It is the amalgamation of two churches, one dedicated to St. Nicholas of the English and the other to The Blessed Virgin Mary. Look at the two north facing doors. The one to the east has a carving of St. Nicholas and the one to the west a carving of the dormition of the Blessed Virgin. At one time this was the Orthodox Metropolitan building for Nicosia and underwent a change of use when the Ottomans took control. It became known as “Bedestan” and has been used through different periods as a flour market, a textile warehouse and a general purpose covered market before falling into ruin and disuse. There are many other buildings all around the Cathedral precinct that once had an ecclesiastical purpose, among them the 14 th C <u>Chapter House</u> is used today as a restaurant and meeting place. Also in the area are the <u>Sultan’s Library</u> that was used to house the collection of books given by the Sultan Mahmoud II, (the building is currently empty and rarely open for viewing) and the <u>Lapidary Museum</u> at the e eastern side of the precinct where there is a collection of carved stones from a variety of ancient sites and long ruined buildings. Opening hours should coincide with normal museum times but tend to fluctuate.
