Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Famagusta, the easternmost gate, is the most photographed and best-preserved of the three
original gates that led into the Old City of Nicosia.The gate's impressive wooden door and
sloping facade open out onto a tunnel that leads through the rampart wall. Beyond the tun-
nel to the right is a small open-air arena, where concerts are held during the summer
months.
Bayraktar Mosque
MOSQUE
This small mosque marks the spot where the Venetian walls were successfully breached
by the Ottomans in 1570. The Ottoman
bayraktar
(standard bearer; after whom the
mosque is named in Turkish) was promptly killed by the defending forces but his body
was later recovered and buried here. The mosque has historically been the target of terror-
ist activity; in the early 1960s, EOKA-inspired attacks damaged the building. After being
repaired, the mosque was closed to the general public.
Liberty Monument
MONUMENT
Near the mosque on the Podocataro Bastion is this thought-provoking monument. It rep-
resents the Greek Cypriots' liberation from the British colonial powers, with the figures of
14 Ethniki Organosi tou Kypriakou Agona (EOKA; National Organisation for the Cypriot
Struggle) fighters being released from prison in 1959, alongside peasants and priests, rep-
resenting the various strata of Greek Cypriot society.
Chrysaliniotissa Crafts Centre
CRAFTS
This small arts centre is worth dropping into for its display of Cypriot arts and crafts.
Several workshops and a vegetarian restaurant surround a central courtyard in a building
designed along the lines of a traditional inn.
o
AG Leventis Gallery
MUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
;
www.leventisgallery.org
;
Leonidou St, New City; admission €5;
h
10am-5pm Mon & Thu-Sun,
to 10pm Wed;
pW
)
Located in the New City, this purpose-built art museum opened in 2014 and displays
European paintings and sculpture from the 16th to 20th centuries. Divided into three sec-
tions, the gallery's
Paris Collection
features masters such as Chagall, Monet and Renoir,
while the
Greek Collection
includes significant works by 19th- and 20th-century Greek
artists. The highlight of the
Cyprus Collection
, located on the ground floor, is a magnifi-
