From Western to Islamic World: The Transformation of Nicosia’s Cultural Identity

Abstract

This chapter addresses the politics of street-naming in the early years of British rule with reference to the late Ottoman period, examining Nicosia’s transformation following the Ottoman conquest in 1570 and British acquisition of Cyprus in 1878. Focusing on the administrative and constitutional amendments attempted during this period, it discusses the British attempt to restructure urban spaces in alignment with their vision of mutual toleration among different religions, while simultaneously asserting British superiority. The mapping of the city and first British attempt at official street-naming in Nicosia is additionally described in some detail. This examination enabled the creation of a table of names for the various Nicosia quarters, bastions, and bazaars, after which the main commercial streets of the capital were named.

4.1 From Western to Islamic World: The Transformation of Nicosia’s Cultural Identity

From 1567 to 1570, the space and identity of Nicosia were fundamentally transformed. Beyond renaming the bastions, the conversion of the Latin Cathedral of Ayia Sofia, a symbolic reference point for the identity of the city in place and time, into a mosque in 1571 [1,2,3] heralded the shift of power to Ottoman hands. In the conflict between East and West—Islam (as represented by the Ottoman Empire) and Christianity (the Republic of Venice)—Nicosia emerged as a city where two different social, cultural, and religious identities collided. By reinventing Venetian sites such as the cathedral as elements permeated by Ottoman cultural and political meanings, the Ottoman identity appeared to prevail.¹ This translated into the reshaping of the identity of the island’s Orthodox population.

4.2 The Administration of Nicosia during the Ottoman Period

Following the Ottoman conquest, Cyprus became a beylerbeylik² (administrative division) of the Ottoman empire comprising the Sanjaks of Alayia, Ichil, Zulkadir and Tarsus. Muzaffer Pasha was appointed Beylerbey³ (provincial governor) of Cyprus and resided in the Serai⁴ in Nicosia [2, 4, 5], which remained the administrative centre (Pasha sancağı) of the island [2, 4,5,6,7,8]. However, eradicating the Venetian class resulted in the collapse of the administrative, social, and economic systems which had formed the main pillars upon which the city and entire island prospered. The Ottoman empire was unable to adjust to a space created on the basis of a Western ideological framework and this resulted in Nicosia and, by extension, the whole island falling into a state of social, economic, and cultural decadence.

From the Ottoman conquest onwards, Nicosia was subject to a progressive conversion into an Ottoman city in terms of both administration and urban space. The construction of mosques, educational institutions (medresses), baths, fountains, as well as the provision of urban services glorified the empire and “served as the nuclei of the Ottoman town and city life” [9]. Significantly, the Ottoman administrative system in the Middle East did not provide public services in the cities. Rather, that task was undertaken by the Evkaf (vakif): religious foundations for the promotion and development of Islamic religious institutions in the regions conquered [9, 10].

During the early years of Ottoman rule, the military class held a monopoly over the properties acquired from the Latin community, including Latin ecclesiastical property. It comes therefore as no surprise that “most of the early founders or donors (vakif) and their administrators (mutevelli) derived their wealth from holding military office”.⁵ The aftermath of the conquest of Cyprus saw Latin ecclesiastical property falling into possession of the Ottoman state and becoming “available to local Muslim communities to create and to support needed religious institutions” [1]. This is confirmed by the attribution of military-class members’ names⁶ to quarters of Nicosia.⁷

The Ottoman administration established corporate authorities in the towns under their rule to facilitate the collection of taxes.⁸ Muslim cities had no municipal institutions, mainly due to the centralized Ottoman system of governance [11]. Bernard Lewis observed that the classical Islamic system of law and governance (Şeriat⁹) did not include a municipal code; the towns were never legal or political entities since they lacked corporate autonomy and legal existence [12, 13].

In the Ottoman Empire, towns were governed by Imperial officials or members of the religious class. In Istanbul, the first “experimental” municipality was established by an imperial irade (Ordinance) on 7th July 1858, which enforced the constitution and functions of the municipality. Although originally limited to a single urban district, the system of Municipal Committees was extended to the rest of Istanbul in 1868; nevertheless, the Istanbul code remained a dead letter. The vilayet law¹⁰ of 1870 included a similar provision to the Code of Istanbul for the establishment of municipal councils in provincial cities [13] but no action was taken on this matter apart from some attempts in 1877 to implement some sections of the municipal code.¹¹

