Othello Tower and the Venetian walls of Famagusta

Othello Tower is the harbour citadel of Famagusta (Ammochostos in Greek, Gazimağusa in Turkish, as OpenStreetMap has it), on the east coast of the north of Cyprus. You reach it through one of the Green Line checkpoints, and the paperwork is set out in crossing to Northern Cyprus, while currency, the GHIC and official warnings are covered in Northern Cyprus. What follows comes from the bicommunal committee that restored it.

A fortress inside a fortress

The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, set up by both communities in 2008 to look after the island’s heritage, explains that the citadel is really two structures. Inside is the Lusignan fortification of the 14th century. Around it run the walls Venice built from 1492. It was the key defensive point of Famagusta, at the apex of the town walls between the harbour and the open sea.

It once had eight towers and four remain, linked by stretches of wall in very different states, from ruin to complete walls with rib vaulting. My favourite detail is one the committee picks out itself, the Lion of Venice still presiding over the entrance.

Shakespeare’s name for it

Othello, Shakespeare’s tragedy, is set in a Cypriot harbour town, and that’s where the name comes from. The committee leaned into it, marking the 2015 reopening with a performance of the play inside the castle by a cast of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot actors. For a monument on a divided island, that strikes me as exactly the right choice.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Protaras before prices climb.

The 2014 and 2015 restoration

A technical survey was carried out in 2012 with EU money and UNDP running the project. Works began in May 2014 and finished in July 2015. They stabilised walls and arches, strengthened the sections that had collapsed, built drainage to carry off rainwater, the main cause of decay, and laid new roofing. Information panels, level access and accessible toilets were added too, and the tower reopened to visitors that same July.

The walls of Famagusta

The tower is only one corner of the circuit. Europa Nostra reports that the committee went on to work on the Martinengo Bastion, designed by the Venetian architect Giovanni Sanmicheli between 1550 and 1559, on the Ravelin and on other stretches of wall. The European Commission has put around €4 million into those Famagusta projects. Earlier, the World Monuments Fund placed the walled town on its watch list of heritage at risk in 2008 and 2010.

The walls didn’t hold in 1571. The Union of Cyprus Municipalities records that the town fell to the Ottomans in August that year after a siege lasting a year. About 300 m from the tower is St Nicholas Cathedral, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Othello Tower and choose by the reviews.

Getting there from the south

The nearest crossing is Deryneia, about 7 km away in a straight line, and you cross with your passport. If you drive, you’ll need separate insurance for the north. Opening times and prices aren’t published anywhere I can cite, so I won’t guess. I’d stay in Protaras and make it a day trip.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Protaras on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Protaras before prices climb.