North Cyprus History

30 November, 2009
Kyrenia Harbour

Old Kyrenia and the Venetian Harbour

Kyrenia, with its picturesque harbour and adjacent castle is called the “Jewel of Cyprus”. It is, quite simply, exquisite! The town was probably founded circa tenth century BC and was one of the original city kingdoms. Its position on the […]
4 November, 2009
5 fingers

Five Finger Mountains

Called Pentadactylos in Greek. Beshparmak in Turkish, and Five Fingers in English. These are the three names by which the mountain range, that runs parallel to the north coast, are known, and there is one particular part of the range […]
5 November, 2009
turkish language

Turkish Language

Turkish is spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, and originates from Ottoman Turkish, which dates back nearly 1,200 years. The Ottoman Turkish language was based mainly on Arabic and Persian, but was replaced under one of Ataturk’s reforms in 1928, […]
25 October, 2009

Church of St. George of the Greeks

Church of St. George of the Greeks | Famagusta Built beside the small Byzantine church of St Symeon, the church of St. George was the Orthodox Cathedral. An elegant mix of Gothic and Byzantine styles it was intended to rival […]
25 October, 2009

Bellapais Abbey

Bellapais Abbey | Kyrenia The Abbey of Bellapais has drawn visitors to the island of Cyprus since medieval times when the abbey was built. From the pilgrims who trod the ancient paths in search of a miracle through to the […]
25 October, 2009

Panayia Kanakaria

The route to the monastery church of the Panayia Kanakaria is easy. From the main road after Kumyali look for the signs and following the directions to Ziyamet, Gelincik and Kaleburnu. After about two miles the church complex is on […]
3 December, 2009
Soli Theatre

Soli

About 2 kilometres west of Lefke is the ancient city of Soli. It is not difficult to find as the white roof that covers the basilica floor can be seen from the road, but the turning is well hidden and […]
25 October, 2009

The Martinengo Bastion

The Martinengo Bastion | Famagusta Situated on the north west corner of the city this bastion is diamond shaped and was considered by the Ottoman forces to be impregnable. It is constructed on top of solid rock and maybe for […]
25 October, 2009

St. Barnabas – Patron Saint of Cyprus

Standing on a slight rise and overlooking the huge necropolis of Salamis is the twin- domed church dedicated to St. Barnabas, patron saint of Cyprus. This church, now used as an icon museum with the ancillary monks’ cells housing an […]
22 November, 2009
religion

Religion

The religion of North Cyprus is predominantly Muslim though the Turkish Cypriots are not particularly zealous in the pursuit of their religion. There are very few covered women here and those that are will usually be from Turkey. On an […]