English: Sarayönü or Atatürk Square in North Nicosia in 1969

English: Kemal Atatürk Square. Under British rule, these were the Criminal Law Courts. Now within the Turkish sector of Nicosia, they are known as Lefkosa Hukuk Dairessi ( the Law Office, Nicosia). Right in the middle of the roundabout at the centre of the square is a grey granite column. Whilst everyone refers to it as the Venetian Column, it originally came from the temple of Jupiter in the ruins of the Roman city of Salamis, near Famagusta. The Venetians brought it from Salamis and placed it here in 1489, topping it with their trademark Lion of St Mark. The Ottomans removed the lion and knocked down the column in 1570, while the British put it up again in 1915, this time popping a copper globe on the top.