Shacolas Tower - Nicosia

Shacolas tower is the tallest building in the old town of Nicosia and is one of the tallest in the district. The decision to make the 11^th floor of the tower into a museum – observatory was proven to be correct. Many locals and foreigners go the tower to view the capital with binoculars and telescopes.

The informative blueprints with dates along with information give the visitor a tour of the historical buildings in the town, the churches, the schools, alleys and its avenues. From the tower the divided capital seems to be whole as the division line is hidden within these beautiful old buildings.  Viewing the town so well with binoculars, one can see the open wounds of the town:  the guns, the soldiers in their stations, the holes from the 1974 occupation, and the Turkish flag on Pentadaktylos Mountain.

From the tower one can see the four points of the horizon. A comparison of the southern and northern part of Nicosia is inevitable. In the old town one can see the Archbishop Palace, the Faneromeni church, the Faneromeni Gymnasium, the church of Archangelos Michael Trypioti and many other historical buildings. In the occupied part of Nicosia, one can make out the Agia Sofia church, mosques and the Lydra Palace hotel in the dead zone.

From the free part of Nicosia, one can see the tall modern buildings, the Freedom square and a panorama of Lydra Street, the most significant shopping road in Nicosia.

On the sixth floor of the Shacolas Tower, there is a modern café which serves food, as well as large windows from which there is a great view towards all directions of the city.