Nicosia Cyprus

Nicosia, the Cyprus capital , is the only divided European capital in the world. A division as well as geographical, political, with the Greek state, and the Turkish state on the other. The invasion by the Turks occurred in 1974 as a result of the Cypriot military coup, thus cracking the agreements made with the 1960 Zurich Treaty.

Nicosia, despite this division, however, is a modern, lively and very open city with a great variety of cultural events, entertainment and many things to see. The Green Line, the UN buffer zone that divides the capital is one of the main attractions. An almost surreal walk where you will sometimes see the Greek flag and sometimes the Turkish one.

To visit the Buyuk Han, a construction in the Turkish part of the Ottoman era of 1572 that served as a resting place for merchants and travelers. Spread over two floors with an internal courtyard accessible both east and west by two doors with a small mosque in the middle. Surrounded by stone walls, arcades with colorful Byzantine flowers and arches is a perfect place to rest and take beautiful photographs.

Lidras Street, on the other hand, is the heart of Nicosia. A pedestrian street right in the historic center where in summer long sheets are hooked from one side of the road to the other to give shade and where the Cypriots gather to socialize. Lidras Street has an important value because along the way there is a gap to pass from the Turkish to the Greek side. It is surrounded by walls dating back to 1567 built by the Venetians to defend the city from the attacks of the invaders who did not have this great function against the Ottomans, dropping the Venetian empire in only three years. On the walks along the walls there are ten bastions of which 5 belong to the Greek area and 5 to the Turkish area.

The Museums in Nicosia are really many and for all tastes testimony of a very lively cultural environment that goes from the ancient art to the contemporary one, to the philately, to the folklore and who has more than it is. The most important ones to see in your visit to Cyprus are the National Archaeological Museum which has an important collection of ancient artifacts from the island, The Muncipal Arts Center, of contemporary art, the unmissable Byzantine Museum with over 300 icons and frescoes that go from the IX to the XIX century, the Leventis Municipal Museum inside a neoclassical stately home with a collection of ceramics from prehistory to the Middle Ages and documents up to the occupation of the Turks, and finally the most recent Cvar a real journey into modern history of Cyprus.

In short, there is really a world to discover in Nicosia, dedicated more than half a day it is really worth it, but I recommend you equip yourself with a pair of comfortable shoes, the beauty is to walk around it.