After its siege by the Ottomans the city was deserted. The foreign travellers that visited it refer to its great walls that were ruined, its few inhabitants and the big but deserted houses. The main Latin churches were converted into mosques. There were gardens with citrus and palm trees, and to enter the city one had to go through the three gates that opened on sunrise and closed on sunset.

Nicosia was the seat of the Pasa, the Greek Archbishop, the Dragoman and the Cadi. It was also a commercial centre, even though the majority of its Greek and Latin inhabitants had left it to reside in Larnaca or immigrate abroad.