In Nicosia, a Municipal Council was established and presided over by a member of the Muslim community appointed by the Imperial Government.¹² The Council comprised six members (three Muslim and three Christian) elected by the Nicosia residents [14, 15]. The muhtar system introduced by Mahmud II in the provinces was implemented into most quarters (mahalle) in large towns¹³ [16]. The muhtars (for the Muslims) and mukhbir¹⁴ (μουκπίρης—πρωτόγερος for the Christians), as figures of authority at local level, were responsible for the municipal affairs of their village or communities, as well as the collection of taxes. Although in theory elected, selection of muhtars was done on the basis of wealth and relations with the Ottoman administration. Muhtars undertook the task of retaining the census records of their quarters as well as the records of property and wealth that constituted the basis of the new tax system [17]. Later, the muhtars were supported by a three- or five-member committee of elders [13, 15, 18].

Nicosia was one of the 17 kazas of Cyprus, composed of 26 mahalle (Μαχαλλάδες—Mahallades) under Ottoman rule.¹⁵ The mahalle in Nicosia was the basic unit of organization of the urban space, formed by homogeneous populations gathered around places of worship or religious activities [19]. The 1831 census revealed for the first time the names of the 26 mahalle¹⁶ comprising 9 Rayah¹⁷ and 17 Muslim [20]. Ludwig Salvator, who visited Nicosia in 1873, wrote that the town was not divided into districts but that the divisions were drawn based on the various religious groups of the town. The Muslims lived in the area near Famagusta Gate, close to the mosque of Taht el Kale and between the gates of Kyrenia and Paphos. The Greek-Orthodox population resided mainly in the area between the episcopal residence and the Ayia Sophia Cathedral.¹⁸ Nevertheless, the Greek-Orthodox population, according to Salvator, was also scattered among the Muslim population between the gates of Famagusta and Kyrenia [21].

4.3 Nicosia upon the Arrival of the British

On 12th July 1878 British troops were greeted enthusiastically by the people of Nicosia as they made their way to the Serai, accompanied by crowds shouting “Zita, Brava, Queen Victoria,” [22,23,24]. Upon the Muslims becoming British subjects, the Ottoman Mollah, expressed his pleasure and praised Queen Victoria for sending such “a distinguished a Governor” as Sir Garnet Wolseley, to the Island [25]. However, navigating the narrow, filthy,¹⁹ ill-paved, winding streets²⁰ was challenging, as they all closely resembled each other [21, 26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]. This posed a significant challenge of the British, with one observer noting “only a native of the town can find his way from gate to mosque, from coffee-house to khan!” [27].

For three centuries the mahalle had been a defining feature of Nicosia’s Ottoman identity and the British encountered significant obstacles in their attempts to implement Western administrative methods. Despite their efforts to do so, the dominant culture remained resistant to change, to the discontent of the first British Governor of Cyprus, Sir Garnet Wolseley. In his diary on 20th August 1878 Wolseley expressed his frustration at the difficulties he faced in transforming Nicosia’s traditional ways of governance.

The object of the home government is evidently to govern Cyprus along Turkish lines as far as possible and to make the Sultan and his pashas feel that in conceding the privilege of governing any of the Asia Minor provinces, no violent disturbance of Turkish laws or customs would be attempted […] All my visions of making this an entirely English province with English even for the language of the people are rudely dispelled. I can be little better than a Turkish Pasha without the arbitrary power Turkish law gave him. [34]

4.4 Attribution of Self-Governance in Nicosia

Under British rule the first Municipal Council was formed in Nicosia in 1882. Through a series of legislation, attempts were made to establish sounder election nomination proceedings for the function of Municipal Councils.²¹ Already since March 1882, an ordinance “to enable the inhabitants of the towns to elect Councils and raise money for carrying on the affairs of their municipalities” had been published in the Cyprus Gazette [16, 35, 36]. This was a departure from the existing policy of appointing members to the municipal council, as the President—formerly selected by the executive authorities from the elected councillors²²—was to be selected directly by the councillors themselves. The number of Christian and Muslim members was to be proportional to the number of residents in the town belonging to the Christian and Muslim communities respectively [15]. The Municipal Council of Nicosia consisted of 12 Councillors—six Muslims and six Christians—whose authority was exercised within “a circle drawn at a distance of five hundred yards beyond the salient angles of the bastions of the fortifications” [37].

