Cathedral of St.Nicholas or Lala Mustafa Paşa Mosque

The largest medieval building in Famagusta is the cathedral of St. Nicholas, which was built between 1298 and 1400 AD. The characteristic Gothic style of architecture closely bears a resemblance to the well-known cathedral of Rheims in Paris, France. According to the scholars, St. Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia and Bellapais Abbey present the same similarities with the cathedral of St.Nicholas, driving to the conclusion that these buildings are the work of a French architect. The Kings of Cyprus from 1190 to 1489 were of the French Lusignan dynasty (Boas, 1999).

The church was damaged partly during the Ottoman bombardment of 1571. When the Ottoman Turks captured the town from the Venetians, the cathedral was transformed into a Mosque and a minaret was added. From 1954 the building took its name from Lala Mustafa Pasha, who and led Ottoman forces against the Venetians in Cyprus. (Vincenzo, 2012) In spite of the fact, altars and tombs were removed and all Christian paintings were covered over a few medieval tombs have been survived, in the north aisle. It is impressive the fact that the Gothic tracery and decoration’ features of have been conserved. A remarkable example is the the canopied doorways of the west front, which are emblematic for the French cathedrals. (Dreghorn, 1985).

Bibliography

Adrian J. Boas. (1999) Crusader Archaeology: the Material Culture of the Latin East.

Routledge. Vincenzo, L. (2012). Famagusta from a Latin Perspective: Venetian Heraldic Shields and Other Fragmentary Remains" In Medieval and Renaissance Famagusta: Studies in Architecture, Art and History. Farnham: Ashgate.

Dreghorn, W. (1985). Famagusta and Salamis Guide Book, K. Rustem & Bro. publishers, London.