BELLAPAIS ABBEY
The present day name is the corrupt form of the Abbaye de la Paix or
the Abbey of Peace. The building is regarded as a masterpiece of
Gothic art, and the most beautiful Gothic building in the Near East.
The first monks who were known to have settled here were Augustinians
who had to flee from Jerusalem
when the city fell to Selahaddin Eyyubi in 1187. It is known that the
original construction was built between 1198-1205, and a large part of
the present day complex was constructed during the rule of Lusignan King
Hugh III (1267-1284). The cloisters and the refectory were built during
the reign of Hugh IV (1324-1359). Following the Ottoman conquest the
monks were turned out and the building was given to the Greek Orthodox
Church. The monastery begins with a gate, whose tower is a later
addition, and a forecourt. The church which is situated on one side
of the courtyard is the best preserved part of the monument and dates
from the 13th century.
The murals which have survived above its facade are thought to be from
the 15th century. The forecourt leads to cloisters of 18 arches. Under
one of the northern arches there are two Roman sarcophagi which once
served as lavabo. The door by the sarcophagus leads to the refectory
of the monks. The marble lintel above the door contains the set of
coats of arms of the royal quarterings of Cyprus, Jerusalem and the
Lusignans. This is an exquisite sample of Gothic architecture and the
finest room in the monastery. The room contains a pulpit for
addressing the monks during their meals. Six windows in the north
wall which illuminate the room are reinforced by a rose window in
the eastern wall. A door in the western wall leads to the kitchen
and cellar built under the refectory. The rooms between the refectory
and kitchen are thought to have once served as lavatories.
The east side of the Inner courtyard was occupied by the chapter
house and work rooms (undercroft). The first of these functioned
as the administration office of the abbey and retains its interesting
Gothic stone carving: a man with a double ladder on his back, another
man represented between two sirens, a woman reading, two beasts
attacking a man, a woman with a rosary, a monkey and a cat in the
foliage of a pear tree under which a man holding a shield is seen,
and a monk wearing a cloak. The column standing at its centre is
thought to have come from an early Byzantine church. The rooms of
the monks occupied the second floor above this section. A pair of
stairs on the south of the inner courtyard lead to the treasury room
in the north-west corner of the monastery.
THE CASTLE OF GIRNE (KYRENIA) & FAMOUS HARBOUR
The castle of Girne, one of the most impressive and poweful castles
to have survived since the middle ages, was supposed to
have been built to protect the city from pirates in the 7th century. The
remnants left from the Roman age show that the history of Girne castle
harks back to even older times. Written findings mention Girne castle,
and that King Richard of England had captured the island
during the Crusades in 1191. It is known that the castle of Girne
had been subjected to changes during the sovereignty of French
Luzignans lasting for 300 years. The castle was heavily demolished by
the attack of Genovese in 1373. The Venetians rebuilt the castle in
order to gain protection from the Ottoman fleets. New city walls and
round towers were added during this term. When the castle was finished,
the church of Saint George that was used by Knights Templar and was
supposedly built in 1100, was within the city walls.
The castle is reached by a narrow bridge built over a deep ditch, which
was used as an inner moat filled with water until 1400.
The figures of three lions standing on their back paws on the vault
of the inner door were made by Luzignans. The tomb is seen when entering
through the door, belonging to Algerian Sadik Pasa, Ottoman Admiral
who died during the capture of Cyprus in 1570. Today the Venetian Tower
(in the southwest), Luzignans Tower (in the northwest), and the prisons
of Luzignan period were restored as animations. Also, sunken,
compositions belonging to Vrysi Neolithic village taking place 10 km to the east of Girne, findings, animations of tombs found in Kirni
village during Early and Middle Bronze Age, and Sunk Ships Museum are
all open as exhibitions.
THE CHURCH OF ARKHANGELOS (ICON MUSEUM)
Arkhangelos Church, down in the historical yacht harbour,was built in
1860 and is worth seeing. The tower that was added after the church was
built is a sign point that can be seen from every part of Girne.
Here is a museum that shows the many splendid icons that were collected
from Girne and its environs.
