Nicosia
Nicosia ( Lefkosia Λευκωσία Greek, Turkish Lefkoşa, ancient Greek Ledra Λήδρα ) is a city in the center of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and the capital of the eponymous district. Nicosia is the capital of the Republic of Cyprus, the northern part also the capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It is therefore to be found in the list of shared places through which an administrative boundary.
History
Nicosia has been proven since the 7th century BC. In the Kition stele of Sargon it is called as Li- di -ir. The prism of Esarhaddon from 673/672 BC, mentions a king of Unasagusu Lidîr. The ancient name was Ledra.
The title of Viscount of Nicosia was in Venetian times and Greek nobles accessible, usually against a payment to the Signoria. Visconti of Nicosia were:
In the 1930s the Venetian city walls were restored by the Department of Antiquities, headed by Peter Megaw, partly as a job creation measure. 1949, the luxurious Ledra Palace Hotel was opened.
Peoples Legal status
The city is part of international law in its entirety with the Republic of Cyprus, however, since the invasion of the Turkish armed forces in July 1974 and the proclamation of the - not recognized by the international community - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in November 1983, de facto does not exercise sovereignty over the northern part of Nicosia. Since then the city through a " Green Line " ( the "Green Line " / " πράσινη γραμμή " / " yeşil has " ) is shared, which is monitored by peacekeepers of the United Nations, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus ( UNFICYP ).
Districts ( incomplete)
- Agioi Omologites
- Agios Dometios
- Aglantzia
- Acropolis
- Anthoupolis
- Dasoupolis
- Egkomi
- Kaimakli
- Lakatamia
- Lykavitos
- Makedonitissa
- Omorfita
- Pallouriotissa
- Strovolos
- Laiki Jitonia
Attractions
Old town
In the southern part of the old town is a hive of cultural life with a few restaurants and pubs, particularly in the area of the Famagusta Gate ( πύλη Αμμόχωστου ). Scattered throughout the old city are traditional stores, and craft shops. In the Ledra Street, which at the Freedom Square ( Freedom Square; Πλατεία Ελευθερίας ) begins and leads up to the Green Line, are the larger and more modern shops. The Laiki Jitoniá ( Λαϊκή Γειτονιά; something like: local / traditional neighborhood) is a predominantly tourist -used district.
Both north and south of the Old City fell due to the distribution induced peripheral location. For some years, historic buildings, above all medieval Cypriot and Venetian restored. On 3 April 2008 the first border crossing point was opened in the old city ( pedestrian only ) in the Ledra Street.
Attractions in the south of the city
- The three-mile- long Venetian fortress wall was built in 1567/1568 and encloses with eleven bastions star-shaped old town.
- The Liberation Monument on the Podokataro bastion was erected shortly after the liberation from British colonial rule in 1960.
- The 1872 built still under Turkish rule Faneromeni Church is the biggest church in Nicosia.
- The John's Cathedral was built in 1662 and raised in the 18th century the cathedral.
- Icon Museum is housed in a side wing of the Archbishop's palace. The museum houses more than 150 icons and is one of the world's most important collections of icons.
- Museum of the National struggle
- The Cyprus Museum ( Archaeological Museum) is located southwest just outside the old town. It is the most important archaeological museum of the island, to make with finds from the Neolithic Age to the Byzantine era, a comprehensive picture of the cultural history of Cyprus.
- The Armenian Genocide Monument Nicosia, a memorial to the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915
- The Cyprus Classic Motorcycle Museum in the Old Town documents the history of the bicycle on the island.
Attractions in the north of the city
- In the Arabahmet mosque from the 17th century, a strand of hair of Muhammad is kept.
- The Selimiye Mosque, built in the 13th century Hagia Sophia cathedral was converted in 1571 by the Turks into a mosque.
- The Gothic Church of St. Catherine from the 14th century, secularized today.
- The Sultan Mahmut Library with a large collection of Islamic manuscripts.
- The central Atatürk Square with the Venetian column in the center.
- The old caravanserai Büyük Han was built in 1572 shortly after the Turkish conquest of Cyprus and is probably the oldest Turkish building on the island.
