Omeriye: A Mosque in Nicosia

The article deals with the Omeriye Mosque which was erected as a church in the 14th century and transformed into a mosque by the Ottomans in the 16th century. It was used exclusively by Turkish-Cypriot Muslims until the mid-1950s. Since the 1980s it has become a multinational place of worship. The mosque, located in the southern (“Greek”) part of divided Nicosia, is today a meeting place for hundreds of Muslims mainly from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh; they include migrant workers, students, and asylum-seekers. After a short historical introduction, the article examines the spatial characteristics of the mosque, the ethnic and social composition of the mosque-goers, particulars of worship and teachings as well as the running of the mosque.