Deneia/Denya Mosque​

Location and historic background​

The mosque is located in the village of Deneia in the district of Nicosia. The mosque was the main Muslim religious building of the region, built during the Ottoman period and renovated in the late 19th or early 20th century. The information we have about its history is very limited and the only written evidence is from the archival documentation repair work, which took place in 1890 and 19071.According to Bagiskan Tuncer’s book “Ottoman, Islamic and Islamized Monuments in Cyprus”, by the side of the mosque was a house for the imam while the enclosed area at the east side of the mosque, was a cemetery. Some information from the current habitants of Deneia says that there was a building at the surrounding area of the mosque that formed the Muslim elementary school. The mosque was probably demolished in the first decade of the 20th century in order to build a new one. From the British period until today the mosque is in ruin. Despite the lack of historic information about the mosque, it remains one of the rare remaining ruins of the Ottoman architecture preserved in the region of Nicosia. It holds great historical, architectural and cultural significance.