Nicosia

Nicosia - History and Travel Guide - Green Paradise North Cyprus Properties

Few city plans are as arresting as that of Nicosia, and few can exert such immediate attraction. For the sixteenth-century walls describe a circle three miles in circumference, embellished by eleven bastions and surrounded by a moat - the whole in an excellent state of preservation and faithful to the original design. From an architectural viewpoint, it is regrettable that the irresistible needs of modern traffic have dictated that the walls should be breached in a number of places, and that the three original gateways to the city have become obsolete. The streets within the city walls are labyrinthine and colourful, with a minimum of modern building. Ledra Street, originally the main shopping thoroughfare, is narrow and crowded. It runs directly north towards the centre of the circle and makes a useful line of orientation to which to return after having been tempted by alleys and courtyards of houses with timbered overhanging balconies. All the worthwhile antiquities are inside this crowded inner part of the city - with the exception of those housed in the Cyprus Museum. However, dictated mainly by the limitations on growth within the constricting ancient defences, the major part of the life of the capital city has moved outside the walls. Here the government offices, the factories, the newest hotels, the apartment blocks, the supermarkets, the shopping avenues - with adequate parking space - form a lively, if straggling, new city. This is a practical place which allows for freedom of movement and other adjuncts of civilized life. The Old Town, with its fascinating design and narrow streets, has become an anachronism, but as such will retain its historical associations and charm for visitors. Both might have been threatened had modern central development been possible.* Due to the capital's central position on a plain bounded by two mountain ranges, it has high summer temperatures. The saving grace is a reliable evening breeze. Click here to get more details about Nicosia and Places to Visit from Nicosia City: Excursions From Nicosia, tours and places to see.

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