The most powerful castle in the most unrecognized territory
Castle in the city of Kyrenia. View from the sea. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
And leave the Greek part with a clean neck,
Here the prices are lower, the beaches are better,
Mountains romantic steeps,
Roads are passable, casinos are everywhere
The remains of the fortresses are like a miracle...
Contemporary poetry - maiolin
Ancient castles and fortresses. Today's material "about castles" will begin with "actual News”, although the first one is not news for a long time, since the fact that Western leaders are not going to recognize the results of the referendum in the Donbass, and these territories will remain so “unrecognized” and, in general, is known to everyone.
The second news is less known: one private airline is going to start flights from Russia to Northern Cyprus, and the Turkish president will “bless” the first flight. And, by the way, this is news of the same plan. Because the Republic of Northern Cyprus has also not been recognized since 1974, and the Russians could get there, but only through Istanbul by air or by sailing there by ferry. Now the road will be straight...
Castle in the city of Kyrenia. Great bird's eye view. Photo northcyprusinternational.com
And there is something to see there, and just relax is very good. The only trouble is that with a stamp in the passport of Northern Cyprus, you will then not be allowed to enter Southern Cyprus, and if, upon arriving in Southern Cyprus, you say at the airport that you are also going to Northern Cyprus, then ... you will be deported back immediately. No wonder the Arabs say that the offending tongue is cut off along with the head. But on the other hand, once you are in South Cyprus, nothing will stop you ... to go to the North with a tour. Politics is politics, but give me money!
Entrance gate. Author's photo
Already inside the castle. Author's photo
So the author of this material, when he arrived in Southern, universally recognized Cyprus in 2014, immediately heard from the guide of the travel company that we could go north without any problems, but ... for 56 euros per person.
Here we must remember an important rule: never rely 100% on the assurances of Russian travel companies and do not buy into their "tempting" offers. So I didn’t either, and went around Ayia Napa in search of a local tourist center. I found ... Bulgarian, where there was not a single Bulgarian, everyone spoke Russian, and the same excursion cost already 26 euros!
Tomb of Admiral Sadiq Pasha. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
And everything was just fine, the guide was Russian, all the tourists too, and in addition, they showed us a lot of things. Of course, I was most interested in the castles: the castle of St. Hilarion, the “castle of Othello”, the fortress of Famagusta and ... the huge and powerful fortress of the Venetians in Kyrenia.
“And in our yard ... round kernels lie!” Author's photo
“Here they are, very big!” Author's photo
The child was given to me by my mother for scale. It is exactly 90 cm! Author's photo
We imagine ancient castles and fortresses mainly from textbooks. But in reality, many of them are badly destroyed and do not make a very strong impression. Unlike them, the fortress in Kyrenia still amazes with its monumentality and beauty.
U-shaped corner tower. Author's photo
And this is an embrasure that looks at the sole of this tower and can cover the approach to it with fire! Author's photo
And it so happened that during the years of the reign of Isaac Komnenos, the troops of King Richard I of England landed in Kyrenia, who sailed here for the bride and sister who were in captivity at Komnenos. It is clear that Richard won, that the fortress was in his hands, but since he did not see any benefit for himself in it, he sold it to the Templars. And those, thinking, sold it to Guy de Lusignan, the king of Jerusalem.
Downstairs, all in carpets and hookahs are “pirate” brigs for riding tourists. "Come on, darling, you won't regret it!" Author's photo
The Lusignan dynasty ruled here for more than 300 years, and under them the Kyrenia Castle turned into one of the outposts of the island of Cyprus. In the castle, they erected the Byzantine chapel of St. George, as well as other buildings.
The thickness of the walls at the tower is impressive! Author's photo
And then the Lusignan kingdom fell, and Kyrenia, like all of Cyprus, was in the possession of the Venetian Republic. And it was precisely under the rule of the Venetians that the Kyrenia castle (or fortress) acquired its modern appearance. So, looking at the fortress, it should be remembered that we have before us a perfectly preserved example of precisely the Venetian military architecture.
The walls between the towers are just as thick. Author's photo
On the walls you can get around the castle around the perimeter. It is very interesting! Author's photo
True, in 1570 the castle garrison surrendered without a fight to the Turkish troops led by Admiral Sadiq Pasha, and when he died, the sarcophagus with his remains was placed in a watchtower near the entrance, and ... he is still here.
View from the wall of the city and the castle of St. Hilarion over there, in the distance, at the very top of the highest mountain! Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
The year 1878 was very important for Cyprus. In that year, the island became a possession of the British crown. And the zealous British immediately placed a local police station in it, since there were more than enough cells for detainees in this castle.
Dome of the chapel of St. George. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
Time passed, and in 1950 the fortress became the property of the Department of Antiquities of Kyrenia, and in 1974, when the city became part of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the castle was turned into a museum and became one of the centers of mass pilgrimage for tourists from various countries.
