Famagusta Old Town

Famagusta was one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean in the fourteenth century, and the medieval walls the Venetians rebuilt still enclose the old town almost completely. Inside is an extraordinary density of ruined Gothic churches, dozens of them, left roofless by the siege of 1571 and the centuries after. The former cathedral of St Nicholas, a fourteenth-century French Gothic building, was converted to a mosque and remains in use, its west front standing beside a fig tree said to be as old as the conversion.

What you actually see

• The Venetian walls - ramparts and bastions enclosing the old town.
• The former cathedral - a French Gothic building, converted and still in use as a mosque.
• The ruined churches - dozens of roofless Gothic churches through the walled town.
• Othello's Tower - the citadel at the harbour, named for the play.

When to go

March to May and October to November are the comfortable months; the walled town is severely hot in summer with little shade. Mornings are best. Crossing points are open daily but queues form at peak hours.

Honest expectations

Many of the ruined churches are fenced or unsafe and cannot be entered. Interpretation is uneven and some monuments have none. Bring a passport or ID for the crossing points and check current rules before travelling.

Nearby

Salamis is a few kilometres north, and St Barnabas monastery is beyond it.