Nicosia City Walls Ride

Join the Velespeed Bike Team for a leisurely ride through the streets of Nicosia as part of the our annual Bike Month activities.

The Venetian Walls are a series of defensive walls which surround the capital city of Nicosia in Cyprus. The first city walls were built in the Middle Ages, but they were completely rebuilt in the mid-16th century by the Republic of Venice. The walls are still largely intact, and are among the best preserved Renaissance fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean. They are a major tourist attraction.

The first walls surrounding Nicosia in the 14th century were built by the Franks and enclosed a much larger area than the 16th Venetian Walls that still surround the old town. When the Venetians occupied Cyprus, they decided to demolish the Frankish Walls because they were old and did not offer adequate defence against new weapons such as artillery. The Frankish Walls were also too big to be manned by the Venetian army and too close to the hills in the east and southeast of the city.

Forming a circle, the walls built by the Venetians were fortified by eleven heart - shaped bastions and protected by an 80 metres wide moat. They were built of mud - brick, with the lower part only buttressed by stone. When the Ottomans occupied Nicosia, they repaired the walls and covered the upper part with stones. 

The ride is around 5 km long and goes through quite a few famous touristic spots like Kyrenia Gates, historic Ledra Palace Hotel and others.

The ride will be postponed in the case of heavy rain. Announcements regarding rain will be posted on velespeed.net

There is no registration or charge for the tour -- just show up and enjoy!

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org