Haydar Pasha Mosque ( gr, Χαϊντάρ-πασά τζαμί ''Chaintár-pasa Tzamí'', tr, Haydarpaşa Camii), formerly St. Catherine's Church, is a historic mosque in

North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed b ...

. It is the most important Gothic building in Nicosia after

Ayia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

, formerly the Frankish (Latin) cathedral of Nicosia."Historic Cyprus - A Guide to its Towns and Villages, Monasteries and Castles", by Rupert Gunnis (former Inspector of Antiquities in Cyprus), pub 1936, reprinted 1973 by Halkin Sesh Ltd, Nicosia. Pp 58-60 It has been described by Harry Charles Luke as representing one of the finest examples of Gothic building on the island.

History

The building was constructed in the 14th century, during the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

rule of the island, and named St. Catherine's Church. Upon the conquest of Nicosia by the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

in 1570, it was converted to a mosque. It was also historically called "Ağalar Camisi", meaning "the Mosque of the Lords", as it was frequented by the Turkish local aristocracy, who lived in its vicinity. It is located on the Kirlizade Street.

Structure

On the right-hand side of the building, the spot where the tomb of St. Catherine is said to have been was still shown in the 19th century and the Greek Cypriots often come and lit their oil lamps there. The front portal is in a fine Gothic style, the arched cornice of which ends in a poppy-head. There is also a Catherine wheel over it. On the right side there is a minaret, the highest one of the old city after those of Ayia Sophia.Levkosia, the capital of Cyprus" by Archduke Louis Salvator, 1881 There are two fine doorways. The west door has a marble lintel with a rose between two dragons repeated three times. The other more heavily built door is on the south side. Adjoining the mosque on the left is a half ruined building, of which only a few Gothic arches remain. There is also a portal with ornaments and finials on the right. Three Gothic windows, two of which are divided by slender columns, occupy the space between the buttresses, which have gargoyles on the top. On the left of the Mosque there are similar buttresses, and a sort of square turret. The interior was whitewashed and much damaged, but the whitewash was removed in the early 20th century and traces of painting can be seen on the walls. Two Gothic arches support the vault, consisting of simply crossed ribs. In the apse six ribs, resting on a clustered column, spring forth from the keystone. North of the apse is a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

the vaulting of which is supported by corbels with finely carved human heads. Above the sacristy is a lofty chamber, whose lower window looks onto the main church Both the

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 ...

(direction of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

) and

minbar 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 le ...

(pulpit) are on the right in this mosque It now functions as an art galleryLonely Planet Cyprus, By Lonely Planet, Josephine Quintero, 2012 and was previously a marriage registration office.

References

External links

* {{North Nicosia landmarks 14th-century mosques Mosques in Nicosia Gothic architecture in Cyprus Mosques converted from churches in the Ottoman Empire Former churches in Cyprus