5.
5THE WALLS OF NICOSIA AND ENTRANCES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE PERIOD”Louis Palma di Cesnola, who served as an American Consul inCyprus between 1865 and 1875, noted that the main entrance doors of Nicosiawere closed after the sun had set and no one was allowed to enter or exit thecity without the special permission of the governor.” “Esma Scott-Stevenson,who is also the author of the book “Our Home in Cyprus”, stated thatin 1878, with his wife, Captain Andrew, they found the Paphos door closed onthe night of their dinner, and that they were shouting and killing the dooruntil they woke up the door guard.” “Residents, foreign merchants and visitorswere allowed to remain in the city walls.” “For everyday work, the people fromthe villages had to leave Nicosia in safety before sunset.” “There is alsoinformation about the main entrance doors being kept closed for two hours inorder to allow the door waiters to perform Friday prayers.” “In the Ottomanperiod, only Muslims could enter the city as riders.” “Non-Muslims descendedfrom their horses before entering the city, and they could go back to theirhorses after entering the city.
” 15.6THE GATE OF KYRENIA –PORTO DEL PROVEDITORE-“When the Nicosia city walls were built in 1567 and thearchitect Giulio Savorgnano was given the most supportive Cypriot militarygovernor, Francesco Barbaro, the first building to be constructed was called”Porta de Provaditore” (the “Governor’s Gate” Barbaro).” “Thejourney between Nicosia and Kyrenia began at this gate and ended at this gate.”In the following years it was known as “Kyrenia Gate”.
“As aprecaution against the rebellions initiated by the Romans in 1821, the gate wasrepaired and a guard room with a domed per capita was built.” “The newly builtroom carries the same history as the southern ceiling II.” “A marble slab withthe brick wall of Sultan Mahmud was installed. On the northern ceiling, theinscription of Hattat Sheikh Feyzullah (Feyzi) Dede of Mevlevi dervishes datedH.1236 (1820/21) was installed.” The first line of the Celi-Sülüs and Reyhanstyle inscription is taken from verse 13 of the Qur’an (Surat al-Qur’an) verse13 and reads in Turkish: “O Muhammad, give thanks to the believers andgive glad tidings of a victory soon.
” The reading of the second line,which is not in the Pure Surat, is as follows: “Open a door that is rightto open every door, also good for us”In order to facilitate the passage of the motorizedvehicles, the gate of the Amenity Committee of Nicosia decided in 1931 to breakdown the step ramps on both sides and opened a passage for them. However,during the Ottoman period, the walls of the domed room made of stone and mud onthe top of the Venetian tunnel were weak, the vault on the bottom had excessivepressure, and there was a danger of collapse due to the lack of support of thetwo walls. For this reason, a renovation work was carried out at the doorrather than a restoration. During the course of the work, the vault-coveredtunnel, which was about 15 meters long, was shortened to 5 meters and wasrebuilt to the floor of the back gate of the back gate which was supported bythick walls built around the dome of the upper and lower dome, stair treadswere made to provide access to the room. The southern ceiling of the door isthe II. In addition to the marble signatures of Sultan Mahmut (1808-1839), aLatin reprint book of 1562 found here during the arrangement was also installedin the center of the arch. In addition, since the work of opening the passageson both sides of the door was carried out during the reign of King George V(George Frederick Ernest Albert), who reigned between 3.6.
1865 and 20.1.1936,”VGRI” letters on the left side of the southern ceiling of the doorand “VGRI” letters on the right side of the door arch (1931). Duringthe Ottoman era, the Kyrenia Gate and around the King of England III. Therewere Englishmen of the George period (1760-1821). These bows were taken to Akkaby sea from Sidney Smith from England to support the Ottoman units in the citywhile protecting the Akka city against Napoleon, and they were brought toCyprus and placed around the door in 1821, when the domed guard room was built.
Probably the British were moved to Nicosia they came to them in 1878 by HorozAli (Ali Osman Horoz Ali A?a), who served as guard here. It is recorded thatHoroz Ali who lived between 1826 – 6.1.1946 passed away at the age of 121. Theanimal market in Samanbahçe after 30.6.
1917, the bottom of the walls outsidethe Kyrenia gate, the salty place where the current Highway Department known as’Larda’ It has moved. The slaughtered and sealed slaughtered animals werepassed to the long poles of the butchers’ apprentices and were only taken tothe Municipal Market of the time after being supervised by watchmen at the gateof the Kyrenia. 1 5.7 THE GATE OF BAF –PORTA DOMENICO-“The “Porta di San Domenico” gate, known by thename of Pafos Gate, it is from the Dominic monastery.