On the buildings of the castle, you can study Gothic architecture and construction features! Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
If you look at it from above, you can see that it has a simple rectangular shape with towers at the corners. The fortress walls are perfectly preserved and even today they amaze with their impressive size. No wonder the Kyrenia Castle was considered an absolutely impregnable stronghold.
Here the arch is folded correctly - “in the castle” with the help of the upper stone cut into a cone. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
But these arches, apparently, were built in a hurry. They are folded incorrectly - "to the seam." Although, apparently, in this case, everything was decided by the shape of the arch. So maybe that's how it was originally intended. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
The north-eastern part of the castle overlooks the sea, and from the west, from the coast, it is surrounded by a deep moat.
Cafe in the yard. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
We go inside, and the first thing we see and what catches our eye is a huge courtyard. There is a cafe in the courtyard where you can have a snack and refresh yourself in the heat, which was very important for me personally that day. And here there was one funny incident that clearly characterizes the local life of the unrecognized republic.
I ordered a bottle of Czech beer, and since I didn’t have small money, I gave a piece of paper for 50 euros. In the south, such a bottle then cost 3,5. So I sit and drink beer and wait for change. And there is no surrender! I look - the girl who brought me beer, the hostess and the owner himself, a colorful such a Turk, entered into a heated argument regarding my paper and now they calculate something on a calculator and on their fingers. Although, it would seem, what is there to argue and consider - you have to pay. And then they apologize to me for the delay ... 49 euros in change! It is clear that they sold this bottle to me not at a loss. And it turns out that they are not recognized by anyone, and beer from the Czech Republic costs 1 euro. And in the recognized by all Southern Cyprus - the same bottle - 3,5 ...
These are the figures inside the castle you will meet. The weapon is very funny. Yes, there were such, depicted in miniatures, but you can’t copy them directly from them. It’s still possible to shoot from “this” somehow, but how to aim it at a target? Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
Well, since we were inside, then, firstly, you can go to the chapel of the XII century, and secondly, climb the fortress walls and go around them around the perimeter, which is interesting in itself, since a beautiful view of the sea opens from the wall , mountains and harbor, where you can see a lot of dazzling white yachts, fishing boats and specially built antique ships - to carry tourists, and all this against the backdrop of the clearest blue sky and bright blue sea.
Truly, the coolest place in the castle is the Shipwreck Museum. Yes, and be sure to look at this arch, under which you will have to go to it! Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
You need to climb this staircase, go along the balcony and enter the door ... Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
And it will be even colder there, and you will see this... The wreckage of an ancient ship. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
Having become quite sober from the heat, you can escape from it inside the unusual Shipwreck Museum. It is here that the remains of one of the most ancient ships, wrecked in the 14th century BC, are located. e. The ship, 4,4 meters long and 1965 meters wide, sailed from Greece to Cyprus, but either a storm or a pirate attack prevented it from taking the cargo to its destination. The ship was found in XNUMX.
Cargo from this very ship. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
Moreover, the most surprising thing is that, in addition to the wooden skeleton itself, even its cargo was preserved on the ship - amphoras with wine, almonds and millstones for the mill. The room with the remains of the ship is not just cool. It is really cold there, so you can quickly recover. In the same place, under the Gothic vaults, there is also the Museum of the Ancient Dwellings of the Neolithic Age, where you can see the reconstruction of the dwellings of the then aborigines and their dishes. Excavations took place 9 km from Kyrenia and showed that people lived here for a very long time.
By the way, if you want to see how this ship was recreated on the basis of this find, so to speak, “in kind”, you will have to go to the south side, to the Museum of the Sea, which is located in Ayia Napa!
Then you can and should head to the corner round tower, where it is not only cool, but where you can also see many installations with figures of soldiers of different times who defended this castle. The figures are ordinary mannequins, obviously not from Tussauds, but overall not bad. The most important thing here is that over your head you will have a tower as high as a modern five-story building, a staircase leading from top to bottom in a spiral and walls that are just incredibly thick!
A couple of figures from the Museum of Torture. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
There is also… Museum of Torture. Of course, when this fortress belonged to the Lusignans, there was both a prison and a torture chamber - everything was as it should be in that terrible time. And the mannequins in this museum depict very real scenes of those times. But it’s impossible to look at them without ... laughter. And to understand why - just look at the photos here.
But this figure simply cannot cause anything but laughter! Some alien has been caught and is being tortured! Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
However, a bit of humor never hurts, primarily because the atmosphere of the real Middle Ages here feels like you really ended up in it, and it's worth a lot. By the way, the entrance to the castle is paid, but the ticket is inexpensive.
Two flags are proudly flying over the castle: Turkish and the unrecognized republic of TRNC. Photo cyprusbutterfly.com.cy
PS
The author expresses his deep gratitude to the administration of the site Cyprus butterfly for permission to use his photographs.
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