SYNTACTIC COMPARISON OF CYPRUS PORT CITIES : Famagusta and Limassol 042

Water was an important natural resource in the growth of early settlements and it offered many advantages for cities in time. As the availability of water affected the location and the size of the older settlements, the waterfront settlements had always different characteristics throughout the world. The existence of water has also played an important role for “defensibility” and “marketing”. Ports, which are gateway to the outside world of the cities located on the waterfront, are the dominant factors in defence, economic activity and cultural exchange. Cyprus, in the middle of Eastern Mediterranean, is an island whose economy laid on sea trade since Prehistoric times. As this research suggests that spatial pattern of port cities are interrelated with socio-economic, political and socio-cultural parameters; the aim of the study is to reveal the spatial pattern characteristics of Cyprus port cities by analysing the physical layout and syntactic characteristics. Through the prior analyses of Famagusta and Limassol port cities, it is observed that they present different spatial expansions and port city characteristics related both with the location of the port and different development dynamics on two sides of the island. Within this context, this paper deals with the comparative analysis of two major port cities of Cyprus Island: Famagusta and Limassol through diachronic settlement layouts. Spatial pattern analysis of the cities is examined by highlighting the port-city interrelationship through the measurements of the physical and visual accessibility regarding the street layout, public open spaces and the coastline. The interactions of the cities with their ports and coastlines focusing on 19th century in comparison to present day are discussed.