Bayraktar Mosque, Ottoman mosque in Nicosia, Cyprus
The Bayraktar Mosque is a rectangular building with three arches forming the front porch and a minaret rising from its corner. Inside, the prayer hall and tomb chamber occupy separate but adjacent spaces within the structure.
The mosque was built on the spot where a flag bearer died during the 1570 conquest of Cyprus, and it was named to honor this event. After the island's division in the late 20th century, it remained closed for many years until a major restoration brought it back into use in 2003.
The mosque is named after a flag bearer who died during Cyprus's conquest, and this connection to military history still shapes how locals perceive the place today. The combination of prayer space and tomb creates a setting where worship and remembrance happen side by side.
The mosque sits on Leoforos Konstantinou Paleologou in the old town and is walkable from central areas. Visitors should know this is an active place of worship, so modest dress and respect for prayer times are expected.
Until 1930, the mosque held what believers considered a relic of the Prophet Muhammad's beard, an object that later vanished. This loss reveals how deeply religious objects were tied to the place's spiritual importance.
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