NICOSIA Once the ancient kingdom of Ledra, Lefkosa flourished when it become the capital of the Lusignans. The Old Town is surrounded by a star shaped wall of about three miles in circumference, which was further fortified by the Venetians in 1567, and flanked by eleven Bastions. The Selimiye Mosque, formerly St Sophia Cathedral, is the earliest and perhaps the finest of the Lusignan churches, commissioned by the Queen Alix Of Champagne, wife of Hugues I, and build in the style of the cathedrals of Rouen and Chartres. In the 16th Century it was transformed into a mosque with the addition of two minarets.
Gazimagusa was originally a small commercial and fishing port but with the advent of the Crusades and the reign of the Lusignans it attained much greater significance. The Old Town is surrounded by magnificent walls, 17 meters high and 9 meters wide, which were constructed by the Lusignans and further reinforced by the Venetians in 1489. There are reputed to be 365 places of worship in Gazimagusa and among the foremost of these is the Lala Mustafa Pasa Mosque. Formerly St. Nicholas Cathedral, where the Lusignan kings were crowned, its name was changed after the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571. It remains as one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture to this day. The Knights Templar, The Knights Hospitaller and Othello also share in the great history of this city.
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