Panagia Chrysospiliotissa (Παναγία Χρυσοσπηλιώτισσα) is found near Kato Deftera village in Nicosia and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is believed to date to the early Christian period — first century AD to the seventh — and it sits inside a cave, which is very rare for a church in Cyprus. Hence the name: chryso, gold, and spilia, cave. The church was decorated with paintings, but over time they have suffered great damage.
The church holds its large religious festival every 15 August, the day of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
More sightseeing around Nicosia
Panagia Faneromeni Church
Once the capital’s largest church — Byzantine, Latin and neoclassical outside, frescoed wall to ceiling inside.
Laiki Geitonia
Restored lanes inside the walls, taverns and souvenir shops, and the city’s main tourist office.
Ayios Ioannis Lambadistis
Opposite Kalopanayiotis in the Marathasa valley — UNESCO-listed since 1985.
Athalassa National Forest Park
840 hectares of pine and eucalyptus on the capital’s edge, with running and cycling loops.