Turunçlu Fethiye Mosque, Nicosia

Located on Belig Pasa Street in the Iplik Bazar–Korkut Effendi quarter of the walled city of Nicosia-today’s North Nicosia-the Turunclu Fethiye Mosque is a modest yet historically layered example of Ottoman architecture in Cyprus. Also known simply as Fethiye Mosque, it occupies a raised platform near the western end of Arasta Street and was once a popular place of worship for local market traders.

The current structure dates back to 1825, when Seyyit Mehmed Agha, the then-Ottoman governor of Cyprus, ordered the demolition of a smaller pre-existing masjid on the site to make way for a new, more substantial mosque. An Ottoman Turkish inscription above the entrance still commemorates this act.

The mosque follows a rectangular plan with its main axis oriented northeast-southwest. Architecturally, it features six tapered arches on the northern façade and four on the western side, all supported by circular columns. The prayer area covers 148 square meters, allowing space for up to 210 worshippers, though in 2011, the active congregation numbered just 32.

Inside, the L-shaped prayer hall is topped by a wooden ceiling, and a wooden mezzanine in the northeast corner, accessed by stairs, serves as the women's gallery. The mihrab and minbar reflect baroque stylistic elements, rare in local religious architecture. The cylindrical minaret stands in the northeast corner, featuring a single ornate balcony, and is accessible from within the prayer hall.

After suffering structural damage, including a collapsed outer wall in 1972, the mosque has undergone repairs but retains its 19th-century character. With its quiet dignity and strong ties to the Ottoman urban fabric of Nicosia, the Turunclu Fethiye Mosque remains a notable, if understated, symbol of historical continuity in the city's evolving religious landscape.