The Old Walls
and Gates of the City - Nicosia, Cyprus
Picture by www.tour-cyprus.co.uk
Nicosia is the only city in the world
which is still divided and walled, which makes for an interesting reason
to go and investigate.
The walls which encircle Nicosia date
back to the glory days of the Venetian Empire and were built in 1567.
Shakespeare made Cyprus his setting for the Venetian tale of Othello.
The city of Nicosia is divided between the Turkish occupied North, and
the Cypriot South, and the walls run through both areas.
This area of Nicosia is definitely
the most interesting and historically charged of the city, perhaps the
country. Walking around the walls you can get a strong sense of the
city's majestic past, and troubled present. There is a "Green Line"
monitored by the UN since the 1970s which separates the Turkish army
from the Cypriot army, and numerous small scale skirmishes frequently
occur (though nothing you should worry about as a tourist).
You will see troops monitoring the
border, or just hanging out playing backgammon - more likely the latter.
You will also want to visit the Famagusta
Gate, one of the city's main entranceways (the other two in operation
are the Paphos Gate and Kyrenia Gate). The Famagusta Gate was restored
in the mid-1990s and is now home to Nicosia's cultural center called
the Lefkosia Municipal Cultural Centre, where visitors can find information
and guides to the surrounding area. Entrance is free but limited to
their open hours of Monday- Friday: 10:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. & 4:00-7:00
p.m. May-September: 5:00-8:00 p.m.
The gates and walls are accessible
from the Eleftheria Square, which everyone in Nicosia knows.
To learn more about International Aid
efforts to preserve the walls of the city visit: www.international.icomos.org.
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