Ak Kavuk (Abu Kavuk) is a Neighbourhood, Quarter,
Mahalla or
Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
[Coexistence in the Disappeared Mixed Neighbourhoods of Nicosia by Ahmet An (Paper read at the conference: Nicosia: The Last Divided Capital in Europe, organized by the London Metropolitan University on 20 June 2011)] and the mosque thereof. It is spelled as Akkavuk in Turkish and Ακ Καβούκ or Άμπου Καβούκ in Greek. Both alternative names appear in English. Jeffery
["A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus" by George Jeffery,Architect .Publ. Government Printing Office, Nicosia, 1918.] uses both, while the Cyprus Gazette in 1923 uses the form "Abou Kavouk".
At the last Census (2011) it had a population of 793.
The population in 1946 was 1202,
[Census of Cyprus, 1946] consisting of 107 Greek Cypriots, 1094 Turkish Cypriots and 1 other.
History
Ak Kavuk is one of the 24 historic Neighbourhoods of Nicosia within the walls.
[ After the Ottoman conquest of Nicosia, it was divided into 12 quarters said to be derived from the 12 generals in command of divisions of the Ottoman army at the time. Each general being posted to a quarter, that quarter was known by his name. In this case the Quarter was named after General Ak Kavuk Pasha. (This is a nickname meaning "white cap.").][
]
Mosque
On the site of what appeared to be a small mediaeval chapel or church, a mosque was built in 1902. A smaller mosque on the site was built in 1895. The apse of the original building with a moulded arched window of 16th century style survived, but all such traces have now been removed.[
On the southern wall at opposite of the doorway, there is a ]mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
with an addition of a nearby wooden mimbar
A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and ...
.
Other sites
On the Barbaro/Musalla bastion is a Turkish military encampment, within which there is a Museum of National Struggle[Rough Guide to Cyprus, 2012]
References
{{Quarters of North Nicosia
Neighbourhoods of Nicosia