The church of St. Katherine, now turned into a mosque, has a fine entrance, adorned with three arches and pillars, with Corinthian capitals. Two stately marble columns lie in the court-yard; these, with their fine carved escutcheons, have been torn down by the Turks and employed as seats. The graves of the brave defenders of the city are still held in honour, and small cupolas are erected to mark their resting places. The spot where the first Turk mounted and fell when the city was stormed, is also distinguished by a small dome. The gravestone is marble, and the coffin of wood, overshadowed by the green flag of the Prophet. Nikosia can boast a very unusual number of churches and mosques, and we are told that, when the city was at the height of its glory, there were no less than two hundred and fifty chapels and churches. Cyprus is also especially remarkable for the number of graves of its saints.
In all ages the island was regarded as a harbour of refuge from persecution or tyranny, and its close proximity to Syria and Palestine attracted many suffering Christians to its shores. In the thirteenth century Cyprus possessed no less than fourteen bishoprics, each of which were founded on some memorable or sacred spot. Paul and Barnabas, we know, preached the Gospel in Cyprus, and we learn that many were turned from the error of their ways to commence a new life. Accompanied by John, the Apostles landed at Salamis, and travelled over the whole island, preaching especially in the synagogues of the Greek Jews, who were then very numerous. In Paphos they encountered the Roman consul, Sergius Paulus, who speedily became a convert, and here Elymas, the sorcerer, was struck by them with temporary blindness, as a chastisement for his endeavours to turn away their converts from the true faith. The Apostle Saul here adopted the Roman fashion and changed his name to Paulus. St. Barnabas afterwards suffered martyrdom in Salamis, where he was burnt to death. During the reign of Justinian, his grave was opened and a copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew found lying on his breast. Salamis was also the birthplace of the celebrated St. Katherine.
The royal palace of Nikosia was built in the Norman-Gothic style and must have been a noble edifice. With the exception of an arched doorway, however, but little now remains beyond the outer walls, with gaps where the windows once were, and balconies with wooden latticework and wooden roofs. This palace was formerly the residence of the pacha. During my visit to the city the gaols were full of prisoners; the majority of these, I was told, were sent over from Syrian prisons to work out their terms of imprisonment. The Cypriotes themselves bore the character of being peaceable in their habits, and not easily roused to acts of violence and crime.