The Kyrenia Gate in Nicosia is one of the three gates, which provide an entrance to the old Venetian city that is surrounded by the walls. This arched gate is situated in the northern part of the city. It is also known as the "Porta Del Providetore" after the Venetian military engineer Proveditore Francesco Barbaro. During the British Colonial Rule, the walls next to the gate were cut to provide traffic circulation. Thus, it lost the function to be seen or used as a gate. In Ottoman period, this gate was known as ‘Edirne Gate’. It had been restored in 1821, added a domed room for watchmen, on top of it. From historical records, a watchman whose name was Horoz Ali worked here until he died in 1946 when he was 121 years old. The seal of Mahmut II and an inscription in Latin were placed on the top of south wall. In addition to these, there are several verses from the Koran, on the marble panel above the gate.
Related to the construction plan, it can be found out that the building was converted into a mosque from an old chapel. The building, which is located at the quarter of Laleli Mosque, was restored by Ali Ruhi Efendi in 1828. The minaret of the building, which was about to collapse, was demolished and reconstructed again recently. It is still being used for worshipping.
The Lapidary Museum is a Venetian style two- storey stone- built building constructed in the 15th century. It is located at east of the Selimiye Mosque. Many works of stone like insignias, works of marble, tombs and columns from the Medieval Age were housed in this museum during the British Colonial Rule. These works of stone were accumulated from several historical places. There is a flamboyant style splendid window at the opposite of the entrance. It was transported from the Lusignan Kingdom Palace at Sarayonu Square, which was demolished in the British period. The other splendid works of stone of this museum are a sarcophagus (belonging to Dampierre family), the tombstone of Adam of Antioch and a marbled lion of St.Mark at the courtyard.
The Walled City of Nicosia was the administrative centre of Cyprus starting from the Lusignan Period till the end of 20 th. century. The administrative centre was located at the Sarayönü Square where today’s Law Courts stands. This was the case for the Lusignans, Venetians, Ottomans and the British. Sarayönü Square was the most important part of the Walled City because all government offices were located here. In 1901 the British Colony Government demolished the Lusignan Palace which (main government office) completely and build today’s Law Courts buildings.
The main building is of a rectangular shape with an internal courtyard. There are several buildings that are attached and some are completely separate from the main building. The whole complex is surrounded by a low sandstone wall with iron railings. On the south-eastern corner of the walls there is the cote of arms of the British Empire. The only thing remaining from the original palace today is a sandstone Gothic window which was on the top of the main entrance door of the palace. This window is protected and exhibited at the Nicosia Lapidary Museum.