Lefkosia was first inhabited over 5000 years ago. It was first known as Ledra during the Hellenistic period, but later the name was changed to Lefkothea under the Ptolemists. During the first Christian years it became known as Lefkosia.

Lefkosia, the capital of Cyprus is better known to foreigners by its mediaeval name, Nicosia. The city’s origins go back in history as the earliest human settlements found in the vicinity of the modern city date back to the 3rd millennium BC.

It was only about 1000 years ago that Lefkosia became the capital of Cyprus at a time when the island’s rulers were forced to withdraw inland in order to protect themselves from the raiding Saracens, who were marauding the coastal towns. Ever since it has remained the capital sharing the country’s fate through the centuries.

Around the time when Lefkosia became capital, Richard the Lionheart of England claimed Cyprus from the Byzantines on the way to the Holy Land. It was then sold to the Knights Templar and later sovereignty was transferred to the Lusignans. Under the reign of the Frankish dynasty Lefkosia remained the feudal capital with a cosmopolitan array of contemporary buildings, palaces and churches. Among them the Gothic cathedral of Saint Sophia, modelled on the Notre Dame of Paris, later transformed by the Ottomans into a mosque, remains to this day a prominent landmark in the walled city.

Towards the end of the 15th century the island passed on to the Venetians, who built the fortifications around the city. In the process they had to destroy several buildings. In 1570 the Ottoman Turks conquered Lefkosia after a bloody siege that was followed by extensive massacres and destruction. The period was marked by the public hanging of Archbishop Kyprianos, three Bishops and other priests and Greek Cypriot dignitaries, for their alleged support for the 1821 National Uprising in Greece and for inciting their people to rise against Ottoman rule. The Ottomans built a number of mosques in the city while they converted several Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic churches into mosques. Economic and cultural activity was maintained at lower levels during Ottoman rule.

The British, who took over from the Ottomans in 1878 and remained on the island as colonial masters until 1960, also left their mark on the face of the city. Many of today’s government buildings, including the Presidential Palace, many of the ministries, the Supreme Court, government buildings, police stations, the Archaeological Museum and schools date back to this period. Lefkosia started expanding rapidly after the end of WW II and its population reached 100,000 in the early 60s.

Lefkosia was the scene of extreme violence in the period just prior to Cypriot independence in 1960. Since the Greek supported coup and Turkish invasion that followed it in 1974, part of the city’s northern sector has been inside the boundary of a United Nations buffer zone. The city was split into Greek and Turkish quarters, divided by a green line. In 1974 separation became officially, when Turkish troops entered the northern part of the island. Lefkosia is the only Capital city to remain divided by force.

Today it blends its historic past brilliantly with the bustle of a modern city. The heart of the city, enclosed by 16th century Venetian walls, is dotted with museums, ancient churches and mediaeval buildings preserving the nostalgic atmosphere of years past.