THE MUSEUM OF FOLK ARTS
Within the historical yacht harbour of Girne, a house of the 18th
century now serves as folk museum. Olive oil presses, primitive ploughs,
cubes, a wooden threshing sled, agricultural tools, a loom for
weaving, pulley wheels are exhibited in this museum. Upstairs
through wooden stairs from the entrance hall, ancient garments,
table cloths, head scarfs,woollen socks, wedding dresses, carved trousseau chests, silver
embroidery bed covers, cushions, bedsteads, wooden boards and
window roll-down shutters are also exhibited.
SAINT HILARION CASTLE
The castle is named after St. Hilarion, a hermit monk who fled
from persecution in the Holy Land and lived and died in a cave
on the mountain.
Later in the 10th century the Byzantines built a church and
monastery here. Along with Kantara and Buffavento, St. Hilarion
Castle was originally built as a watch tower to give warning of
approaching Arab pirates who launched a continuous series of
raids on Cyprus and the coasts of Anatolia from the 7th to the
10th centuries. Some 400 years after it was first built, the
castle became a place of refuge and also a summer residence for
the Lusignans. When the Venetians captured Cyprus in 1489, they
relied on Kyrenia, Nicosia and Famagusta for the defence of the
island and St. Hilarion was neglected and fell into oblivion.
The castle consisted of three wards on different altitudes,
each with its cisterns and storage rooms. The first and lowest
of these was used to accommodate the garrison and horses.
It began with a barbican and its main gate and other walls,
which are reinforced by horseshoe-shaped towers, were built
originally by the Byzantines in the 11th century. The ruins
of the stables where the animals were kept and the water
cisterns which were an invaluable water source during the long medieval
sieges- have survived to the present day. The entrance of the
main gateway of the middle castle, which consisted of a church,
Belvedere barrack rooms and a four-storey royal apartment,
was closed with a drawbridge. Of the church of St. Hilarion only
its apse has survived.
The refectory which served as the dining hall for the
Lusignan nobles is the largest room of the surviving ruins.
When the weather is clear enough,the Kyrenia range and the
Mediterranean and even the snow-capped Taurus mountains of
Anatolia some 100 km north are visible. Beyond the royal
apartments there is a large water tank to collect the winter
rain. After a steep windy climb access to the upper castle
is gained by a Lusignan archway guarded by a tower. The
courtyard of the upper
castle rests under the natural protection of the twin summits,
some 730 m above the sea. These two peaks have given the
mountain its first name Didymos (Greek for "twin"), and from
which the Crusaders derived the corrupted name of Dieu d'Amour.
Two cisterns sunk into the rocky courtyard supplied water to
the upper castle. The rooms on the east side served as kitchens
and waiting rooms. The royal apartments occupied the western
side of the Courtyard.
From the gallery, which was originally in a basement, two
Gothic tracery windows, one with two stone windows seats on
either side, and thus known as the "Queen's Window", have
survived. The window offers a beautiful view of the village
of Karmi. A set of rough steps leads to the uppermost section
of the castle known as the Tower of Prince John. Tradition
has it that Prince John of Antioch, having been convinced
that they were plotting against him threw his Bulgarian
bodyguards to their death.
THE MUSEUM OF SUNKEN SHIP
The sunken ship exhibited in the castle of Girne was built in
389 BC and was 80 years old when Sinking. About 400 amphoras,29
basalt millstones, about 9000 almonds were found in
this sunken ship that was thought to be a cargo ship during
Hellenistic ages after the death of Alexander. About 300 pieces
of lead shows the ship was used for fishing. This sunken ship was
about 1.5 km near off Gime, at depth of 18 m and was found by sponge
fisherman in 1965. It was taken out of water by experts
from Pennsylvania University.
It is 15 m in length, made of Aleppo pine. The wooden surface
of the ship is coated with a strong lacquer, to protect against
Mediterranean wood-boring maggots. The kitchen utensils, wooden
spoons, olive oil bottles, glasses,saltcellars show how the ship's crew
lived fload
Weather in Cyprus