Nicosia (Lefkosia) lies roughly in the centre of the island on the
Messaoria Plain and has a rich history that can be traced back to the Bronze
Age. The Lousignians turned it into a magnificent city with a Royal Palace and
over fifty churches. It only became capital of the island in the 11th century
AD. The heart of the city is enclosed within 16th century Venetian walls and is
dotted with museums, ancient churches and medieval buildings, blending its
historic past with the bustle of a modern city.
Nicosia was the centre of an independent kingdom as early as the 7th century
BC. Known in ancient times as Ledra, came under Byzantine rule in the early 4th
century AD and passed to Guy of Lusignan, the Latin King of Jerusalem, in 1192.
The Lusignan Kings held Nicosia until it was captured in 1489 by the Venetians.
The city then passed to the Ottoman Turks in 1571 and to the British in 1878. It
was made the capital of British-ruled Cyprus in 1925.
Nicosia became the capital of independent Cyprus in 1960. The city has been
divided into Turkish and Greek Cypriot zones since the Turkish invasion in 1974.
Today, Nicosia is the only capital city in the world to remain divided by
force.
The Nicosia Jewels Museum and the Municipal Arts Centre as well as the
'Levention' Municipal Museum, with an imaginative presentation of the capital's
history, was awarded 'European Museum of the Year' in 1991 are some of the many
landmarks to visit. More historical landmarks are: the Selimiye Mosque
-1209-1325, formerly the Cathedral of St Sophia, the Cyprus Museum, the Cyprus
Historical Museum and Archives and the Folk Art Museum.
The new Nicosia developed outside the walls became a contemporary, business
and cultural centre extending to the west into the vine-covered Troodos
Mountains, where magnificent forests and valleys feature hill resorts as
Kakopetria and the Byzantine churches of Galata.
Lefkosia has a national football stadium - the Makarion Sports Centre with a
capacity for 25,000 spectators, the indoor sports centres of Eleftheria and
Lefkotheon, a municipal swimming centre, tennis courts and race tracks etc.
The city is served by an international airport at Larnaca, about 34 km to the
southeast.
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