Selimiye Mosque (Agia Sofia Cathedral), North Nicosia, Cyprus
Selimiye Mosque, also known as Agia Sofia Cathedral, formerly Cathédrale Sainte Sophie, is a Mosque located in the Turkish controlled northern part of the walled city of Nicosia. It is the main mosque in the city. Selimiye Mosque houses in the largest and oldest surviving gothic church in Cyprus. The building belongs to the pure Gothic style of the beginning of the 12th century. Due to the building’s large scale, lack of money and various historical events it took 150 years for the cathedral to be built and still, it was never entirely completed since the southwest tower and the portico’s upper floor were never constructed. The cathedral’s first construction phase began during the first years of Frankish rule (possibly in 1209) and already by 1228 the eastern part of the building was completed. Even though the cathedral was officially inaugurated, the building was still incomplete and in 1347 Pope Clement IV issued a Papal bull for the cathedral to be completed and renovated since it had been affected by an earthquake. The western wall’s three entrances are decorated with important examples of architectural sculpture. The main entrance’s frame bears impressive sculptures. With Nicosia's occupation by the Ottomans (1570), the cathedral of Agia Sofia was turned into a mosque and two minarets were added onto the building’s west part. The cathedral’s rich sculptural decoration was destroyed and so were the frescoes, the sculptures and the stained glass decoration (vitraux) depicting scenes from the Old and New Testament. Funerary tombstones of various Lusignan kings and princes were also destroyed. In August 1954 the monument was renamed to Selimye mosque in honor of sultan Selim II (1566 – 1574) who ruled at the time of Cyprus’ conquest by the Ottomans. (source: Wikipedia)
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: North Nicosia, Cyprus
Photo credit: © Olga Gajewska / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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