Nicosia



NICOSIA: The Capital


Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus, a status it has enjoyed for 1000 years since the 10th century, though its beginnings date back 5000 years to the Bronze Age. It lies roughly in the centre of the island in the Mesaoria Plain, flanked by the beautiful northern range of Kyrenia mountains with its distinctive 'Pentadaktylos" - the five finger mountain. There are various suggestions as to the origin of the name Nicosia - or 'Lefkosia' In Greek - but the most likely one is linked to the popular tree, the tall 'Lefki ' which once adorned the city.
Seat of Government, Diplomatic headquarters and cultural centre of Cyprus, the capital presents two distinct faces: the old, original part of the city, surrounded by sturdy Venetian walls over 400 years old, and a busy modern metropolis which has a population of 171.000 together with the suburbs. . .
Within the large area encircled by the strong bastion walls that served to protect the town for centuries are many places of great historic interest.
The central Eleftheria Square links old Nicosia with the elegant modern city that has grown up outside the walls, where hotels, offices restaurants and gardens blend happily with the fine old houses and colonial buildings of this cosmopolitan city




Acording to wikitravel.org

Get in


By plane

Nicosia International Airport has been closed off since the partition of the country. Larnaca Airport (code LCA) (40km, 30min drive) has scheduled flights to all major European cities. An airport shuttle bus operates between LCA and Nicosia [2]. Further away, the smaller Paphos Airport (code PFO) is a 140km (1h40m) drive from Nicosia.

By boat

Limassol (80km away) and Larnaca (40 km away) ports both have passenger terminals with ferry and cruise ship services to the Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Greece. Timetables vary considerably with the summer season being the busiest.

By road

Nearly all visitors arrive via the southern highway from Larnaca (43 km) and Limassol (83 km). Regular, cheap and reliable intercity taxi and bus services connect Nicosia to the centre of Cyprus' other cities. Private hire taxis are considerably more expensive. Car hire is also affordable and all major car hire companies are represented at both the afformentioned airports. Cyprus By Bus provides information about buses in Nicosia.

Get around

Greater Nicosia sprawls for kilometers on end, but the Old City is small enough to navigate on foot. Traditional Greek Cypriot shops line the streets of the Old City, and with very narrow footpaths/walkways, traffic must always be observed. GPS Satellite navigation systems (see TomTom, Garmin and family) have yet to hear that Cyprus exists, so don't go looking for the Cypriot version. A paper map can be picked up (free of charge!) from the Nicosia CTO (Cyprus Tourism Organisation) Information Office (in Laiki Geitonia) which should more than suffice.
Nicosia is developing a more extensive network of bus services [3] that connect the ever expanding sprawl. Transport is inexpensive, however timetables remain unreliable and only a few buses are air conditioned.
Private taxis abound, they are usually diesel Mercedes cars, and always have a number plate starting with the letter T. Some even have a yellow TAXI (or ΤΑΞΙ in Greek) sign above. Unlike other world cities, they are not in a distinctive colour. Make sure the meter is turned on the second you enter, as tourist expoitation is as common here as everywhere else in the world!
A cheaper alternative to buses and taxis is to use the bike sharing system Bike in Action. Smart card needed.


See

Nicosia's sights are concentrated in and around the Old City, surrounded by a picturesque star-shaped city wall whose moat has been converted into a pleasant park. Wandering around the Old City is an interesting experience in itself, although some buildings (esp. those near the Green Line) are derelict and crumbling. Note that many sights in the Old City close early, so try to get an early start - also a good idea for beating the heat in the summer.


Museums

Front facade of the Cyprus Museum
  • Cyprus Museum, (west of the city wall, in between the Tripoli bastion and the municipal gardens). M-Sa 9-5pm, Su/public holidays 10-1pm, closed New Year's, Easter, Christmas. Showcases the best of Cypriot archeology from the 9th millennium BCE to the end of Antiquity. There is a convenient café on the grounds. 20% discount for groups of 10 or more. €3.40.
  • Byzantine Museum, (Archbishop Kyprianou Square). M-F 9-4:30pm, Sa 8am-Noon, Su closed. Easily spotted thanks to the giant statue of Archbishop Makarios standing outside, has one of the world's best collections of Orthodox icons and other artworks, mostly ranging from the 9th to the 16th century. €2. 
  • National Struggle Museum, Kiniras 7. Daily 8am-Noon. Documents the history of the Cypriot independence movement (1955-1959), with a rather positive spin on the EOKA guerrilla movement. €1. 
  • Leventis Municipal Museum, Ippokratous 17, Laiki Yitonia, ☎             +357-22673375      , [4]. T-Su 10-4:30pm. Housed in a converted, two-storey house since 1984 the Leventis Municipal Museum has exhibits dating from 2300 BC to the present day. Voted European Museum of the Year in 1989.  
  • House of the Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, Patriarch Gregoriou St, ☎ +357-302447. M-F 8-2pm, Sa 9-1pm, Su closed. A beautifully restored 18th-century building now housing an ethnological museum. €1. 
  • Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, 19 Apostolou Varnava Str, ☎             +357-22432577       (, fax: +357 22432531), [5]. Housed in a converted old power station built in 1936. The building sat derelict for 20 years and reopened as a contemporary art gallery in 1994. Includes a decent cafe-restaurant with an imaginative Mediterranean menu. Winner of a 1994 Europa Nostra award [6].  
  • Museum of the History of Cypriot Coinage, Bank of Cyprus Administrative Headquarters, 51 Stasinou Str., Agia Paraskevi, ☎             +357-22677134      , [7]. M-F 8-2:30pm. Hundreds of coins on display, from ancient to modern spanning nearly 3,000 years of coinage history on the island. 
  • Ledra Observatory Museum, Ledra street, Shakolas Building, ☎             +357-22679369      . Daily 10-8pm. The Shakolas (the aged population know it by its former name The Mangli) building sticks out like a sore thumb in the medieval old city. Right in the middle of Ledra street a mini skyscraper of 12 floors, towers over other buildings not rising higher than 2-3 floors. On its penultimate floor you find the observatory, where it's possible “to see” the division of the island. There is a café up there too. Entrance is a ridiculously low €0.85 so its a must see. €0.85. 
  • The Cyprus Classic Motorcycle Museum, 44 Granikou Str., ☎             +357-99543215       (), [8]. M-F 9-1pm 3-7pm, Sa 9-2pm. Privately owned, this is the only such museum on the island and is tucked away in the medieval city. On display are about 150 classic (mostly British) motorcycles dating from 1914 to 1983.  

