Panagia Chrysaliniotissa Church & Quarter
Παναγία Χρυσαλινιώτισσα
A quiet neighbourhood around Nicosia's oldest Byzantine church, beside the Green Line. Its restored old houses and craft workshops are worth a stroll.
Chrysaliniotissa means 'Our Lady of the Golden Flax'. The church is said to have been built in 1450 by the Byzantine princess Helena Palaiologina. It is the oldest Byzantine church in Nicosia and houses precious icons. The neighbourhood lies right against the UN buffer zone and had fallen into decline, but in recent years municipal and EU projects have restored many traditional stone houses, which now host craft workshops and small galleries. The streets are quiet, and you can see abandoned buildings and sandbag sentry posts within the buffer zone. It is about a five-minute walk from Famagusta Gate.
Opening hours
Open daytime
Nearby sights
- Famagusta Gate
- Archbishop's Palace & Byzantine Museum
- St. John's Cathedral
- House of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios
- Bandabulya (Municipal Market)
- Selimiye Mosque (Cathedral of Saint Sophia)
- Bedesten (St Nicholas Church)
- Ömeriye Mosque & Hammam