Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The early history of Arablar Mosque, located in close proximity to the Greek Orthodox Phaneromeni Church (in the eponymous quarter), is still obscure. This building was originally erected as a church. Most experts assume that this church was built in the 16th century. It is still not possible to determine exactly which church it was originally.

The Bayraktar Mosque, or ‘Alemdar Gazi’ Mosque, stands in a place steeped in history. Here at the Constanza Bastion, an Ottoman flag bearer (Turkish: Bayraktar) overcame the fortress walls for the first time during the siege of Nicosia in 1570, but he was killed in the course of this undertaking. At the place where the flag bearer died, first a grave was built, then a türbe (mausoleum). Later a mosque, without a minaret, and service rooms were built here. The building got its final form in 1820-1821, when a minaret, mihrab and minbar were added.

The Bedestan in the Agia Sophia quarter is a former church building whose origins date back to the 5th or 6th century. At the same time, it is one of the few buildings in Nicosia where many of the different construction phases can still be traced in its architecture. Or as Michalis Olympios aptly describes it, ‘a “mongrel” building consisting of several different parts stitched together in a rather ungainly manner’.

Nicosia Cathedral dates back to the 12th century. Only the bell tower of the church, with its paintings on the roof beams, dates from the 12th century. The Gothic facade of the main building, dating from the 14th century, has been preserved. The three-nave interior contains sculptures by Antonello Gagini as well as pews and a 17th-century cross.

The exact construction date of Nöbethane Mescit, located in the quarter with the same name, is not known, but can be dated to around 1867, based on records. The name of the mescit derives from the fact that, in Ottoman times, the changing of the guard was celebrated in front of the building (nöbet = guard; hane = house).

Today's Ömeriye Mosque was built on the remains of a church. Scholars agree that this church was the Augustinian Church of Nicosia with the ekklesionym ‘Sainte Marie des Augustins’, built in the 14th century.

The history as well as the name of Tabakhane Mescit are not entirely clear. It is likely that the mescit got its name because of the tanneries that used to be in the area (tabakhane = tannery).

Compared to other mosques in the central area of Nicosia, Taht el-Kale Mosque is a relatively new one, as it was only built in the years 1826-1827 together with an adjacent Quran school (madrasa). The new building replaced a dilapidated mosque on the same site, which had been built just after the Ottoman capture of the city. It is located in a quarter bearing the same name.

As early as 1642, a small mosque was built in the quarter with the same name – on the site where today's mescit can be found.

Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is the most important church in Norway being the burial place of its patron saint: St. Olav. Built from the 11th to the 14th century, in Romanesque and Gothic style, it suffered extensive damage during a fire in 1531 but was completely rebuilt and served, until 1908, as Norway's coronation church.