Bayraktar Mosque

This Ottoman mosque is located in the southern part of old Lefkosia (Nicosia), on the western end of the Constanza Bastion. Its name derives from the Turkish word “bayrak”, meaning flag or military trophy, because this is the spot where the first Ottoman flag was raised when Lefkosia fell on September 9th 1570. The flag - bearer was said to have been killed on the spot by the defenders of the capital and was later buried there. His grave was built much later, in 1764, while the mosque itself was built later still, in 1820.