Famagosta, Or Famagusta (Anc. Arsinoe; Turk. Mausa), a seaport town of the island of Cyprus, on the E. coast, about 12 m. N. W. of Cape Grego; pop. about 800. It is about two miles in circumference, and is little more than a confused mass of ruins, the ancient streets being choked up and the buildings fallen into decay; but the fortifications erected by the Genoese and Venetians are in a good state of preservation, and the cannon mounted by the latter still defend its walls. Of the 200 churches which it formerly contained, but a few ruined ones remain. The Latin cathedral of St. Nicholas, now a mosque, is a fine specimen of mediaeval architecture. In it the Lu-signans were crowned kings of Jerusalem, and many interesting monuments are still to be seen in its interior. On the N. side of the town are bomb-proofs and cannon founderies. There are but two gates, one on the south and one opening toward the port. The harbor is narrow and its entrance is shallow, but there is good anchorage before the town in eight fathoms of water. Without the walls is the suburb of Varoskia, which contains most of the population. The surrounding country is bleak and barren.

About 5 m. to the north are the ruins of ancient Salamis.-The original city was one of those built by Ptolemy Phila-delphus in honor of his sister Arsinoe. After the battle of Actium it was called by Augustus Fama Augusta. It was of great importance during the crusades, and it was there that Guy de Lusignan received the crown of Cyprus in 1191 from Richard I. of England. It was taken by the Genoese in 1373, and in 1489 by the Venetians, under whom it became a rich and powerful city. In 1571 it fell into the hands of the Turks, after a siege of four months, in which it was nearly destroyed; and in 1735 an earthquake completed its ruin.