Famagusta Gate
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The Famagusta Gate ( tr, Mağusa Kapısı) is a gate in the
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 ...
walls,
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 ...
. It is the chief gate of the city: the Porta Giuliana, or "di sotto" of Fra Stefano Lusignano's " Chorograffia", known as Famagusta Gate in modern times. This construction, in the Venetian style has been copied from the famous Lazaretto Gate of Candia designed by Michael Sammicheli at the beginning of the 16th century, and consists of a vaulted passage through the earthwork rampart of the city with a carefully executed spherical dome, eleven metres (36') in diameter, in its centre. The passageway is large enough for two vehicles to pass, and it is lighted by a circular opening in the centre of the dome in the style of the
Pantheon, Rome The Pantheon (, ; la, Pantheum,Although the spelling ''Pantheon'' is standard in English, only ''Pantheum'' is found in classical Latin; see, for example, Pliny, '' Natural History'36.38 "Agrippas Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis". Se ...
. On either side of this passage appear to be entrances into chambers now blocked up. The external doorway of the Porta Giuliana is a small archway in the re-entering angle or "orecchione" of the Caraffa bastion now somewhat injured by breakage of the arch stones, and the ancient doors, etc., are missing. On the inner side of the gateway, facing the town, is an imposing facade."A Description of the Historic Monuments of Cyprus" by George Jeffery, Architect. Publ. Government Printing Office, Nicosia, 1918.


History

The gate was built in 1567 by Venetians, as a part of the new city walls and was originally called the Porta Giuliani after its designer.Keshishian, Kevork K. (1978). Nicosia: Capital of Cyprus Then and Now, p. 81, The Mouflon Book and Art Centre. It was restored 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 1821, and a lookout was added to the gate for a probable Greek revolt. During the early Ottoman period, only Turks were allowed to pass through the gate on horseback, while Christians and foreigners were obliged to walk. The gate was locked at sunset and reopened at sunrise and remained closed on Fridays, the Muslim holy day, to allow the guards time to pray. During British Colonial times the spacious rooms of the gate served as a warehouse for fuel and other materials. Even though a gradual process of preservation was carried out from 1934 to 1981, humidity problems prevailed, and the Gate fell into disuse. In 1980, the
Nicosia Municipality Nicosia Municipality ( el, Δήμος Λευκωσίας, ''Dimos Lefkosias''; tr, Lefkoşa Belediyesi) is the municipal government which is responsible for all the municipal duties of the southern part of Nicosia. History The municipal council ...
decided to restore the gate and re-use it as a cultural centre. The entrance floor was covered with a cement bed and the area in front of the gate was covered with cobblestones. The internal walls and the roof were cleaned and then insulated. Air conditioning and ventilation systems were installed under floor. The rooms were provided with general lighting and special lighting for the exhibits. The passageway and two side rooms can operate as a whole, or as three individual areas. Restoration was completed in 1981, and since then the Famagusta gate has become a busy venue for exhibitions helping regenerate
Taht-el-kale, Nicosia Taht-el-kale (Greek: Τάχτ Ελ Καλέ; Turkish: Tahtakale) is a neighbourhood, quarter of Nicosia, CyprusCoexistence in the Disappeared Mixed Neighbourhoods of Nicosia by Ahmet An (Paper read at the conference: Nicosia: The Last Divided Capi ...
.


Gallery

Image:Nicosia Famagusta Gate Cyprus.jpg, Taht-el-kale neighbourhood and Famagusta Gate Image:Famagusta gate in Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.jpg, Famagusta Gate exterior Image:Famagusta Gate by night Nicosia Republic of Cyprus 26.jpg, Lounge bars next to the gate Image:QNM 2010 - Start of Marathon.jpg, Famagusta gate as starting place of
Nicosia Marathon Nicosia Marathon (branded The Quantum Nicosia Marathon) is an international marathon (42.195 km) that courses through Nicosia. Its inaugural run was held in October 10, 2010. as a half-marathon race. It was founded in 2010. by the Athanasios K ...


See also

*
Kyrenia Gate The Kyrenia Gate, ( gr, Πύλη της Κερύνειας, tr, Girne Kapısı, historically known in Italian as ''Porta del Proveditore'') is a gate in the Nicosia walls, in North Nicosia, Northern Cyprus. It was the gate which was used for trans ...
*
History of Cyprus Human habitation of Cyprus dates back to the Paleolithic era. Cyprus's geographic position has caused Cyprus to be influenced by differing Eastern Mediterranean civilisations over the millennia. Periods of Cyprus's history from 1050 BC have be ...
*
Venetian Cyprus The island of Cyprus was an overseas possession of the Republic of Venice from 1489, when the independent Kingdom of Cyprus ended, until 1570–71, when the island was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. History Acquisition Venice for centuries ...


References


External links

{{coord, 35.1743, 33.3712, type:landmark_region:CY, display=title Venetian fortifications in Cyprus Tourist attractions in Cyprus Buildings and structures in Nicosia History of Nicosia Gates in Cyprus