page_title: North Nicosia
section_title: The walled city
hierarchical_section_title: North Nicosia / Cityscape / The walled city
caption_attribution_description: English: Big Khan in Nicosia, Cyprus. Deutsch: Großer Khan in Nikosia, Zypern.
context_page_description: North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia is the capital and largest city of the de facto state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia and is governed by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality. As of 2011, North Nicosia had a population of 61,378 and a metropolitan area with a population of 82,539.
  Following the intercommunal violence of the 1960s, the capital of Republic of Cyprus was divided between the island's Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in the south and north respectively in 1963. A coup by the Greek military junta in an attempt to unite the island with Greece in 1974 led to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the international community considers North Nicosia to have been under Turkish occupation since then.
  The city is the economic, political and cultural centre of Northern Cyprus, with many shops, restaurants and shopping malls. It is home to a historic walled city, centred on the Sarayönü Square, and a modern metropolitan area, with the Dereboyu region as its centre of business and entertainment.
context_section_description: The walled city of Nicosia is very rich in history, culture and architecture. The northern part is richer in historical buildings and cultural works, with its Selimiye quarter retaining its complete historical character and atmosphere. The walled city overall has been declared a protected area by the Turkish Cypriot Department of Antiquities, and 672 buildings and places of historical value have been registered in it.
  At the centre of the walled city lies the Atatürk Square, widely known as Sarayönü. The square has been dubbed as "the heart of Nicosia" and historically has been the cultural center of the Turkish Cypriot community, with the visiting Turkish prime ministers having delivered speeches before and during the conflict in Cyprus. It still hosts mass rallies during political campaigns and the headquarters of the National Unity Party. In the middle of the square stands the Venetian Column, known simply as "the Obelisk" ("Dikiltaş") to the locals and symbolic of the country's government. The column was brought from the ancient city of Salamis by the Venetians in 1550. The coats of arms of six Italian noble families still remains at the bottom of the column, even though the statue of the lion on it has been replaced with a copper ball. The square used to be the seat of a Lusignan palace, which was replaced with the present-day law courts by the British government.
  The Girne Avenue connects Sarayönü to the Kyrenia Gate and the İnönü Square in front of it. The avenue has been described as "the symbol of the walled city", and is filled with numerous shops and restaurants. A project is underway as of 2015 to redesign the area with a better infrastructure, visual quality and accessibility.
  Near the entrance of the walled city, to the west of the Girne Avenue, lies the Samanbahçe neighbourhood, built in the 19th century by the government, considered to be the first example of social housing in the island. The houses are uniform and contiguous, and in the center of the neighborhood is a historic fountain. Still a residential area, the neighborhood is considered to be one of the best representations of the Cypriot culture.
  Further south, next to the Ledra Street checkpoint, is the Arasta area. The area was pedestrianized in 2013 and is home to a network of historic shopping streets, reflecting an eastern shopping tradition with food and traditional items. The area is frequented by tourists.
  Nearby Büyük Han, the largest caravanserai in the island and considered to be one of the finest buildings in Cyprus, was built in 1572 by the Ottomans. The building has 68 rooms and a small mosque in the middle, and currently functions as a tourist-frequented cultural centre, with souvenir and handicraft shops, cafés with traditional food and cultural activities such as small-scale opera concerts. Just across from the road is the Kumarcılar Hanı (Gamblers' Inn), built in the 17th century as a typical example of Ottoman trading inns.
  Another central point in the walled city is the Selimiye Mosque, originally built as the St. Sophia Cathedral. The mosque is the chief religious centre in Northern Cyprus. It was built between 1209 and 1228 by the Latin Church of Cyprus, in a Gothic style resembling French cathedrals. Its columns are older, from the Roman era, indicating the possible presence of a Byzantine church before its construction. It used to be the place of coronation of Lusignan kings, and was converted to the largest mosque in the island by the Ottomans in 1571. It remains as a chief landmark of the city. Next to the mosque is the Bedesten, a large Greek church in the Byzantine and Gothic styles, built in the 6th and 14th centuries. It was used as a marketplace in the Ottoman era. Today, it is used as a cultural centre where various cultural activities such as concerts and festivals take place. The two buildings overlook a square, named the Selimiye Square, which also hosts cultural activity and occasional dance shows. The Library of Sultan Mahmud II, which hosts manuscripts in Turkish, Arabic and Persian that are over 500 years old
caption: The Büyük Han
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