Famagusta Gate
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The Famagusta Gate is a gate in the Nicosia walls. It is the chief gate of the city: Yhe “Porta Giuliana,” known as Famagusta Gate in modern times. This construction, consists of a vaulted passage through the earthwork rampart of the city with a carefully executed spherical dome, eleven metres in diameter, in its centre. The passageway is large enough for two vehicles to pass, and it is lighted by a circular opening in the centre . On either side of this passage appear to be entrances into chambers now blocked up. The external doorway of the Porta Giuliana is a small archway in the re-entering angle.
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The gate was built in 1567 by the Venicians as a part of the new city walls and was originally called the Porta Giuliani after its designer. It was restored by the Ottomans in 1821, and a lookout was added to the gate for a probable Greek revolt.
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During the early Ottoman period, only Turks were allowed to pass through the gate on horseback, while Christians and foreigners were obliged to walk. The gate was locked at sunset and reopened at sunrise and remained closed on Fridays, the Muslim holy day.
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During British Colonial times the spacious rooms of the gate served as a warehouse for fuel and other materials.
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In 1980, the Nicosia Municipality decided to restore the gate and re-use it as a cultural centre.
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Restoration was completed in 1981, and since then the Famagusta gate has become a busy venue for exhibitions.
Venetian Walls
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The Venetian Walls are a series of defensive walls which surround the capital city of Nicosia. They were built in the mid-16th century –(1567)by the Republic of Venice after demolishing the existing fortification of the city. The walls are still largely intact, and are among the best preserved Renaissance fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean. They are a major tourist attraction.
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he Venetian walls of Nicosia have a circular shape, with a circumference of c. 5 km. The walls contain eleven pentagonal bastions with rounded orillons. The bastions are named after eleven families, pillars of the Italian aristocracy of the town, who donated funds towards the construction of the walls.
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The city has three gates:
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Paphos Gate (Porta San Domenico)
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Famagusta Gate (Porta Guiliana)
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Kyrenia Gate (Porta del Proveditore)
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Those Gates would lead to the enclosed city of Nicosia , or to the other cities respectively .They were guarded , and closed at night for safety.
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They form the landscape around the enclosed city, the trench is a green oasis for family leisure time.
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They are important to us ,because they are there for so many centuries and remind us of a stability this island never had, also they remind us that even Cypriots always had enemies they still manage to survive and keep their tradition and character alive.