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Agios Ioannis Church
In the grounds of the Makarios Cultural Foundation is Agios Ioannis Church, which was built in 1662 and has the most wonderful frescoes dating from 1736.
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Arablar Mosque
Alongside Plateia Faneromenis is Plateia Okostïogdois Oktovriou, where this tiny mosque is squirrelled away. A curious building, unfortunately no longer open to the public, it was the church of Stavros tou Misirikou in Lusignan times. Inside, if you manage to find someone to let you in, is a beautiful octagonal dome, on top of impressive colonnaded arches.
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Archbishop's Palace
A mock Venetian building, this was the scene of much of the fighting in 1956, as well as during the 1974 military coup and subsequent Turkish invasion of the North. Almost totally destroyed by EOKA-B (the postindependence reincarnation of EOKA, which mostly fought Turkish Cypriots) while they attempted to kill Archbishop Makarios on 15 July 1974, the palace was rebuilt during the 1980s.
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Bayraktar Mosque & Liberty Monument
This prominent mosque, situated on the Constanza Bastion, marks the spot where the Venetian Walls were breached by the Ottomans in 1570. The bayraktar (standard bearer) was killed by the Ottomans and his body was subsequently recovered and buried here. The small mosque was the target of terrorist activity, in the 1960s, that damaged it and the nearby tomb.
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Byzantine Art Museum
Located within the complex of the Makarios Cultural Foundation, this museum has the island's largest collection of icons related to Cyprus. There are some 220 pieces in the museum, dating from the 5th to the 19th centuries.
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Chrysaliniotissa Crafts Centre
This small arts centre is worth dropping into for its display of Cypriot arts and crafts. Eight workshops and a coffee shop surround a central courtyard in a building designed along the lines of a traditional inn.
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Cyprus Classic Motorcycle Museum
Although this place attracts kids of all ages, it's a great stop to make with young ones, obsessed as they probably are with vehicles of all kinds. This is a private museum whose owner is more than happy to chat extensively about his collection. It may just keep the parents happy too.
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Cyprus Jewellery Museum
The small Cyprus Jewellery Museum in Laïki Yitonia presents the history of jewellery from the end of the 19th century to today. The exhibits include ornaments, religious items, silver utensils and old tools.
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Cyprus Museum
This is the island's most interesting museum and houses the best collection of archaeological finds in Cyprus. The original building, erected in 1883, is opposite the lovely municipal gardens. It's a 10-minute walk west of Plateia Eleftherias.
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Ethnographic Museum
The small Ethnographic Museum houses the largest collection of folk art and ethnography in the country. The building dates back to the 15th century, although some later additions have been made. Here you will see fine examples of embroidery, lace, costumes, pottery, metalwork, basketry, folk painting, leatherwork and woodcarving.
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European Art Gallery
Located within the complex of the Makarios Cultural Foundation, this gallery presents 120 oil paintings of various European schools of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The themes are mainly religious with works by Van Dyck, Rubens, Tintoretto, Lorraine and Delacroix.
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Famagusta Gate
The most photographed and best preserved of the three original gates that led into the Old City of Lefkosia. It's in the Caraffa Bastion off Leoforos Athinas. Following more than a century of neglect, the whole structure was renovated in 1981 and now serves as a concert venue and exhibition hall. Its impressive wooden door and sloping façade opens out onto a tunnel that leads through the rampart wall.
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Faneromeni Church
The centre of the city before Plateia Eleftherias took over in 1974, Plateia Faneromenis is a quiet square, so silent that birdsong can be heard only metres away from the bustle of Ledra street. In the centre is the impressive Faneromeni Church, built in 1872 on the site of an ancient Orthodox nunnery. It is the largest church within the city walls and is a mixture of neoclassical, Byzantine and Latin styles.
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Greek Independence War Gallery
Located within the complex of the Makarios Cultural Foundation, this gallery contains maps, copper engravings and paintings of people and events from the Greek War of Independence in 1821.
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Holy Cross Catholic Church
This church is in the uncomfortable position of backing onto the Turkish sector while resting within the UN buffer zone. Despite this, the church still functions as a place of worship on the proviso that the back door leading onto the Turkish-controlled sector remains firmly closed. Mass times are posted inside the front-door vestibule.
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House of Hatzigeorgakis Kornesios
The well-preserved House of Hatzigeorgakis Kornesios belonged to Kornesios, the Great Dragoman of Cyprus from 1779 to 1809. A dragoman ( tercüman in Turkish) was an interpreter or liaison officer between the Ottoman and Orthodox authorities.
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Laïki Yitonia
Laïki Yitonia, meaning 'popular neighbourhood', was restored after it served for many years as an area for painted ladies and dodgy merchants. This tiny southern part of the Old City is Lefkosia's only tourist area. This means that it's crammed with bad restaurants with tacky water features, where waiters try to lure you in with cheesy greetings, and the food is usually overpriced. However, it's rather pretty, and a nice place for a short stroll.
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Ledra Museum-Observatory
Not really a museum, although it likes to call itself one, Ledra Museum-Observatory is an observatory on top of Ermes (formerly Woolworths) department store. Basically a good vantage point over the city, here you can use telescopes to gaze at the whole of Lefkosia and trace the Green Line. It is also a great place to orient yourself. Explanations of various buildings and neighbourhoods are given in English, French and German.
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Ledra Palace Hotel Crossing
This is the only spot on the island reserved exclusively for pedestrian and bicycle crossings between the North and the South. Masses of tourists and locals now cross from one side to the other, and many cross in the middle of the night too, after a late night out.
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Lefkosia Municipal Arts Centre & Library
For something a little less cerebral than the museums, duck into the small arcade to the right of the National Struggle Museum and head along Apostolou Varnava for one block to the rather avant-garde Lefkosia Municipal Arts Centre & Library. Its air-conditioned interior contains an occasionally bizarre but mostly interesting collection of art. The permanent collection includes paintings and sculpture, and other works from the Dimitris Pierides Museum of Contemporary Art in Greece. Exhibitions vary monthly. The centre also has a coffee shop and art library for visitors.
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Leventis Municipal Museum
The small, two-storey historical Leventis Municipal Museum has exhibits dating from before 2000 BC to the present day. Among items on display are household equipment, traditional dress, books and prints. There is also a gift shop.
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Liberty Monument
This represents Greek Cypriots' liberation from the British Colonial powers, with figures of 14 EOKA fighters being released from prison in 1959, alongside peasants and priests, representing the various strata of Greek Cypriot society. Presiding over it is the Statue of Liberty. The monument, erected in 1973, does not include any figures of Turkish Cypriots, reflecting the divisions between the two communities.
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Makarios Cultural Foundation
This complex of the Makarios Cultural Foundation consists of three main exhibition areas. The European Art Gallery presents 120 oil paintings of various European schools of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The themes are mainly religious with works by Van Dyck, Rubens, Tintoretto, Lorraine and Delacroix.
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Municipal Gardens
This is a lovely spot for a walk and a rest on a hot summer's day, and the playground can be used for some fun on the slide.
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National Struggle Museum
This display is really for die-hard history buffs. The National Struggle Museum exhibits documents, photos and other memorabilia from the often bloody 1955-59 National Liberation Struggle against the British.
