The Selimiye Mosque, originally the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Sophia, is the most prominent landmark of North Nicosia. Built between 1209 and 1326, it represents one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture outside France. After the Ottoman conquest in 1570, two minarets were added and it was converted into a mosque. The building preserves its original Gothic structure with pointed windows and flying buttresses, creating a unique fusion of Christian and Islamic architecture that reflects Cyprus's complex history.