Christodoulos Severis and Mevlevi Sheikh Safvet Dede were appointed by the High Commissioner under the Municipal Councils Ordinance to the position of President and Vice-President respectively [38, 39]. The first meeting of the Council on 15^th November 1882 [40] held that the duties of the Council Members revolved around “the general administration of public affairs within the city and for a certain area outside the walls, under the presidency of the mayor” [41]. It should be clarified that the Ordinance made no reference to and granted the Council no authority for street-naming, The Council resigned when it failed to complete the necessary arrangements for the preparation of a voters list and a valuation list of rateable property within the municipal limits.²³

Separate community representation was maintained in the Municipal Councils, with individual electoral lists for Christians and Muslims. The Muslim members demanded equal representation for both groups in the municipal council, as well as rotating presidency and vice-presidency of the municipalities. Taking advantage of the legislative provision requiring one third of Council members present, the Muslims often prevented the establishment of a Council by abstention [42]. Consequently, the Nicosia municipality in the early years of British rule functioned on the basis of three-member committees appointed by the British [43,44,45]. In 1885, the High Commissioner, exercising the powers vested in him by the 1885 Municipal Councils Law, appointed Merton King, Esq., Christodoulo Severis, Esq., and Sheikh Safvet Effendi as members of a commission to exercise and perform the powers and duties of the municipal council for Nicosia. Additionally, he appointed Merton King to the position of President of the Municipal Commission [38, 46]. Elections for a municipal commission of Nicosia were held in 1888 [47]. Achilleas Liasides was elected as mayor, receiving the votes of the eight Christian members [48]. However, the Muslim councillors resisted his appointment and demanded that he be replaced by an Englishman but this request was not fulfilled by the British authorities [42, 49].

4.5 Remnants of the Ottoman Rule: Quarters and Streets of Nicosia

No official documentation regarding street-names in Nicosia during the Ottoman period exists. The properties were recorded in the Ottoman property deeds with reference to the quarter and the names of the owners of the neighbouring properties. Besides, it was unlikely for a province of the Ottoman Empire like Cyprus to have official names and street numbers when Istanbul, itself the Empire’s capital, was only given official names in 1860 [10]. According to the Colonial Archives there was no order in the naming of the streets in Nicosia in 1862. This led to such “anomalies” as different names for either side of the same street, or a single street being given multiple names. Furthermore, the layout of the city’s quarters was not based on streets but rather on a more haphazard pattern, with streets running in and out of the back walls of the houses [50].

During the late Ottoman period street-names in Nicosia were vernacular and designated to serve geographical orientation and urban function. Salvator notes that the streets of the capital sometimes had multiple names assigned to them over short distances, but often there were no street-names at all; rather the different places were designated after the neighbourhood in which they were situated [21]. The names of the localities were written in white characters on blue tin tablets both in Turkish and Greek, as were the house numbers. Trypiotis (in Turkish Baş ma halle²⁴), the principal neighbourhood of Nicosia in terms of width and length, was followed by “Taht-el-Kale”: the main entrance to the city which led from Famagusta Gate to the bazaars [21]. Some streets or quarters took their name from the bazaars such as the Orta Otasi (central chamber) Market, which gave its name to the adjacent street [5, 19, 51, 52]. Ottoman documents reveal that streets of Nicosia were named after the commercial and craft activities that took place within their limits. These names included “the market of Arab Jebel, Kykko Market, Friday market, Armenians’ market, Candle seller (Mumjular) market, Carpenter’s (Togramaji) market, Long market, Draper’s (Bachmatzides) market” [51] (see also Scott-Stevenson, 1880) (Fig. 4.1).

Fig. 4.1

Friday Bazaar (Photograph from Costas and Rita Severis Foundation Archive, pht_HHH_229)

Individual streets were also named bearing in mind the occupations of the citizens to be found on that specific street, for instance, Iplik Bazaar/Linen bazaar [28, 52], Arabajiler Bazaar/Coachmen bazaar. Jeffery [41] and Steward [28] mention the “Silversmiths”, “Blacksmiths”, “Coppersmiths”, “Drapers”, and “Dyers”.

Salvator [21] lists 23 bazaars in the streets of Nicosia.

