Nicosia (Lefkosia)
is an important commercial centre. The city itself is
an interesting mix of old and new.
About 1,000 years ago, at a time when raiding Saracens
were marauding the coastal towns, the island's rulers
were forced to withdraw inland in order to protect themselves.
Only then did Lefkosia (Nicosia) become the capital
of Cyprus. Sharing the country's fate through the centuries,
it has remained the capital ever since.
Nicosia has been divided into two by the so called
'Green Line' since the Turkish invasion in 1974. It
consists of a harmoniously combined old and new town
and is now the last divided capital city on the planet
since the unification of Berlin.
Consisting of a large number of neighbourhoods, the
new town spreads around the old. The town moves and
lives to European rhythms and all the foreign embassies
and public services have their head quarters here. It
is a cosmopolitan town with fine residences and squares,
hotels, banks, modern shops and wide streets. It has
established itself as the Middle East centre for international
conferences in recent years.
The most characteristic monuments of the capital built
in the 16th Century, are the famous Venetian walls which
enclose the old town consisting of neighbourhoods and
narrow labyrinthine streets. The walls have eleven heart
shaped bastions and are 4.5 kilometers in length.
Nicosia Master Plan (NMP)
In Nicosia, at a meeting in 1979 of the representatives
of both the Greek and Turkish Communities, for the purpose
of preparing a common Master Plan for the proper unified
development of the city, it was agreed that the two
sides should co-operate closely. The improvement of
the human settlement conditions of all the inhabitants
of the city and the existing and future habitat and
was the focus of the development objective of the subsequently
agreed Project document.
The province of Nicosia
Bordering all the other provinces, the province of
Nicosia is in the centre of the island with a population
of about 245,000. Most of the province consists of plain,
though towards the Troodos range, the west and south
parts of the province are hilly or mountainous with
a number of valleys and about 30% of the total area
of the island is included in the province.
In the island's centre, located around the Cypriot
capital of Nicosia, are about 47% of the island's industrial
units, since tourism in Cyprus is mostly focused on
the coastal regions of Ayia Napa, Larnaca, Limassol
and Paphos.
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