The building which was built in the Lusignan era between 1298-1312 is one of the most flamboyant examples of gothic architecture throughout the whole Mediterranean. The Lusignan Kings were initially crowned as the Kings of Cyprus in Lefkoşa’s St. Sophia’s Cathedral and then they were crowned in Gazimağusa’sSt. Nicholas Cathedral as the Kings of Jerusalem.
The building was converted into a mosque and opened to worship by the Ottomans in 1571 with the addition of a minaret. The monumental East African Fig Tree (FicusSycomorus), which is located at the entrance of the Cathedral, is the island’s oldest tree. The tree was planted when the building of the Cathedral began in 1298 and is now 15 meters in height and 5 meters in width.
St. Hilarion Castle is one of the three castles set upon the Beşparmak Mountains and is located towards the west of the mountains at a height of 700 meters from sea level. In the 10th Century a monastery and a church were added to the castle, which was named after a saint who migrated from Jerusalem to Cyprus and spent the last years of his life praying there.
It is said that the famous Walt Disney was also inspired by the St. Hilarion Castle and that the location of the renowned cartoon “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was based in the this Castle.
It is not only Lefkoşa’s, but one of the Island’s most important Ottoman works of architecture. It was built between 1572-1579 as a two storied, square planned building with Bursa’s Koza Khan taken as an example.
The Khan consists of a total of 68 rooms, where the rooms on the ground floor were used as shops of commerce and the rooms on the top floor were used as hotel rooms.
The building is now used as an entertainment and travelling centre where handcrafts and souvenirs are sold.