from all over the world (Nicosia Leventis Municipal Museum, the Mansion of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, the Museum of the History of Cypriot Coinage, Children’s Rota Museum, Cyprus Postal Museum, Nicosia Struggle Museum, Nicosia Byzantine Museum, Cyprus Folk Art Museum, Omeriye Mosque, Bahirattar Mosque, Archbishop’s Palace, Cyprus High School, Severios Library, Cross of Misirikos).

In the historical quarters, the low-rise houses made of limestone dominate the eye of the visitor and around them stand small and large ancient churches that survive to this day, filled with people during the great celebrations of Christianity (Panaghia Chrysaliniotissa Lefkosias, Agios Kassianos Lefkosias, Archangelos Michael Trypiotis, Faneromeni of Lefkosia, Cathedral of Agios Ioannis). By hosting people from all over the planet, a genuine metropolis with young people, tourists, students, immigrants and locals, Nicosia has everything. From the temples for the various religions “hosted” in the city (Catholic Church of the Holy Cross of Nicosia, Our Lady of Charity), to the most sophisticated facilities of recreation, sports, arts and culture.

In the picturesque narrow streets of the old town there are many shops, bars, taverns, pubs and cafes, while at the beginning of the central square of Eleftheria there is the pedestrian street of Ledra where beats the commercial heart of the center, with many galleries accommodating alternative restaurants for every taste. Nearby, there is the emblematic Observatory of Ledra, with by far the best view of the city, offering the capital “on the palm of your hand” in a panoramic 360 degree view. Ledra’s roadblock, at the end of the Green Line, is the checkpoint that you need to show an ID card or passport in order to pass to the “opposite bank” in the occupied part of the city, with the minarets that mark the sky.

Apart from the most important administrative and economic center of the island, Nicosia is a modern city that is able to balance between the weight of its history and the developing present, providing one of the highest living standards in the world. Being on the train of development and following the socio-economic developments of the major European metropolis, the Greek Cypriot side of the capital has the sent of western culture, hosting a lot of companies of every type, form and activity. Outside the walls, modern high-rise glass buildings and the imposing structures of multinational companies are interchanged in the historic neighborhoods with the equally important museums (State Art Gallery, Zambella Art Museum, Cypriot Penna Museum, Cypriot Press Museum, Cypriot Police Museum, Leventis Art Gallery, Archaeological Museum of Cyprus). Particularly worth mentioning are the Prisoners Memorials, located in the central prison of the city, and are a vital part not only of Nicosia but also of the entire Cyprus, so that the visitor can see and learn about how such a small country has raised its head, claiming and gaining its freedom.

All this, for the traveler exploring the capital, are abruptly interrupted by the road barricades and the call of the muezzin for prayer that echoes throughout the city. Barrels “dressed” in barbed wire in closed-off alleys with dilapidated houses and ruins, recall the Turkish invasion of 1974 that divided a world into two. If the visitor finds himself in one of the disputed neighborhoods such as the Ledra Palace hotel, which is the headquarters of the UN forces on Markou Drakou Avenue, with the Green Line (the border that now divides the Northern from Southern Cyprus), he will have the chance to see the two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, the free side and, on the other hand, the side occupied by the Turks. In the Turkish-occupied sector with the low developmental rates, the character of the Turkish Cypriot region is directly related to the East and to the conservatism it represents.

Nicosia, a city of contradictions, a capital with a lack of coherence and unity in the urban fabric, that seduces with its excellent cuisine, intense nightlife and interesting stories, is the ultimate destination for the travelers who love exquisite experiences.