Venetian fortifications
Before talking about division, let's first focus on what unites the historic center and makes it easy to find your way around: the Venetian fortifications. The whole of the old town is surrounded by circular ramparts, 4.8 km in diameter, dating back to the 16th century. They are well preserved and, seen from the air, form a beautiful eleven-pointed star: eleven bastions. Five of these defensive works are located in the southern part, five in the northern part and the eleventh, to the east, is in the buffer zone controlled by the Blue Helmets. You can't go all the way round the fortifications; you have to pass through two crossing points, one in the center and the other in the west: "border posts" that don't say their names, but which also unite the city.
Old town of Nicosia-South
The Greek Cypriot inner city lies to the south, between the fortifications and the buffer zone to the north. The ramparts here feature two Venetian gates: the Famagusta gate to the east and the Paphos gate to the west. The bastions are home to the two main squares that link the old town with the new: Eleftheria Square to the south, a contemporary-style pedestrian esplanade that extends into a park-like moat, and Solomos Square to the west, home to the country's largest bus station. Inside the old town, follow the main pedestrian street Ledra from Eleftheria Square to the Ledra/Lokmacı crossing. To the east are the pretty district of Laïki Gitonia and the Leventis Museum (near Eleftheria Square), the Shacolas Tower with a panoramic museum, the pleasant Faneromeni Square (near the crossing point), then, further on, the Ömeriye Mosque and the Archbishop's complex with its palace, two Greek Orthodox co-cathedrals and museums, including the precious Byzantine Museum. To the west, we follow the small Maronite cathedral to reach the Paphos Gate and the Ledra Palace crossing point.
Old town of Nicosia-North
The Turkish Cypriot inner city is also bounded by fortifications and the buffer zone (to the south). To the north, the third Venetian gate, Kyrenia Gate, leads to the modern city and bus station. It is linked by Girne Street (the Turkish name for Kyrenia) to the Ledra/Lokmacı crossing point via Atatürk Square, where the Lusignan palace once stood and where the "Venetian Column" now stands. To the east of the old town, near the Ledra/Lokmacı crossing point, are the three most emblematic buildings in the whole of Nicosia: the Büyük Han (Ottoman caravanserai), the Selimye Mosque (former Saint Sophia Cathedral, which resembles Notre-Dame de Paris) and the Bedesten (former Saint Nicholas Church). To the west, the superb Arabahmet district is not very touristy, but is, in our opinion, the most beautiful part of the whole city. It's home to several places of interest, including a medieval Armenian church, and its bastions with cafés dominate the Ledra Palace crossing point.
