Hotels in Famagusta

Panayia Theodokou Church - Iskele Icon Museum

This is the main church of the village of Iskele. It was built in the 12th century as a single-aisled, domed church with arched recesses to its side walls. This is a style common in Cyprus for churches built around the time. A vaulted aisle was added to the north in the 15th century and an extension to the west at a later date.

St. Barnabas Icon & Archeology Museum

The monastery is named after St. Barnabas, who was a Salamis Jew, and who was killed in 52 AD for trying to convert people to Christianity with St. Paul. The monastery was built by the church of Cyprus in 477 on the spot where St. Barnabas was buried by his mentees, with a Bible of St. Mathew on his chest.

Famagusta Ramparts

Ravelin is one of the two entries into the wall of Famagusta. When the Venetians surrendered to the Ottomans in 1571, the white flag was hoisted here. For this reason, Ravelin was called Akkule by the Ottomans. On the city side of the gate is a passage, on the walls of which are frescoes and coats of arms. In the passage there is also a small chapel for worship on the way in to and out of the city. Below Ravelin there are underground dungeons. On the side of the passage there is a “mescit“built for Ottoman guards in 1619.

St. Nicholas Cathedral / Lala Mustafa Pasa Mosque

The Cathedral of St. Nicholas / Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque is the largest medieval building in Famagusta and was commenced in 1300 AD. It must be noted that the great cathedrals of the middle Ages often took more than 100 years to complete, so was the St Nicholas Cathedral was completed about 1400.

Othello Castle

The Castle was built in 14th century, by the Lusignans. İt had been used as one of the most important entrances to Famagusta. St. Mark lion in relief lies just above the entrance, under which the name of captain ‘Nicolo Foscari’ -the captain who restored the tower- and the year ‘1492’ is inscribed.
The Castles includes towers and corridors leading to artillery batteries. In the castle yard there are cannons, iron and stone cannon balls, which belong to the Spaniards and Otomans. The Othello Castle takes a part of Shakespeare’s Othello tragedy.

Salamis

The history of Salamis goes back to the 11 th Century BC. When the ‘dark ages’ came to an end in the Mediterranean World, Salamis appeared as a very important trading centre. Following the unexpected death of Alexander Great near Babylon in 323 BC., his generals divided the lands, of the Hellenistic Empire and Cyprus fell to the share of Ptolemy who established his kingdom in Egypt. During the Hellenistic and Roman Era Salamis received its share of wealth of the period and once again became an important trading centre. Most of the ruins unearthed in excavations date from this recent history of the city.