Page 55 - 2021 ACTA's Guide to Cyprus Tourism

Situated in the middle of the island, Lefkosia
(Nicosia) is a modern commercial and business
centre. The city centre in its old quarter, a
jumble of narrow streets with sandstone
buildings with overhanging balconies and inner
courtyards. Mosques and palm trees give it an
oriental atmosphere, while a beautifully restored
LEFKOSIA HOTELS shops, cafes and tavernas.
pedestrian precinct, LaikiYeitonia, has craft

The old quarter is surrounded by a
sandstone fortress wall with a moat
and heart-shaped bastions, built
by the Venetian in a vain effort to
keep out the Turkish army in the
16th century. One of the three
original entrances into the old
city, Famagusta Gate, has now
been restored and turned into a
cultural centre.

The Cyprus Museum hosts the
best collection of archaeological
exhibits on the island, including a
first century AD Roman statuette of
Aphrodite of Soliand the original mosaic
of Leda and the Swan, while the Leventis
museum depicts the history of the town.
The splendid Byzantine museum at the
Archbishopric has the largest collection of church
icons in Cyprus including the famous 6th century
mosaics, that were stolen from the church of
Kanakaria in the north of the island after the
Turkish invasion in the island and sold on the
black art market but were retrieved following a
landmark trial in the US.

53