Our indoor life (apart from sitting in the the sunlight on the front steps) is still within the embrace of the walled city of Famagusta. We can hear the muezzin’s ezan, or call to prayer five times a day. At least theoretically that is, as the first two chanted calls are before we’re usually up. We can’t see the beautiful parts of the city, or pretty well can’t.
Actually, from the bottom of our steps we can see the very top of the Lala Pasha Mustafa Mosque, the view almost completely blocked by the corrugated metal roof and parked cars next to our building. The mosque began life as St Nicholas Cathedral when the Lusignans (French) controlled the island. Was finished about 1400 - though there was an excuse for missed deadlines in those days before power tools. It became a mosque in 1571 under the Ottomans although the Rheims Cathedral style still predominates. And after the lockdown we’ll be back enjoying sitting in the large square in front, by the oldest tree in Cyprus.
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| Lala Pasha Mustafa Mosque - taken on an earlier visit |
Actually, from the bottom of our steps we can see the very top of the Lala Pasha Mustafa Mosque, the view almost completely blocked by the corrugated metal roof and parked cars next to our building. The mosque began life as St Nicholas Cathedral when the Lusignans (French) controlled the island. Was finished about 1400 - though there was an excuse for missed deadlines in those days before power tools. It became a mosque in 1571 under the Ottomans although the Rheims Cathedral style still predominates. And after the lockdown we’ll be back enjoying sitting in the large square in front, by the oldest tree in Cyprus.
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