The Bazaars of Nicosia (Salvator)
1	Manufacturers	13	Earthenware
2	Tailors	14	Haberdashery
3	Calico, rugs, hides	15	Taverns
4	European shoemakers	16	Vegetables and meat
5	Shoemakers	17	Fish
6	Turkish shoes	18	Halava (sweets)
7	Yarns	19	Women
8	Cabinetmakers	20	Cotton
9	Carriages	21	Flour
10	Copper articles	22	Wheat and barley
11	Silversmiths	23	Mules
12	Ironware

Public fountains²⁵ were also significant in the street-naming process, as certain streets were named after the fountains situated in the quarters of the town, such as Cheshme (çeşme) or Fountanes (φουντάνες):²⁶ Djevisli Chesme, Olouklou Cheshme, Ruined Fountain, Kaimakli Fountain, Fountain street, Bazaar Fountain. Since there were no official street-names, some fountains served as local landmarks: Fountana tou Mavrou,²⁷ Fountana tis Karithkias,²⁸ Fountana tis Tzioutzious (Ayios Antonis Fountain),²⁹ Fountana of Platanos (plane tree), Fountana of Phaneromeni, Fountana of Paphos Gate, Fountain of Mevlevi Khaneh, Fountain of Omerghe, Küçük Medrese Fountain, Fountain of Taht el Kale [53, 54].

Hamams (public baths) were a defining feature of the Ottoman city after which streets of Nicosia were named, as evidenced by the following examples: Buyouk hamam street, Korkoud hamam street, Emir hamam street, Hamam Ardi street (the street leading to Yeni hamam street).

Finally, educational institutions also played a role in street-names. Buyuk Medresseh, Kutchuk Medresseh³⁰ and School streets were named after such institutions. Overall, the naming of streets in Nicosia was a deliberate process that reflected the city’s cultural and social landscape.

Nicosia was enclosed by fortifications and it was devoid of suburbs outside the walls [55]; The town was divided into quarters identified by their respective religious or ethnic identity [21, 27] (see Table 4.1). The division according to the religious groups is also confirmed by the djizya tax registers³¹ for the years 1825–26, which indicate the existence of eight Christian quarters at the time: Trypiotis, Ayios Savvas, Faneromeni, Ayios Antonios, Ayios Ioannis, Alaniyadissa, Ayios Kassianos, and Apostolos Loukas [56]. Furthermore, different areas within the city were named after the religious monuments such as Faneromeni, Ayios Kassianos, Omerghe (Mosque of the Omar), Ayia Sophia, Arab (Fig. 4.2).

Table 4.1 Quarters of Nicosia according to the Censuses of Cyprus

Fig. 4.2

Fountain at Yeni Cami Mosque (Photograph from Costas and Rita Severis Foundation Archive, pht_01703)

There is no evidence of any attempt by the Ottoman administration of Cyprus to map Nicosia. Although a land registry was in operation, the Ottomans did not use plans. Instead, rough sketches with vague descriptions were used on the basis of land transactions, as noted by Christofi [57]. It was not until 1881 that the names of the Nicosia quarters were recorded for the first time in the report on the Census of Cyprus. The names were written in English, but they were based on phonetic transcriptions of the Ottoman names [58].

4.6 The First Attempt to Map Nicosia Streets: Legitimization of the British Power in Space

Following the British acquisition of Cyprus in 1878 Lieutenant Herbert Horatio Kitchener³² was tasked with the first plan of the town of Nicosia as part of the mapping of the Island [59,60,61]. The plan, printed in 1881, was a significant achievement given the adverse conditions in Cyprus and the short time frame for the execution of the task. The plan covered the town within and outside the walls and shows that Nicosia outside the walls³³ was almost uninhabited [59, 61]. Interestingly, only a few streets in the map are named. Three of these carry the names of Queen Victoria, her husband Prince Albert, and George after St. George the Patron Saint of England.³⁴ The names were assigned to the streets connecting Paphos Gate and the administrative area of the Konak³⁵ indicating the route taken by the British forces, led by Lord John Hay, heading to the ceremony to take possession of the island in the name of Queen Victoria [24, 62,63,64,65]. Even though, unlike Egypt, the island was not of particular importance to Britain at the time, it was nonetheless loaded with symbolism used to consolidate and legitimize the power of British hegemony. The naming of the three streets after Britain’s royal family and the Patron Saint of England [34] on Kitchener’s map is an important milestone in the history of street-naming in Cyprus as it is the first time that Nicosia streets had received official names. Beyond this, it also constituted a means of branding the British empire in the local landscape of Nicosia, thereby promoting the town’s ‘ownership’ and control by the British, representing the new ruling authority and constituting an attempt to apply British identity and ideology in space.³⁶

The street-name list extracted from the cadastral plans of 1915 (the first official recording of vernacular street-names in place—see Chap. 5) also confirms that streets were named after nearby places of religious activity. It is interesting to mention that although there are streets named after mosques and (Arablar mosque, Taht el Kale, Jami Jedit, Yediler, Jami Jedit, and Laleli Djami) there are no streets named after Orthodox churches apart from St. Iacovos and Phaneromeni. Street-names related to Orthodox places of worship are referred to as “church street”, “Metochi”, “church square” or “church yard”.