” “Since the access to thePaphos villages is provided from this gate, it is known as ‘Paphos Gate’.” “Duringthe Ottoman period, there was a military barracks with the residence of theGovernor at the top of the door.” “The door went up to the top of the rampartswith a ramp on both sides of the crossing.” “At that time the Paphos door waslocked after the sun had set, the locks were delivered to the commander of thebarracks and the doors opened only the next day.” “Later, the barracks and thedistrict governor’s house were demolished and the current building, which wasused as the Cyprus General Police Center until 1958, was built.” “On July 17,1878, Lord John Hay, the British Admiral who completed the Cyprus transferprocess to the Governor’s House, sent a British flag to the ceremony at thisgate.” “In 1879, a passage was opened to the northern end of the original doorand VR 1879 was installed with a relief look on the northern wall of thispassage.” 1 5.
8 THE GATE OF FAMAGUSTA –PORTA GIULIANA-“The door was called Porta Giuliano when it was built byCount Giulio (Giuliano) Savargnano.” “It is a replica of the Zorzi gate builtby Savargnano in Kandia in Heraclion, Crete.” “The Kyrenia and Paphos gates,similar to each other, were used by the public, while the larger and longerones (149 feet / 45.4 meters) were used for military purposes.” “It was closedto traffic during the British Colonial period.” “There was a fountain that ranwater 24 hours a day to meet the water needs of passengers and animals, on thecity front overlooking the door.
” “It was restored by the Municipality ofNicosia and started to be used for cultural purposes.” “The restoration workswere awarded with Europa Nostra medal on 14.4.1984.” 1 5.9 THE ENTRANCE GATES OF NICOSIA WHICH HAVE BEEN OPENED TO THE GATES”In 1881, in the Nicosia plan of Lord Kitchener, althoughthe houses were only in the city walls, the houses were built outside the citywalls after this date.” “For this reason, it was necessary to get accessbetween the city walls and the outside, as well as camel ties, buses andpedestrians to Nicosia.
” “The first bus services to Nicosia were carried out byAsphalia Motor Car Co Company of Michalakis Efthyvoulou (Lakis) in 1929, andthe flights were first carried out at the train station outside the city wallsbut these buses had to be cut off because they could not pass through the Kyreniagate tunnel.” “In 1879, a passage was opened to the north side of the PafosGate. Robert Biddulph served as the High Commissioner of Cyprus (1897-1886).” “In1882, the Triptiotis gate was opened at the end of the Long Road, and in 1931,another gate was opened at both sides of the Gate Gate.” “The “AmenityCommittee”, which was created for the planning and development of Nicosia.
“1Six more passes to the city walls opened in 1931 to enterand exit to Nicosia;Ø Pafos Gate and Passage Ø Aghalma Solomou Passage Ø Eleftheria (former Metaksas / Triptiotis) Passage Ø Gefira Dorou Loizou (Eleftheriou Venizelou Square) Passage Ø Makariou II Gate (Gologasi / Andonios) Passage Ø The gate of FamagustaØ King George II (Georgou II) Passage Ø New Gate Passage Ø Waterfall Passage Ø The gate of Kyrenia and Passage Ø Kö?klüçiftlik Passage. 1 6. The Rehabilitation Programme ofthe Walled City Nicosia Old Town, CyprusThere is a programme that has been executed for preservingthe Walled city. It has been completed in 1996. There is a on site reviewreport about this programme by Mohammad al-Asad. “Initial funding was provided by the United States Agencyfor International Development (USAID). Implementation was carried out throughthe United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), United NationalDevelopment Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services(UNOPS).” “More recently, funding also has been provided by the European Union.
“In 1974 the city was divided into two sectors, with a bufferzone running right through the middle. “The buffer zone turned what had been acentral and commercially vibrant part of the city into an uninhabitedno-man’s-land patrolled by United Nations peace-keepers.” “It also caused adeterioration of the areas bordering it to both north and south, as it abruptlysevered the organic links between neighbourhoods.””In 1979, the mayors of the northern and southern sectors ofNicosia, Mustafa Akinci and Lellos Demetrades, held a historic meeting underUnited Nations auspices and agreed to work together on urban issues affectingNicosia.” “The first issue they addressed was the completion of a unifiedsewage system for the city.
“”A year later, they launched the comprehensive NicosiaMaster Plan (NMP) project, of which the rehabilitation of the walled city hasbeen an important component.” “Surveys, studies and plans for the walled citywere drawn up over the next few years, and the first phase of implementationwas initiated in 1986.” “This included twin projects for the rehabilitation of twoareas located along the buffer zone: Arabahmet in the northern part of thecity, and Chrysaliniotissa in the south.” “Since then, dozens of projects havebeen implemented on both sides of the walled city.” 9Figure – A Sign of The Walled City 6.
