The most recognisable landmark in North Nicosia, the Selimiye Mosque began life as the Church of Agia Sofia and was finished after a 78-year construction process in 1326. 

It has been a mosque since the 16th century, when the Ottomans took control of the island. This merging of elaborate medieval church design and the simplicity of mosque design has created a fascinating space with the soaring interior of this typically Gothic structure having been whitewashed and any icon details long taken away