Omeriye Mosque (Nicosia)

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The Omeriye Mosque

The Omeriye Mosque ( Greek Τέμενος Ομεριέ Témenos Omerié ) is a mosque in the southern part of Nicosia and an earlier monastery church of the Augustinian hermits consecrated to St. Mary . In their immediate vicinity is the hamam of the same name, which is currently closed (as of April 2016) . The mosque and hammam are on Plateia Tillyrias.

history

Remains of the Gothic porch and portal
Floor plan 1899
Interior to the east with preserved vaults

The presence of Augustinian hermits under the rule of the Frankish house of Lusignan in Nicosia is revealed in the sources for the first time in a letter from Pope Boniface VIII of June 1299 to the Provincial of the Franciscans and the Priors of the Dominicans and Augustinians in the city. A description of the Augustinian monastery can be found in a report by the pilgrim Nicholas von Martoni from 1395.

The Gothic monastery church originally had three bays with ribbed vaults, the choir closed on three sides. To the west was a richly decorated vestibule. A northern side chapel was added to the eastern nave yoke in a later construction phase.

The church was badly damaged by Ottoman artillery fire in 1570 and the vaults collapsed. The art historian Enlart also believes that damage as a result of an earthquake is possible. After the city was conquered by the Ottomans, the monastery church was converted into a mosque and a minaret was added. As part of the conversion into a mosque, the church was given a much lower roof; the height of the original vault was not reached during the reconstruction.

literature

  • Nicholas Coureas: The Latin Church in Cyprus 1195-1312 , Aldershot 1997, pp. 242f.
  • Camille Enlart (translated by David Hunt): Gothic Art and the Renaissance in Cyprus , Paris 1899 / London 1987, pp. 146–152.

Web links

Commons : Omeriye Mosque  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 35 ° 10 ′ 18.7 ″  N , 33 ° 21 ′ 55.6 ″  E