- Derviş Paşa Mansion
- Fine-tuning Museum
- Turkish Ethnographical Museum ( Mevlevi Tekke )
- Barbarism Museum
- Library of Sultan Mahmud II
Traffic
Nicosia is located approximately in the middle of the island and many roads lead from there in star configuration to the coastal cities. The A1 connects Nicosia with the Südküstenautobahn that leads west to the Troodos Mountains A9. Urban society OSEL operates urban bus lines, still there are regional Nicosia bus.
In the northern part of the city is the Ercan airport, this is accessed via a 4-lane expressway, for the southern part of the Larnaca airport is used. The old Nicosia airport is closed since 1974 because it is in the UN safe area.
Universities
The University of Cyprus is the oldest university of the country and is located in Nicosia, Nicosia 1980, the University was founded. In the northern part of the city are the International University of Cyprus and the University of the Middle East. Even the Cyprus Open University of Cyprus and the Private University European University of Cyprus have their headquarters in the city
Economy
In Nicosia Strovolos is the headquarters of the Bank of Cyprus, the largest Cypriot bank.
Population
Nicosia has 276 410 ( agglomeration 476,000 ) inhabitants, of which 220 907 people in the southern part of the city and 55 503 people ( Turkish Cypriot ) Northern part of life (2012 ).
On 1 October 2001, there are 273 642 inhabitants.
According to the census of 31 January 1879, at the time still undivided city had 2,463 houses and 11,197 inhabitants. They were distributed as follows various religions:
- Muslims 5628
- Orthodox 5,251
- Armenians 166
- Catholics 121
- Anglicans 28
- Jews 3
Sports
The internationally known sports clubs in the city are APOEL Nicosia and Omonia Nicosia. These two clubs dominate the popular Cypriot sport of football. Both play their home games at the Neo GSP Stadium, the biggest in Cyprus, with a capacity of 23,400 spectators.
Personalities
The list contains an alphabetical overview of major, born in Nicosia today personalities. Whether the people had their future spheres in Nicosia or not is irrelevant. Many have moved away by their families and elsewhere became known. The list is not exhaustive.
- Mehmed Paşa Kıbrıslı Kâmil (1883-1913), Ottoman statesman
- Arthur Stephen Mavrogordato (1886-1964), a British police officer
- Anastasios Andreou (1877-1947), Greek athletes at the Olympic Games 1896
- Fazıl Küçük (1906-1984), Vice- President of Cyprus
- Alparslan Türkeş (1917-1997), Turkish politicians
- Khoren I Mesrob Paroyan (1919-1983), Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia
- Glafcos Clerides (1919-2013), Greek Cypriot politician and President of Cyprus
- Vamik Volkan ( born 1934 ), Turkish Cypriot psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
- Tassos Papadopoulos (1934-2008), former President of Cyprus
- Andreas Papadakis (1938-2008), architecture critic
- Dakis Joannou ( born 1939 ), industrialist, known as one of the most important collectors of contemporary art
- Mike Brant (1947-1975), Israeli chanson singer
- Christopher Pissarides ( b. 1948 ), Nobel Laureate in Economics
- Ferdi Sabit Soyer ( born 1952 ), Turkish Cypriot politicians
- Mick Karn (1958-2011), English bassist
- Serdar Denktash ( born 1959 ), former Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the TRNC, Rauf Denktash 's son
- Constantinos Stylianou (born 1972 ), composer and pianist
- Andreas Pitsillides (* 1977), politician and theologian
Twinning
- Greece Athens, Greece ( 1988)
- Ukraine Odessa, Ukraine ( 1996)
- Iran Shiraz, Iran (1999)
- Romania Bucharest, Romania ( 2004)
- People's Republic of China Shanghai, China ( 2004)
- Spain Barcelona, Spain ( 2004)
- Lebanon Beirut, Lebanon (2004)
- Mexico Mexico City, Mexico ( 2004)
- Italy Milan, Italy ( 2004)
- United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ( 2004)
Friendships of Nicosia
- Russia Moscow, Russia ( 2000)
- Italy Nicosia, Sicily, Italy ( 2000)
- People's Republic of China Qingdao, China ( 2001)
- Finland Helsinki, Finland ( 2003)
- Croatia Zagreb, Croatia ( 2004)