1 Aim of The Rehabilitation Programme “The aim ofthe programme is to preserve the cultural and architectural legacy of thenow-divided Walled City, provide the impetus for new private investments,enhance the quality of life, attract new residents, strengthen economicactivity and, ultimately, re-establish the role of the historic centre in thecontemporary city.” “The project is a European-funded initiative and executedby the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).” “Six main projectshave been implemented to date on both sides of the divided city.” 9″The objectives were to: survey and diagnose existingconditions; propose solutions; create an environment in which representativesof both communities would be able to exchange views and work together; anddevelop a master plan for Nicosia that would address the current and futureneeds of the inhabitants of the city as a whole.” 9 6.
2 Local Architectural Character”The walled city has a tightly knit urban fabric.” “Thebuildings are constructed of a soft yellowish stone and of plastered sun-driedbrick.” “They range in size according to function.” “Religious and other publicbuildings are the largest and most dominant, while houses are generally one ortwo storeys high.” “There is diversity of building styles, reflecting thevarious periods of Nicosia’s history: Byzantine, Gothic and Ottoman, as well asmore recent vocabularies ranging from the neo-classical to the modernist.”Figure – Example of a Building with LocalArchitectural Character 6.
3Shape of Walled City”The circularwalled city has a diameter of 1.6 kilometres and is the heart of Nicosia.” “Thesurrounding areas include a number of historical structures from differentperiods as well as modern extensions which form the city’s central businessdistrict.” The two parts of the city, north and south, have a differentcharacter, both inside and outside the walls. This is not surprising as theyhave been separated from each other for over 30 years, and affected differentlyby political, economic, demographic and also socio-cultural forces. Thesouthern or Greek side generally is more affluent and benefits from greaterresources and full access to the outside world; it became part of the EuropeanUnion in 2004.
The northern side, on the other hand, has been relativelyisolated, with its only link to the outside world being via Turkey (on whom itdepends for financial aid). Its per-capita GDP income is also somewhat lowerthan that of the south. However, conditions in the north began to change in2003. “Members of the Turkish Cypriot community now enjoy wide-ranging accessto the Greek side and have full rights of citizenship in the Republic ofCyprus.” “This is removing barriers between the two communities and bringingthem closer to each other.”Figure – Aerial view ofWalled City of Nicosia”It is circular inshape, with eleven spearhead bastions located along its perimeter.
” “There arethree historic gates, facing north, east and west (additional entry points formotor vehicles were added during the modern period) “The city includes hundredsof buildings of various uses: residential, religious, commercial, governmental,cultural and educational.” “The southern side includes about 2,800 buildings, the northern side noless than 2,000 and the buffer zoneabout 230.” “The number of listedbuildings is about 1,100 in thesouth and 630 in the north (allnumbers are approximate).” “A joint team offour architects from both sides also carried out a project surveying all thebuildings of the buffer zone, which was completed in 2003.” Figure – Map of Buffer Zone* – Highlighted with yellowarea (*This zone is neutral, which means it does notbelongs to a country, nor North Cyprus nor South Cyprus.) 9 6.4Design Concepts of Buildings”A very importantaspect of the project has been to preserve the historical heritage of Nicosia’sbuildings and the urban fabric.” “This of course limits the nature ofinterventions that may be carried out.
” A process of surveying buildings ofhistorical and architectural importance and placing them on a protection listwas initiated in 1986. “Before then, only the main monuments of the city werelisted.” “A legal framework was developed to ensure the protection processcould be sustained.
” “For example, development transfer rights were put inplace.” “Height limits were set at two storeys.” “The existing street networkwas respected and pedestrianisation introduced whenever possible.” “Vehiculartraffic was reorganised and dedicated parking spaces were provided in variousparts of the city.” “Internationally accepted restoration practices wereadopted with the aim of safeguarding the authenticity of the structures andensuring that all interventions were reversible.
“Figure – A building while renovation process has beenexecutingFigure – Inside of a Renovated BuildingFigure -View of the restored sixteenth-century Omeriye Bath complex in the southernpart of the city.Figure – Thecourtyard of the restored sixteenth-century Buyuk Khan in the northern sectionof the city 6.5People Involved in The Rehabilitation Programme of The Walled City Nicosia OldTown”There is a tremendousteam spirit among the people involved in the project (both within theindividual teams, and in terms of cooperation between north and south).” Adedicated group of architects and planners in each of the two municipalitieswork for the NMP project. “On the Greek side, they include NMP team leader AgniPetridou, Athina Papadopoulou, Eleni Petropoulou, Simos Droussiodes, AndriSofroniou, Costas Mavrokordatos, and Elena Sofianou.” “On the Turkish side,they include NMP team leader Ali Guralp and Cemal Bensel.
