The Crown of Cyprus

The northern part of the island falling between the Five Finger Mountain range and the Mediterranean  harbours Kyrenia (Girne),  the city that has the biggest tourism potential .having a width of 2,5 km and length of 150 km along side of Five Finger Mountain range the Kyrenia distirict has a vital importance especially in terms of tourism, with numerous accommodation facilities and restaurants.

Having a past of  1500 years, Kyrenia is also known as an active commercial center in the ancient times. It is best- known   spot is it is authentic harbour. Being a very beautiful and charming place, the Kyrenia  Harbour is the spot where the heart of the night of North Cyprus beats. The smells of food spreading  around during the summer nights, laughter, scent of the sea and sound from waves take you to a dreamland.

At the point where the harbour ends, a splendid building, Kyrenia castle, welcomes you with all it is grandeur. It was the Venetians who brought the castle , which was constructed  by the Romans for some and by the Lusignans for other , to it is present shape. Harbouring the shipwreck museum(one of the oldest wrecks of the world saved with it is cargo), the castle is being used nowadays for concerts and exhibitions.

If you wish to get a board view of Kyrenia and the entire region, St.Hilarion Castle is the most suitable location. Situated 850 metres above the sea level, the castle was originally built as a church by the Byzantines and then turned into a castle by the Lusignans in the 10^th century. This unique construction overlooks the entire Kyrenia region.

Besides the shipwreck museum in the castle; museum of folk arts, the Icon museum in the Archangelos Mikail  Church, fine art museum, Krisokava open air museum- rock quarries are nice spots for the enthustiasts.  Chrysopolitissa  Church , Panagia tou Potamu(Dereli mMeryem) church in Ozankoy, Antiphonitis Church near the Esentepe and Sourp Magar Armenia Monastery  are nice examples  of Christian Architecture, but the masterpiece is the Bellapais Abbey which dates back to 12^th century. This extraordinary example of Gothic Art houses the impressive annual classical music festival. Agha Djafer Pasha Mosque behind the harbour, Kazafana(Ozankoy) Mosque and Teke of Hz. Omer are places of Islamic cultural heritage.

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Tags: Crown, cyprus, cyprus holidays, Kyrenia, northern cyprus, OF, sea, THE, The Crown of Cyprus

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Cities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.