Last modified: 2017-07-22 by ivan sache
Keywords: famagusta | girne | gúzelyurt | İskele |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
Flag of North Nicosia - Image by Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
The flag of North Nicosia (photo) is white with the town's emblem in the middle.
Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
Flag of Famagusta
Left, as seen in 2012 - Image by Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
Right, as seen in 20001 - Image by Onur Özgün, 1 September 2001
The name of the town in Turkish is Gazimağusa and in Greek Ammóchóstos. It lies on the east coast in a bay between Capes Greco and Eloea, east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour in Cyprus. Famagusta is a Frankish corruption of
its Greek name, which means "buried in the sand", descriptive of the silted
mouth of the Pedieos River north of the town. It was founded as
Arsinoe by the Macedonian Egyptian King Ptolemy II (308-246 BC). An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest towns in Christendom. In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice, and in 1571 it fell to the Turks. Ravaged by war and earthquakes, the old walled town is now only partially inhabited, but it contains some of the finest examples of medieval military architecture extant and the 14th-century Gothic-style St. Nicholas cathedral, now a mosque.
Under the British administration (1878-1960) the modern section, called Varosha, was developed in large part as a tourist resort. After 1974, Varosha was sealed off to civilians and tourism ceased. Ferry service, begun in 1978 between Mersin, Turkey, and Latakia, Syria, includes Famagusta in its run.
[Municipal website]
Valentin Poposki, 7 December 2008
The flag of Famagusta is blue with the town's emblem in the middle. An older version of the flag, seen in 2001 on TV images, had a white field. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
The building shown on the emblem is the cathedral-mosque (photo) of Famagusta. Built as the St. Nicholas (Hagios Nikolaos) cathedral in the beginning of the 14th century on the model of the Gothic cathedral of Reims (France), the cathedral lost its two towers during the siege of the town by the Ottomans in 1571. After the conquest of the town, the Muslims transformed the cathedral into the Lala Mustapha Pacha Mosque, building a minaret on the side of the church and removing most Christian elements (statues, coloured windows).
Onur Özgün & Ivan Sache, 7 December 2008.
Flag of Girne - Image by Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
The flag of Girne (photo) is white with the town's emblem in the middle. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
Flag of Güzelyurt - Image by Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
The flag of Güzelyurt (photo, photo) is white with the town's emblem in the middle. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
Flag of İskele - Image by Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012
The flag of İskele (photo) is white with the town's emblem in the middle. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
Jens Pattke, 14 October 2012