Things to Do in Nicosia's Walled City

The Venetians built the circular walls of Nicosia in the 1560s, with eleven heart-shaped bastions and three gates. The old city inside them is compact and best explored on foot: Büyük Han, the Bedesten and Selimiye sit almost on top of one another, and the Mevlevi Tekke and the Kyrenia Gate are a little further north.

Approximate walking times from Büyük Hamam:

The Great Inn was built in 1572 by the Ottoman governor Muzaffer Pasha as a caravanserai for travelling merchants. It is a square, two-storey building with rooms set around a large courtyard; at the centre stands a small mosque raised on columns, with a fountain for ablutions beneath it.

Over the centuries it has been a prison, a hotel and a shelter for families. After its restoration it became a lively home for cafés, galleries and craft shops. Büyük Hamam stands on the street just behind it.

A Gothic cathedral with two Ottoman minarets. Work began in 1209 on the Cathedral of St Sophia, which was consecrated in 1326; after 1570 it became the city's main mosque. Its tall Gothic portal and pointed arches stand in the middle of the old city.

It is a working mosque. Visitors are welcome outside prayer times: dress modestly, cover your shoulders and knees, and take off your shoes at the entrance.

Next to Selimiye, the Bedesten began as a Byzantine church and was enlarged and rebuilt between the 12th and 16th centuries, which is why Gothic and Renaissance details sit side by side. Under the Ottomans it became the city's covered market for fine textiles.

After a long restoration it reopened in 2009 as a cultural venue. It hosts concerts, workshops and whirling dervish performances, so it is worth checking what is on during your stay.

The Gamblers' Inn is a smaller Ottoman han from the end of the 17th century, a short walk from Büyük Han. Restored around its courtyard, it now holds cafés, small restaurants and craft shops — a quieter alternative for lunch.

The Arasta, the old market street south of Büyük Han, is busy from early morning with jewellers, textile shops and souvenir stalls. Nearby, the Bandabuliya is the city's covered municipal market for fresh produce, sweets and spices.

Together they form the natural route between most of the places on this page.

The Kyrenia Gate is the northern gate of the Venetian walls. Built in the 1560s, it later received Ottoman additions, including inscriptions and a domed guard room. Today traffic runs around it, and it is a good starting point for a walk along the walls.

In Atatürk Square, near the centre of the old city, stands the Venetian Column, raised by the Venetians in 1550.

The lodge of the Mevlevi order — the whirling dervishes — dates from the 17th century and is now a museum. Inside are musical instruments, dervish costumes, manuscripts and a row of tombs beneath a series of small domes.

West of the centre, the Arabahmet quarter keeps old mansions, the Arabahmet Mosque and quiet lanes away from the shops. Dervish Pasha Mansion, a restored two-storey Ottoman house, is now an ethnography museum that shows how a wealthy family once lived.

A small grid of identical painted houses, built as an Ottoman-era housing scheme. It is one of the most photographed corners of the old city and takes about ten minutes.

Ledra Street runs through the heart of the old city, and its pedestrian crossing point is about five minutes on foot from Büyük Hamam. It has been open since April 2008 and connects the two halves of the walled city in a few steps.

The crossing is for pedestrians only. Bring an identity card or passport, and check the current entry rules for your passport before you set out. Beyond it, Ledra Street continues as a busy shopping street.

Kyrenia (Girne), a short drive north, has a harbour watched over by its castle. Bellapais Abbey, a Gothic abbey in a mountain village above the coast, is about 24 km from Nicosia.

St Hilarion Castle sits on the Kyrenia mountains, about 30 km away, with sweeping views over the coast — expect a lot of steps. Famagusta (Gazimağusa), about 60 km east, has its own walled city and the ancient site of Salamis nearby.

After a day on the cobbles of the old city, the most natural end is the one Nicosia has offered for more than four centuries. Büyük Hamam, an Ottoman bath created between 1571 and 1590 on the site of a medieval church, stands on İrfan Bey Sokak, just behind Büyük Han.

Rest on the heated marble, take your time in the sauna and the steam room, and let the traditional scrub and foam do the rest — or book a massage, also for two, side by side. It is open every day, a few minutes' walk from everything on this page.