Ayia Sophia Things to Do

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There is an Antiques shop by the Selimiye Mosque. Prices are reasonable and various of antiques are real eyecatcher. I do like to visit this sort of shops when i go to a foreign country. Gives a lot of clues about their lifestyle and social culture.

Ayia Sophia is a Greek name implying that the cathedral is actually in the Greek South, however this building is actually in the Turkish North. These days the cathedral is a mosque called Selimiye Camii.

With a name like Ayia Sophia, it is easy to imagine that the cathedral was originally a Greek Orthodox cathedral, but when it was first built, it was actually Roman Catholic.

Building work on the church started in 1209, and took almost 150 years to complete. It is thought to be one of the best examples of Gothic Art in Cyprus. The minarets were added around 1570 when the Ottomans conquered Nicosia.

This mosque has a sound broadcasting system to alert the faithful to pray. I have spent quite a bit of time in the South of Nicosia, and it can wake you up in the morning with the call to prayers!

See my Ayia Sophia page for more details, but Ayia Sophia IS the old cathedral in the Turkish part of Nicosia. As such, it would be impossible not to make the cathedral a must see of Ayia Sophia. These days the cathedral is a mosque called Selimiye Camii.

The picture shows the inside of Ayia Sophia as it was in the very early 1990's which was the first time I went there. The colourful walls depicting people have been whitewashed to make it more in line with how the internals of a mosque should be. The picture also shows the flag for the Turkish part of Cyprus, which is virtually an inverse of the Turkish flag, plus two red horizontal bars. Unlike a church, there are no seats or benches - just empty floor space, which makes mosques feel more spacious.