Nicosia

The earliest known external written reference to the settlement that later became Nicosia, appears in an Assyrian inscription from the reign of King Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BC), where it is recorded as Lidir on a clay prism dated to c. 672 BC. Lidir appears to have been the local form of the name and was later variously Hellenised as Ledra (Ancient Greek: Λήδρα, Lḗdra), Ledrae (Λέδραι, Lédrai), Ledroi (Λήδροι, Lḗdroi), and Ledron (Λεδρῶν, Ledrō̂n, and Λῆδρον, Lē̂dron). By late antiquity, early Christian sources recorded the location under several Greek names: Leuteon (Λευτεῶν, Leuteō̂n), Leucon (Λευκῶν, Leukō̂n), Leucotheon (Λευκοθέον, Leukothéon), Leucoi Theoi (Λευκοί Θεοί, Leukoí Theoí), and Leucopolis (Λευκούπολις, Leukoúpolis). …

Nicosia has been continuously inhabited since approximately 2500 BC, near the onset of the Bronze Age, when the first settlers established themselves in the fertile Mesaoria plain. The city-state of Ledra is likewise associated with the area of Nicosia, most Mycenaean-era ruins are found on the broad hill of Ayia Paraskevi, also known as Leondari Vounò located 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of central Nicosia. Ledra is said to have been one of the twelve kingdoms of ancient Cyprus established by the Achaeans after the end of the Trojan War. The kingdom was soon destroyed. A Cypriot vassal polity, transcribed as Lidir in a 672 BC Assyrian text, is generally identified with the remains found closer to the site of the modern city. Its ruler Onasagoras (Unasagusu in Assyria form) is recorded as having paid tribute to the Assyrian king Esarhaddon. …

Located in the rain shadow of the Troodos Mountains, Nicosia has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) characterised by low annual precipitation totals and average annual temperature. The city experiences long, hot to sweltering dry summers, and mild winters, with most of the rainfall occurring during winter. Winter precipitation is occasionally accompanied by sleet and, more rarely, snow. Snow accumulation is particularly rare; with last recorded events in 1950, 1974, 1997, 2015, and 2022. Light frost occasionally during winter nights. On 4 September 2020, Nicosia recorded a temperature of 46.2 °C (115.2 °F), the highest ever recorded in Cyprus. On 25 February 2025, Nicosia recorded −3.7 °C (25.3 °F), the lowest temperature in the city since 1983 when records began at the Athalassa meteorological station.