| Selimiye Mosque | |
|---|---|
Τέμενος Σελιμιγιέ / Selimiye Camii | |
 View of Selimiye Mosque (former St. Sophia Cathedral) from Shacolas Tower (Ledra Street Observatory) in Nicosia, Cyprus | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam (1570–present) |
| District | Lefkoşa District (de facto) Nicosia District (de jure) |
| Year consecrated | 1326 |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | North Nicosia |
| State |  Northern Cyprus (de facto) Cyprus (de jure) |
  The location of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Cyprus  Selimiye Mosque, Nicosia (North Nicosia) | |
| Geographic coordinates | 35°10′35″N 33°21′52″E / 35.1765°N 33.3645°E |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1209 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 2500 |
| Minaret(s) | 2 |
Selimiye Mosque (Greek: Τέμενος Σελιμιγιέ Témenos Selimigié; Turkish: Selimiye Camii), historically known as Cathedral of Saint Sophia or Ayasofya Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya Camii), is a former Christian cathedral converted into a mosque, located in North Nicosia. It has historically been the main mosque on the island of Cyprus.[1] The Selimiye Mosque is housed in the largest and oldest surviving Gothic church in Cyprus (interior dimensions: 66 X 21 m) possibly constructed on the site of an earlier Byzantine church.
In total, the mosque has a capacity to hold 2500 worshipers with 1,750 m2 (18,800 sq ft) available for worship.[2] It is the largest surviving historical building in Nicosia, and according to sources, it "may have been the largest church built in the Eastern Mediterranean in the millennium between the rise of Islam and the late Ottoman period".[3] It was the coronation church of the kings of Cyprus.
- ^ Cyprus, Greece, and Malta. Britanncia Educational Publishing. 2013. p. 8. ISBN 9781615309856.
- ^ "Lefkoşa'ya 3657 mümin aranıyor". Haber Kıbrıs. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ Schabel 2012, p. 158.