Selimiye Mosque

A French Gothic cathedral with two Ottoman minarets bolted on — and somehow it works. Raised by the Lusignans as the Cathedral of Saint Sophia, where the medieval kings of Cyprus were crowned, this is the largest and oldest surviving Gothic church on the island. After 1570 the Ottomans stripped the images, whitewashed the interior, added the minarets and made it North Nicosia's main mosque. Step inside — respectfully, shoes off — and the soaring bare height of the nave stops you: pale stone, pointed arches, carpets running where the pews once stood. Two faiths under one roof: the story of Cyprus in a single building.