Selimiye Mosque, the Gothic cathedral of North Nicosia

The Selimiye Mosque dominates the skyline of North Nicosia (Lefkoşa in Turkish), the part of the capital in the north of Cyprus. You walk there from the southern old town through the pedestrian checkpoint, and what you need to cross is in crossing to Northern Cyprus. For money, healthcare and official warnings, see Northern Cyprus. Of all the buildings in the north, this is the one I think most rewards the walk.

The cathedral of the Lusignan kings

Nicosia municipality tells how, when Guy de Lusignan bought the island from the Templars at the end of the 12th century, Nicosia became the capital of his kingdom. That capital’s Latin cathedral was St Sophia, and Encyclopaedia Britannica names it, together with Famagusta’s, as the great Gothic legacy of the Lusignans and Venetians on Cyprus.

From the square you see a front that wouldn’t look out of place in northern France, with pointed-arch portals and a large window, topped by two Ottoman minarets. English Wikipedia adds that the kings of Cyprus were crowned here, which I haven’t been able to check against an official source. The kings of Jerusalem were crowned at St Nicholas in Famagusta.

The siege of 1570 and the conversion

Nicosia municipality reproduces on its website a Venetian eyewitness account of the Ottoman siege of 1570, with the bastions falling one after another until the final assault. It also explains what followed. The city was left half empty and its main Latin churches were turned into mosques, St Sophia the most important among them.

There are no opening times or visiting rules here, since nothing citable publishes them. It’s a working mosque, so I’d go in outside prayer times, shoes off, with shoulders and knees covered.

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

The Bedesten next door

About 50 m from the mosque stands the Bedesten, a former market building that OpenStreetMap links to the church of St Nicholas. A little further, about 160 m away, is the Büyük Han, the great Ottoman caravanserai, and the three together make a good morning.

On foot from Ledra Street

From the Ledra Street checkpoint it’s about 400 m in a straight line. Gov.uk notes that the two Ledra crossings are pedestrian only, and you’ll need your passport. The street leading to the checkpoint is covered in my guide to Ledra Street, and the wider picture of the northern half of the city in North Nicosia.

The mosque sits inside the same Venetian walls you start exploring in the south, with their eleven bastions and three gates. To see them in full, read my guide to the Venetian walls of Nicosia.

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

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

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