” Also, considerablecredit should go to the two mayors who initiated the process of cooperation in1979: Mustafa Akinci and Lellos Demetrades. 97. Impactof The Renovation Programme of The Walled City Nicosia Old Town on to theCyprus Cultural Tourism Industry”The phenomenon ofurban regeneration has become increasingly prominent on government agendas inrecent years.” “Urban regeneration is a promising opportunity for the tourismindustry.” “In the majority of the cases urban regeneration strategies follow acultural approach.
” “Creativeindustries are supposed to create new employment in the heart of the city byavoiding any kind of pollution and at the same time attracting young,well-established and highly educated professionals.” “The regeneration processis meant to be driven by beautification and contribution to an iconic buildingto encourage investment in the area.””Cyprus has beenan intersection of different cultures over the last millennia and each has leftits trace in the built environment.” The cultural heritage of the island istherefore rich and varied, reflecting both its oriental and occidentalinfluences. “In spite of the rich cultural heritage Cyprus today is stillmainly a “sun & beach” destination due to the lack of utilizing andpromoting its heritage.””The capital Nicosia is a city whose image has beenespecially characterized by the Greek, Venetian and the Ottoman periods.” “Nicosiabecame a divided city after the intervention of Turkish troops in 1974.” “Thusthe political situation has resulted in the seldom valuation of the country’sheritage as a potential for culturaltourism.
” Due to the intensive engagement of the United Nations (followingthe Nicosia Master Plan) a lot of historic monuments have been rediscovered andrenovated in the last few years. “This large scaleurban regeneration created a significant potential for cultural urban tourismand therefore the opportunity to support the further destination development ofCyprus.” 10″Thus these influencesresult in much more incoming tourist to these attractive city and this willbenefit local residents and workers in terms of income.””The RenovationProgramme of The Walled City, the Chrysaliniotissaresidential rehabilitation scheme has had positive results, meeting the challengeof combining conservation objectives with socio-economic revitalisation and encouragingprivate owners to invest in and re-use traditional buildings through favourableconditions, such as funding, a better economic environment and strong politicalsupport.” 11* “In Arabahmed, however,despite the US$5 billion spent on rehabilitating this historic district, socio-economicvitality has not been achieved due to the lack of diversity of uses which wouldkeep the area active round the clock, and the social profile of the residents,who are low-income and under-educated immigrants from less developed regions ofTurkey.
” “The Arabahmed district still need strong external support, but therevised implementation strategy giving new public uses to old houses, such as acultural centre, a women’s library, restaurants serving local traditional food,art centres, and so forth, is starting to bear fruit.” 11*Figure – Overall view of Walled City and the touristicareas Arabahmed and Chrysaliniotissa “The project’simpact has been very positive. The southern part of the walled city isgradually evolving into a high-quality urban district with a diverse mix ofresidential, commercial, religious, and cultural uses springing up everywhere(even along the buffer zone).” “The area also seems to accommodate diverseeconomic groups and activities.” “Though the planning team feels that muchstill needs to be done, what has been achieved so far is very impressive.
“10”In the northernpart of the walled city, the changes are also positive, but are taking place ata slower rate.” “The north lags somewhat behind, in terms of both quantity andquality.” There are a number of reasons for this. “One is the uncertainty aboutthe future of relations between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and theRepublic of Cyprus.” “More specifically, there is a problem with propertyownership in the walled city since it is expected that properties that wereexpropriated in 1974 would have to be returned to their original Greek Cypriotowners if and when a solution is reached that unifies the two sectors of thecity.” “A good number of these properties were taken over by residents of theTurkish part, and some have even been sold to new owners since.” (This is notsuch a serious problem in the Greek part, where the properties owned by TurkishCypriots before 1974 have been placed under the management of a specialcommittee run by the Ministry of Interior.) “Though the problem is not asintractable as it may initially seem (some mechanisms for resolving it havealready been put forward), it has still dampened the inflow of investments tothe Turkish side, especially in areas close to the buffer zone.” 10″The formulationof the Nicosia Master Plan (NMP) have produced significant achievements, interms both of policies and projects on the ground, and enhancing bothcommunities capacity for bi-communal action for the future revitalization ofNicosia as a whole.” “These bi communal projects, beyond seeking to increasethe capacity of the city’s services and to improve the existing and futurehuman settlement conditions of all the inhabitants of Nicosia, have acted as ameans of building confidence between the two communities although no solutionhas yet been reached in the Cyprus problem and the divided status of the citycontinues.” 11
