Kyrenia Gate

The Kyrenia Gate, (Greek: Πύλη της Κερύνειας, Turkish: Girne Kapısı, historically known in Italian as Porta del Proveditore) is a gate in the Nicosia walls, in North Nicosia, Northern Cyprus. It was the gate which was used for transport to the northern areas, especially Kyrenia.

The gate was built in 1567 by Venetians, as a part of the new city walls.^[1] It was restored by the Ottomans in 1821, and a lookout was added to the gate for a probable Greek revolt.^[1]

Now, the gate is used as a tourism information office by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality.^[2]

Tablets from different periods hang on the gate. One of these is in Latin and dates from the Venetian period, featuring the date "MDLXII", (1562) when the construction of the gate began. The text in Latin was rediscovered when an inscription of the Quran placed by the Ottomans on it was removed in 1931 by the British. In the same year, "1931" and "GVRI", which is an abbreviation of "George V Rex et Imperator" ("George V, King and Emperor"), were inscribed on the gate to mark the date of the renovation and the reigning British monarch. A third inscription was placed by the Ottomans in 1821, who renovated the gate at the time, and bears the tughra of Mahmud II. The text in Arabic script reads: "O Muhammad, relay this news to those who have believed: the victory comes from Allah and its celebration is imminent. O, the opener of the gates, open gates that lead to good." The inscription was written by Sayyid Fazullah Dede, the head of the Nicosia Mevlevi Lodge, whose building is now preserved as the Mevlevi Tekke Museum.^[3]