The responsibility for the naming of towns, quarters, villages, and streets, as well as the numbering of the houses in the streets fell under the jurisdiction of the Land Registry Office of the Ottoman Land Code.³⁷ According to the Ottoman law by which the street signs were affixed, the street-name signs were considered boundary marks in the towns by the Land Registry Office for the production of title deeds [14, 17]. The British Archives reveal that the street signs were placed by the British authorities, but the burden of maintaining them was on the proprietor of the property.³⁸ The Municipality had no power to put street-name plates on private property without government approval and the owners were entitled to remove them [66]. The right of the Municipality to assign names to the streets and affix name plates was contained in the amendments of 1885 to the statute “To Regulate the Duties and Powers of Municipalities” [67].

4.7 Names of Bastions and Gates of the Walled City

4.7.1 Bastions

The names of the bastions in Nicosia were derived from the Venetian officials and Cypriot noblemen who funded the construction of the walls. Specifically, the bastions were named after Mula, Querini, Barbaro, Loredano as well as Flatro, Caraffa, Podocatoro, Constanzo, Davila, Tripoli and Rochas [68]. A mosque was built at the Constanzo Bastion to commemorate the death of the Ottoman standard bearer (Bayraktar) who planted the Ottoman flag during the siege of the city in 1572 [3, 28, 52, 69]. Kitchener’s map displays the Ottoman names of the bastions, and these can be divided into two groups. The first pertains to urban activities while the second relates to the attribution of honours and commemoration of individuals or historical events. For instance, “Musalla was the prayer space, Suyutlu, the milking place, Deyrmen the mills, Mezarlik the Cemetery and Sazli the place overgrown with reeds”. Kaitaz Agha was a renowned poet of the Divan, Bayraktar was the standard bearer and Kandil-seundiren was the lamp tenderer of the mosque [70]. Table 4.2 provides and overview of the changes in the names of the bastions through time.

Table 4.2 Names of bastions

4.7.2 Gates

During the Venetian period there were three entrance gates into the fortified city: Porta di S. Domenico after the abbey of St. Domenico situated nearby,³⁹ Porta dell’ proveditor over di sopra in honour of Proveditore (District Governor) Francesco Barbaro, and Porta Giulia over di sotti [41, 71, 72], the most important gate of the city, built by Giulio Savorgnano. The Ottomans changed these names into Paphos, Kyrenia and Famagusta gate respectively (see Fig. 4.3). The gate names indicated the city to which the roads passing through the gate would lead. Peristianis [52] mentions that there were also four bridges (a) Siniskaldou (Paphos Gate Bridge) named after a high Venetian commander , (b) The Holy Apostles, (c) Pilliris and (d) the Jewish bridge. There was also the bridge of Kiobru Pashi, the main bridge above the open sewage (Kotsirkas) running through the town [52].

Fig. 4.3

Famagusta Gate (Photograph from Costas and Rita Severis Foundation Archive, pht_HHH_066)

Under Ottoman rule the three gates granted control over entry into and exit from Nicosia. These gates closed after sunset preventing anyone from entering or leaving the city [25]. Upon the arrival of the British, Paphos Gate fell out of use as the new rulers proceeded to open the walls next to the Gate in order to facilitate transportation. The legitimization of power and authority can be seen in the British naming process in Nicosia. In an article published in the British press three months after the arrival of the British in Cyprus, Dixon proposed renaming “Paphos Gate”, outside of which the headquarters camp of High Commissioner Wolseley was built to “King Richard’s Gate”, since the new quarters would be built “on the grounds once occupied by Lion Heart’s men” [27]. Wolseley was reportedly excited about the idea of naming the new camp near the Governor’s House “Richard’s Camp.” By doing so, the names of Richard and Victoria would link Britain’s second arrival to the island with the first. Although the chain from Richard⁴⁰ to Victoria seemed long, according to the author, “England is an ancient country, and her sovereigns are connected with each other by unbroken lines” [27].

