House of Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, Nicosia

Tucked in the historic Saint Antonios neighborhood near the Archbishopric in Nicosia, the House of Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios is one of the finest surviving examples of late Ottoman urban architecture in Cyprus. Built in 1793 from local bloc-cut sandstone, the two-storey mansion belonged to Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, a powerful Christian dragoman-official interpreter to the Sultan’s Divan-from 1779 to 1809. His wealth and influence, however, drew fatal envy; he was executed in Constantinople in 1809.

The mansion is designed in the shape of a Greek “Π,” enclosing a tranquil central garden with a fountain and a private three-room hammam (bathhouse). On the ground floor, you'll find the original kitchen and servant quarters. A wooden staircase with a stone base leads from the courtyard to the upper level, where the main living areas and the grand reception room (onda) are located. The richly decorated onda, with its gilded, carved woodwork and painted ceiling, reflects Ottoman tastes and ceremonial style.

The house was saved from demolition in the late 1950s thanks to public support and opened to the public on 3 May 1960. Today, it operates as the Ethnological Museum, Lefkosia, and received the Europa Nostra prize for its meticulous restoration.