0604 NORTH CYPRUS - Famagusta, the Ghost Town

Located on the east coast of Cyprus, in a bay between Cape Eloea and Cape Greco, and home to the deepest harbour on the island, Famagusta is de jure the capital of Famagusta District of the Republic of Cyprus, and de facto capital of Gazimağusa District of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey. Founded in 300 BC by Greeks settlers, it remained for a long time a fishing village, then a small port. The things have changed radically with the downfall of Acre (1291), the last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, followed by an influx of Christian refugees and the passing under the rule of the French Lusignan dynasty. Thus the village became one of the richest cities in Christendom.

0586 NORTH CYPRUS - A gothic mosque in Nicosia

Shortly after they conquered Cyprus, the Crusaders began construction of a cathedral in Nicosia in a pure Gothic style, but lack of money has slowed much the work, so the building was inaugurated only in 1326 and never really finished. With Nicosia's occupation by the Ottomans (1570), the cathedral of Agia Sofia was turned into a mosque and two minarets were added onto the building’s west part. The cathedral’s rich sculptural decoration was destroyed and so were the frescoes, the sculptures and the stained glass decoration depicting scenes from the Old and New Testament. Funerary tombstones of various Lusignan kings and princes were also destroyed. In August 1954 the monument was renamed to Selimye mosque in honor of sultan Selim II who ruled at the time of Cyprus’ conquest by the Ottomans.

0542 NORTH CYPRUS - Ballapais Abbey

The island of Cyprus was inhabited since 10th millennium BC, and its strategic position in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea brought it many advantages but also disadvantages throughout history. Settled by Greeks in the 2nd millennium BC, it was subsequently occupied by Assyrians, Egyptians, and Persians, from whom it was seized by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Arab caliphates, the French Lusignan dynasty, and the Venetians, was conquered in 1571 by the Ottomans, who retained the control until 1878, when it was placed under British administration. It declared its independence in 1960, but following the coup d'état orchestrated in 1974 by the Greek military junta, which aimed the union of the Cyprus with Greece, the Turkish army invaded the island, which was split in two. In 1983, Turkish Cypriots proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey, which controls de facto the northeastern part of the island.