|
Nicosia , also known as Levkosia in Greek, lies on the edge of the Pedhieos River . As well as being the capital of Cyprus , it represents one of the few ancient cities in the world that are still standing today. The city vibrant history dates back as far as the 7 th century before the birth of Christ. Prized for its strategic military location, numerous ancient kingdoms had come to conquer it only to lose it to again to another more military superior force.
By 1489, the Venetians took control of the city and fortified it with the famous Venetian walls. Still such measures were inadequate when the Ottoman Empire captured it in eighty two years later. Three centuries later, control of the city was handed over to the British who later made it the city the capital of Cyprus in 1925. After becoming the capital of independent Cyprus in 1960, the city was later divided into two regions with the Turkish invasion in 1974. Today, the city still stands divided by the “Green Line”, a buffer zone maintained by the UN's security forces. Although the City posses an International Airport just west of it, the airport had remain closed since 1974. It is currently served by Larnaka International Airport which is about 34 kilometres southeast of the city.
|
