The foundation stone of St. Sophia Cathedral was laid in 1209, though the article notes claims of an earlier start by the Knights Templar. Archbishop Eustorge de Montaigu accelerated the work, and the church was described as largely complete by 1228. It was consecrated in 1326, and was still incomplete in 1347. It was the coronation church of the Lusignan kings. The article names no architect.
It is the largest and oldest surviving Gothic church in Cyprus. The interior measures 217 by 69 feet (66 by 21 m) and holds 2,500 worshippers. The choir has an ambulatory and no apse chapels, following Notre-Dame de Paris, and the transepts follow Poitiers Cathedral. Earthquakes and Genoese raids damaged it.
The Ottomans converted it to a mosque on September 15, 1570 and added the two minarets. It was renamed Selimiye in 1954 and is an active mosque. A restoration ran from 2019 to 2023. The article gives no visitor information.
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