Armenian Church and Monastery, Nicosia

Tucked within the Arab Ahmet quarter of Nicosia, the Armenian Church, and Monastery-also known as Notre Dame de Tyre-is one of the city’s most historically layered and architecturally significant religious sites. Originally founded in the 13th century as the Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Tyre, the church was established for Cypriot nuns, many of whom were of Armenian origin. Its foundation is believed to coincide with the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem, marking it as a spiritual refuge in a time of upheaval.

Constructed in the Gothic style, the church features a square nave with cross vaults, a semi-octagonal apse, and a distinctive bell tower added in 1860. Tomb slabs from the 14th and 15th centuries, including the sarcophagus of Lady Dampierre, a former abbess, attest to the site’s enduring religious and cultural role across centuries.

In 1308, King Henry II of Jerusalem of the Lusignan dynasty ordered repairs following earthquake damage. By 1504, due to the predominantly Armenian makeup of its monastic community, the church had transitioned into Armenian hands. Following the Ottoman conquest of Nicosia in 1570, Sultan Selim II granted the church and its surrounding area to the Armenian community as a gesture of gratitude for their support.

In the 20th century, the church became a key center of Armenian Cypriot life, hosting the Armenian Prelature, several schools, and one of the world’s oldest Armenian Genocide monuments. Surrounded by cultural institutions like the Armenian Club and AGBU, it thrived as a community hub. However, following the 1963 unrest and the 1974 Turkish invasion, it fell into the Turkish Cypriot sector of Nicosia, where it suffered decades of neglect and partial collapse.

Today, the Armenian Church and Monastery stands as a resilient symbol of spiritual endurance and multicultural history in divided Nicosia.