 | Kyrenia Things To Do | Tips 11 - 20 of 32 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (32) Another ancient city and scene of centuries of conflict. Once one of the wealthiest cities of the mediaeval world it was described by H.V. Morton, the English travel writer and journalist, as " one of the most remarkable ruins in the world."
It was here in a small shabby office the elderly man who was the full time volunteer Information Officer told us, with tears in his eyes, his story.
He had worked as an archaeologist with special responsibility for the preservation of ancient sites in the care of the, then, Ministry of Works and Ancient Monuments, under the British administration. After that period ended the budget was drastically reduced and he worked in the archives department. Now retired he devotes his time to keepng the office open and tidy, and receiving the few visitors who come. He was a wealth of information and gave us the history of the 14th Century Cathedral of St Nicholas consecrated in 1326 and now the Mosque, which he encouraged us to enter. We were shown old prints of 16thC. Famagusta. He pointed out the great fig tree outside the building, believed to be of the same age. He found a couple of dusty leaflets about the excavtions at Soli other advice about what else we must see. Finally he thanked us for our visit, hoped we - and more British visitors - would come again to his beloved island.
It was a poignant moment as he stood at the door waving goodbye as we left. Leave a Comment
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The retired archaeologist we met in Famagusta told us we must not leave Cyprus without seeing the ancient remains of earlier civilisations at Soli and Vouni.
So we headed westwards to find Soli, the ancient city North west of Lefke. Its earliest foundations date back to the 6th Century B.C. The remains that can be seen today are mainly Roman.
Near the empty car park we found a small Ticket Office. Admission was 2, 000,000 TL. We - my husband, brother and sister in law, were the only visitors that day to the site.
There was no Guide, no lttle map to direct us to different parts of the site, which includes the remains of the ancient city; a 4th century basilica - where we found the staggeringly beautiful mosaics; further up the hillside is the the Roman amphitheatre, which seated 3,500 people. It was excavated in the 1930's and, according to our Guide Book ," over efficiently restored by a Swedish expedition".
Higher up still are the remains of Vouni , a citadel-palace.
Much of the stone from the site of the city was plundered in the 19th century to build the quays at Port Said and the Suez Canal. Our archeologist friend told us that he had last worked on the site in 1974 and no work had taken place since then because of the lack of resources to carry out the work.
A very interesting and rather sad visit to a neglected site of great historical interest and artistic beauty. Leave a Comment
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There are plenty of place to visit west of Kyrenia and along the way you will pass some of the best golden sand beaches in the island. There was relatively little sea-side development 8 years ago but I have been told things are changing now.
We arrived in Guzelyurt, after a very pleasant coffee stop at an attractive small hotel restauarant in the Bay. It was obviously a popular place with off duty UN forces who we saw there having a swim in the clear blue waters.
We went first to the Market which had a real bazaar feel about it and bought some workaday leather goods - belts and shopping bags, all still in every day use. It is a sizeable town in the middle of a fruit growing area particularly citrus fruits.
We then went to a large and rather stylish restaurant nearly opposite the market for lunch. It was very good but we were embarrassed by the low cost. At that time millions of Turkish lira converted into toy money pounds sterling.
After lunch the sight-seeing. We dutifully went to see the monastery of Ayios Mamas, one of the very few examples of a Greek Orthodox church in northern Cyprus that still stands as a church, many have become mosques or put to other uses.
As we crossed the courtyard after leaving we had a view of a recently built mosque through the arch of the cloisters. There seemed then to be a harmony in the juxtaposition..... Leave a Comment
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The Castle dominates the harbour and is one of the best preserved in the Levant region. It demonstrates again the building skills of the Byzantnie, Lusignan, and Venetian eras and their lust for power and domination. More recently, up until 1974, the British used part of the castle as a police training school and prison.
The Kyrenia Shipwreck Museum is housed within the castle walls, the most important exhibit being one of the oldest wrecks ever recovered from the sea. The ship is believed to be 2300 years old and was salvaged in1969 by an American university team. It was 47ft long and made from pine,coated in lead. The preserved timbers of the hull together with a full-sized replica of the ship, and exibits of items and containers carried can also be seen. Leave a Comment Address: The Harbour Girne
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Kyrenia Harbour is a classical U shape, and is bordered at one end by the castle, and at the other by the wall that blocks the sea. All the way around these two objects are cafes, restaurants and small souvenir shops. Take a gentle stroll around the harbour looking in to the restaurants and smelling what is cooking. If you weren't hungry when you started, you will be pretty quickly. Shish kebabs and fish come highly recommended! Before you stop however keep walking all the way round and see what is to offer and what has the best views. Leave a Comment Address: Kyrenia waterfront!
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If you stroll all the way round the harbour in Kyrenia so that you have left the castle at the far end of the harbour, and then you set off along the seafront. It is not uncommon to see fishermen trying their luck in the sea.
They can be quite friendly and seem to be fishing as much for the banter as for the fish.
There is also a good view up the seafront from here. Leave a Comment Directions: On the seafront just along from the harbour
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Getting up early and dashing about to see all there is to see can be a bit tiring for wrinklies so we build in a couple of "do nothing very much days" as well.
Relaxing one day in the garden, looking at the pounds & pounds of oranges and lemons which fell every day from the trees -far more than we could ever eat - spurred us into action. A search of the kitchen cupboards for any old jars, then to the corner shop to buy sugar. The shopkeeper was puzzled as to why we were buying so much but when we explained he produced more empty jars with a kindly look that suggested he thought the English were possibly a little mad.
Then back to the garden to set up the Marmalade Factory.
Our kids laughed when they saw the picture but happily scoffed the produce! Leave a Comment
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This hotel has quite a lot of history associated with it. Lawrence Durrell (who was a brother of the better known Gerald) the author (of the book Bitter Lemons written about the problems between the English, Greeks and Turks in Cyprus) and schoolteacher had links to this hotel.
It is common to see it in hotel brochures, and the prices are acknowledged to be pretty high for what you get. My advice is if you want to see it, just pop in and get a drink and wander about inside for a few minutes. Leave a Comment Address: Kyrenia
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A short distance from Kyrenia is the village of Bellapais.
A ruined abbey commands a wonderful view down to Kyrenia. It was in Bellapais that Lawrence Durrell lived for a time, as described in his book Bitter Lemons. In the village is the ‘Tree of Idleness’, so-called because anyone who sits beneath it is struck by indolence. Fortunately, a neighbouring cafe has adopted the name, and since it has its own tree, many passing tourists are saved from a life of indolence by the fact that they are sitting under the wrong tree. Leave a Comment
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Down bz the harbour, as you leave the marina area by walking along the seafront, you will come across an interesting statue of a man (president ataturk I believe) - which is actually not a statue but a peace monument.
The inscription reads: yurtta sulh cihanda sulh
This means: peace at home, peace in the world. Leave a Comment Address: seafontDirections: a few minutes away from the old harbour
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on April 19, 2008
on November 15, 2004
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on February 2, 2008
