Kyrenia Gate, Nicosia

"...O, the opener of the gates, open gates that lead to good." Sayyid Fazullah Dede, a descendant of the Prophet, inscribed this prayer on a tablet at the Kyrenia Gate to Old Nicosia in 1821.

The gate was installed in the city walls by Venetians in 1576. They had a plaque in Latin with the date "MDLXII" (1562). The British covered the tablet of Sayyid Dede with their own in 1931, also in Latin, "George V, King and Emperor." Empires have come and gone but the gate remains.

There are three gates to the walled city of the Venetians. The Paphos Gate, The Famagusta Gate and the Kyrenia Gate. The traditional entrance to the Turkish part of the Old City is the Kyrenia Gate.

The gate was called "Door of the Proveditore" by the Venetians. The name "Proveditore" is taken to mean "Military Governor" in Italian. It is similar to "Provost Marshal" in English. It has also been named for whoever was governor at the time. Because of an armory west of the Gate, it has also been called "Door of the Fortress."

The Gate is a brief alley under rounded arches. Above the gate is a square sentry room topped with a dome. The Ottomans built the upper floors to guard against a Greek uprising in the Old City. The walls on both sides of the gate were demolished in 1931 to make room for road lanes on either side.