Performance arts

  • Famagusta Gate (Leoforos Athinon). One of Nicosia's three old gates, it has now been turned into the Lefkosia Municipal Cultural Centre, used for various exhibitions and performances.  
  • The Nicosia Municipal Theatre, (on museum street, opposite the Cyprus Museum). A spacious theater built in a neoclassical style. It seats 1200 persons and has a continuous programme of cultural events throughout the year. The theater is contemporary out of order for renovation purposes.  

Sport

  • Football. For a taste of local sport, visit the home games of the local clubs. APOEL [9], Omonoia [10] and Olympiakos (Nicosia). All three compete in the top division of the Cyprus football and basketball leagues. Recently APOEL football team has enjoyed considerable success in European competitions. So you never know, you might be lucky and catch a Chelsea visit. 
  • The Cyprus National Football team tends to play its home games in Nicosia at the GSP stadium [11]. Recent success on the international scene (a 5-2 thrashing of Ireland and a 1-1 draw with Germany in 2006) have bolstered national pride and made these games quite popular (so advance ticket purchase is advised). Tickets are relatively cheap when compared to European leagues where on average a full price ticket costs less than CYP£15. Anorthosis, a team originally from Famagusta and now playing in exile since the Turkish invasion of 1974, play their Champions League home fixtures at the same ground. Entry prices vary and opponents for 2008 include Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and Panathinaikos.
  • Horse Racing (Nicosia Race Club), Ayios Dometios, ☎             +357 22782727       (, fax: +357 22775690), [12]. The small and picturesque race track has a colonial feel to it. Emotions run high here every Wednesday and Sunday. Check website or call them for race timetable. 
  • Tennis - Cyprus plays its home Davis Cup matches at the Field Club. Clay courts line the moat that was once covered with water protecting the city from medieval invaders. It has a colonial feel to it. Again, if you are lucky you might catch Marcos Baghdatis playing for Cyprus.

Buy

The traditional shopping district runs along Ledra street and its tributary roads within the medieval walls of the city. A bustle of traditional jewelers, shoe and fabric shops give a blend of Middle Eastern and European feel. Laiki Geitonia is a pedestrianised neighbourhood that has been preserved in its original architecture and is the best quarter if you are after souvenir shops. Big chains (e.g. Marks and Spencer, Zara etc) line the more modern Makariou Avenue. Stasikratous street has evolved into a mini local version of 5th Avenue/Bond street with expensive brands such as Armani and Versace stores. All the above are within walking distance of each other.
There are no real department stores in a purist sense, but Ermes [16] (this chain inherited and re-branded the old local Woolworths) has several mini department stores across the island and a couple on Makarios Avenue. Alpha-Mega [17] and Orphanides [18] are local hypermarket chains (worthy equivalent of a Tesco or Wal-Mart) where it would be difficult not to find what you were after. Most of their stores however, are located in the suburbs.
International newspapers and periodicals (especially in the English language) are widely available but you can inevitably find them at the large kiosks (periptera) planted at the two corners of Eleftheria Square. These kiosks are open 24/7.


Eat

Traditional Cypriot cuisine is a melting pot of south European, Balkan and Middle Eastern influences. You will find most Greek, Turkish and Arabic dishes, often with a local name or twist. It is now decades since Cyprus has established itself as a tourist hotspot and as a consequence many of the local chefs have trained in Europe and elsewhere, bringing their experiences back home with them. As such most international cuisines are well represented (but unfortunately so are McDonalds [19] & gang). In summary good food is not difficult to come by and most westerners will find dining quite affordable.
The shopping district is dotted with local tavernas and the likes of KFC and Pizza Hut. Virtually all restaurants allow smoking, (and unfortunately some don't even have a non-smoking area, and most restaurants with the non-smoking area don't enforce it). Al fresco dining is a luxury that can be enjoyed for over half the year. It would be a crime not to try (at least once) a mixed pork kebab with a chilled local KEO or Carlsberg (which is brewed locally and tastes different to the same brand overseas) beer. Carnivores are spoilt for choice, whilst vegetarians might find it a tad difficult.
The food is high quality and somewhat cheaper than in the most Western capitals. Snacks should be available from €2-4, kebabs from €7 and whole meals from €15-20. Local KEO beer costs around €4 a pint in bars, local wines starting from €10 a bottle. Hygienic standards are followed and even foods that usually are not recommended in the Mediterranean destinations, such as mayonnaise and salad-based foods, can be safely eaten.



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