Dixon also suggested that Famagusta Gate, passing under Altun bastion, be named after Queen Victoria. The imaginary line starting from Queen Victoria’s Gate and ending at King Richard’s Gate would separate the city in half, creating two “half-spheres, Muslim and Christian”. This line, according to the author, “divides the two existing races and their rival creeds” [73]. The Great Mosque along with the Serai, the hall of justice, and the bazaar stood to the north of the divide, while the Archbishop’s palace, “the two churches of Santa Maria and Santa Antonio, the Levantine albergoes, the residences of the Greek moneylenders, the Triboti cloisters, the public bagnio, and the Aja Zava school” stood to the south [73].

On the surface, Dixon’s proposed division of Nicosia “in two half spheres” such that Muslim and Christians would be separated could be considered an application of British ‘divide and rule policy.⁴¹ However, closer inspection of the proposed division lends credence to its interpretation as a first attempt at the division of the city based on religious identity. Britain’s domination of space was justified historically through the “unbroken lines” of her sovereigns in Cyprus allowing her to set the context in which the “two existing races and their rival creeds” would be politicized. References to landmarks symbols that represent the religious identity of the two groups (Mosque, Archbishop’s palace) sought to materialize the Islamic and Orthodox identities in space. Symbols and notions of heritage were manipulated to create a sense of identity to which the two groups could respectively attach themselves.⁴²

Disregarding Dixon’s suggestion, the London Illustrated News reported that Famagusta Gate was renamed Channel Squadron Gate since it was the gate from which Admiral Lord John Hay passed with his staff, “escorted by a party of bluejackets and marines from her Majesty’s ship Minotaur” to take possession of Cyprus for Queen Victoria. The Paphos Gate, held by the marines, was renamed Minotaur Gate [74, 75]. The British perspective on the clash between Christianity and Islam, and, by extension, between East and West, is illustrated through Major Benjamin Donne’s description of Nicosia in 1881:

[Nicosia] is unique in one respect as being perhaps the only city in the East where Mahomedan and Christian religions are tolerated side by side. The old Cathedral of Santa Sophia is now a mosque and above the walls of the town Greek Church spires rise up, side by side with Muslim minarets, and in the busy and picturesque bazaars Greek and Turk are friendly mixed. [31]

The British, in their efforts to facilitate access to and from Nicosia, created a series of openings in the town walls. One such opening was a bridge constructed in May 1882 at the end of Ledra street (the then Michail Habas—Hj Dourmoush—Toghramajilar Market streets). The new cutting through the ramparts was intended not only to ease access for the local population but also provide a shortcut for British officials to reach government offices (Fig. 4.1) [76].

In June of the same year the boundaries of Nicosia were extended to form a circle drawn at a distance of 500 yards beyond the salient angles of the bastions of the fortifications [77]. The primary objective of these openings, as depicted in a map from 1912 (see Fig. 4.2) was to establish thorough communication between the different gates and cuttings of the walls with the old marketplace and the central features of the city. It is evident that the British made significant efforts to implement street planning in Nicosia. The new streets created through these efforts were aimed at improving accessibility and communication in the city.

4.8 Concluding Remarks

Dixon’s proposal for street-naming in Nicosia reflects the British attempt to legitimize their spatial domination through a constructed “Crusader heritage”. This practice of utilizing history for the purpose of legitimizing colonial power is not unique to Nicosia, as it was also employed in Jerusalem, where a committee headed by Ronald Storrs, the British Governor of Jerusalem and later of Cyprus, proposed street-names that illustrated the history of the city, instead of a specific communal heritage and political ideology, [79,80,81] focusing on the history of the Crusaders as “the former Christian-European rulers of Jerusalem” [82]. The façade of street-naming as a collective process undertaken in Nicosia and, to a larger extent, Jerusalem⁴³ masks the British agenda of imposing their authority by invoking historical and religious commemorations on the urban space. Despite their professed commitment to multiculturalism, multi-religiosity, and the histories of the two cities, the British sought to structure urban space according to their perception of mutual toleration between different religions, with the underlying goal of emphasizing British superiority. This effort to transform the two cities was based on the ideology propagated by the British although the manner of exerting control varied: Jerusalem was subjected to martial law [83], while the Governor’s power in Nicosia was restricted by the British desire to avoid upsetting the Ottoman government. While the British made openings in the city walls of Nicosia to facilitate access to areas where “Greeks and Turks” were “friendly mixed” this policy ultimately led to disputes over urban space and struggles for dominance among religious and national communities.