Nicosia - City of Cyprus

Nicosia, known locally as Lefkosia is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. . Located on the River Pedieos and situated almost in the centre of the island, it is the seat of government as well as the main business centre. Nicosia is the capital of the Nicosia District.

Following the intercommunal violence of the 1960s, the capital was divided between the island's Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in the south and north respectively. An attempted coup to unite the island with Greece in 1974 led to a Turkish invasion, leaving the capital divided since then, with Turkish Cypriots claiming the north as the capital of their own state, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Nicosia is important commercially with many shops, two modern shopping malls, restaurants and entertainment. The city is a trade centre and manufactures textiles, leather, pottery, plastic, and other products. Copper mines are nearby. Nicosia is the seat of the University of Cyprus and four other universities.

Nicosia was a city-state known as Ledra or Ledrae in ancient times. The king of Ledra, Onasagoras, was recorded as paying tribute to Esarhaddon of Assyria in 672 BC. Rebuilt by Lefkos, son of Ptolemy I around 300 BC, Ledra in Hellenic and Roman times was a small, unimportant town, also known as Lefkothea. By the time it received its first Christian bishop, Trifillios, in 348, the town was called Lefkousia or Ledra.

Nicosia was the scene of extreme violence in the period just prior to Cypriot independence in 1960. Since the Greek supported coup and Turkish invasion which followed it in 1974, part of the city's northern sector has been inside the boundary of a United Nations Buffer Zone.

The tombs of the Lusignan kings are in the former Cathedral of St. Sophia, now a mosque in the northern sector.

The core of the city also has well-preserved Venetian fortifications, built in the 16th century, which encircle the old, medieval part of the city.

In 2006 the Manifesta Biennale was scheduled to be held in Nicosia for a duration of three months. The project was canceled, however, with the overseas and local organizers blaming each other for its collapse.

The city also hosted the competition of Miss Universe 2000 in Eleftheria Indoor Hall.