OPEN AIR MUSEUM

They asked me "Is there anything to see in Magusa"? I looked at them in absolute amazement! We were standing a stone's throw from Othello's Tower! I replied, "Did you know that this wall was built by the Venetians and it is said that Leonardo Da Vinci assisted in the design?"

Most of Cyprus is akin to an open-air museum, but only in Famagusta is so much historical interest concentrated. A lot of the history of the city is a bit obscure as there are no actual written records and the only source of information has come, down the ages, from traveller's accounts of merchants passing through. It is claimed that King Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt founded the Island of Cyprus in 285 BC and that the city occupies the site of the ancient Town of Arsinoe.

One of the historic sites is the Othello's Tower and Citadel; made more famous by William Shakespeare's play in which Othello is described as the 'The Moor of Venice'. However this is not actually true, it was the name of the Venetian Governor in 1506 but as Shakespeare knew very little about Cyprus and had never visited the island he used "poetic license" and named him thus. Above the gateway is a marble slab and the badge of Venice, a winged lion has been sculpted upon it.

It was only last week, when I was showing my sister and husband around my adoptive city of Magusa, that I was stopped by four English people who had come from Girne (Kyrenia) for a day trip by car.
 

They asked me "Is there anything to see in Magusa"? I looked at them in absolute amazement! We were standing right in front of part of the old wall around the city, a stone's throw from Othello's Tower! I indicated the wall behind me and replied, "Did you know that this wall was built by the Venetians and it is said that Leonardo Da Vinci assisted in the design?"

There is The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (formerly St. Nicholas's Cathedral) and is the largest mediaeval building in Famagusta. It was started in 1300AD and completed 100 years after in 1400D. Its gothic style resembles closely the great Rheims cathedral in France.

Namik Kemal Dungeon and Museum - in 1571, the Venetian Palace was used during the Ottoman period, as a prison. Amongst the prisoners was Namik Kemal, the Shakespeare of Turkish literature, who was held there between 1873 and 1876, having been exiled to Cyprus after criticizing the then Sultan. Next to the Namik Kemal prison is a museum about him and his works and there is a bronze bust of the poet facing the square, by the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.

There is also the Salamis Ruins (just up the road from St Barnabas). For more than 1,000 years, this Roman city lay buried beneath the sand, which probably saved it from destruction in the Middle Ages. There is still a large area yet to be excavated which is at present covered by mimosa, pine and eucalyptus trees. "Shall I go on?" I asked.

They were really thrilled that I had told them some of the history of the city but said that they weren't really interested in the "history" - each to his own I suppose. They said that they were more interested in the "tourist" shops and a place to eat and the beach.

I directed them to the main shopping area, which has now been made into a "Traffic Free Zone" and therefore far more leisurely to walk around, where there are various shops selling a range of different articles and artefacts, plenty of shops selling jewellery and gold so that they could browse around them to find little presents to take home with them. They then asked me where the best beach was! What a difficult question to answer!

There are several in and around Famagusta that all have merit in different ways. One of them is the beautiful beach next to the Salamis Ruins, just outside the city, and it stretches for miles. By this time I was beginning to feel like a Tour Guide (albeit unpaid!) but they were very happy with my suggestions and they went merrily on their way thanking me many times.

Perhaps I have, in a little way, helped them appreciate Famagusta more than they did when they first stopped me for assistance and maybe they will return, once again, to this amazing city.