Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, a structure built during the Lusignan Period, is located in Gazimağusa. The mosque, which has been renewed and maintained for many years, has managed to survive to this day in a very good condition.
It was built between 1298-1312 under the name of Saint Nicolas Cathedral, and the architectural designer of this structure is known as Bishop Baldwin Lambert. The date of construction of the cathedral, I/IX/1311, is also recorded on the southern wall of the structure. After the Lusignan Kings first wore the Cyprus Crown in St. Sophia Cathedral, they also wore the Jerusalem and Armenia Crowns in Saint Nicolas Cathedral.
Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque was severely damaged by cannon fire during the Ottoman siege of Famagusta, and after August 1, 1571, it was converted into a mosque by adding a mihrab and pulpit upon the order of Sinan Pasha, and Lala Mustafa Pasha was enthroned as II. He opened the mosque for worship with a sermon read in Sultan Selim's name.
The minaret located in the northwest of the mosque was built by the order of Selim II in 1572, and later, due to lightning and related dangers, it was demolished up to the original bell tower in 1930 and replaced with the current 110 or 115-foot-high minaret. Since the cathedral was converted into a mosque, it was known as 'Small Hagia Sophia', 'Famagusta Hagia Sophia' and 'Big Mosque'. However, on August 14, 1954, the Mufti of Cyprus Mehmet Dana Efendi changed these names to Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.
For a while, there was a cemetery around the mosque where those who were martyred during the conquest of Famagusta were buried. After this cemetery was cleaned in 1928, the remains of the bodies that were found were moved to the old cemetery outside the city walls, and only two tombs in the West courtyard of the mosque have survived from the cemetery to the present day. One of these is thought to belong to Es-Seyid Mehmet Ömer Efendi, the Mufti of Damascus from the Beni Adnan Tribe. The second tomb belongs to Mustafa Zühtü Efendi from Mağusa, who died on 22.2.1904.
In front of the mosque, there is a large cümbez tree, which was calculated to be 699 years old as of 2011.