Castles have always been very popular tourist places. Many of them boast a collection of armor, weapons, or antique furniture. And of course, each castle has its own fascinating history.
Ancient castles of Northern Cyprus. This part of history is covered with a great veil of secrets and all kinds of folk legends. But still, we know a piece of history. For example, the Kyrenia fortress served as the residence of Isaac Komnenos. He took refuge in it from Richard the Lionheart. Or, for example, the events of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy “Othello” took place in Cyprus. According to which the Venetian commandant Othello strangled his wife Desdemona out of jealousy. Heat tea and take delicious buns – we tell the most interesting stories and all kinds of horror stories of Northern Cyprus 🙂
Vouni Castle
From a bird’s eye view, where the remains of the Vouni Castle are located, a beautiful panorama of the Gulf of Guzelyurt opens. To be honest, no one still knows what this place was called in ancient times. For example, the name “Vouni” in Greek means “high hill”. The castle itself was erected at the beginning of the 5th century B.C. by the ruler Marion. The castle made it possible to cortroll the situation in the city of Soli, the majority of whose inhabitants were anti-Persian. Later, both the kingdom and the royal dynasty of Marion were destroyed by the Athenian commander Cimon. And Vouni fell under the rule of the Greek dynasty and was destroyed during the wars.
To date, impressive remains have survived, consisting of many different “rooms”, among which were the royal chambers and baths. Archaeologists have found gold and silver jewelry, dishes and a significant number of silver coins that belonged to the kings of ancient Cyprus. For example, the ruler of Marion Doxandros and his heir son Sasmas. These coins were minted 2300 years ago. The inscriptions on them are made in the language of ethno-Cypriots and have not yet been deciphered. An interesting fact is that lead pipes were used in the bath of the fortress. This is a technical innovation that came from Persia to Cyprus and subsequently came to ancient Greece.
Bufavento Castle
The beautiful Bufavento Castle is located at an altitude of 940 meters above sea level. In the middle of virgin nature, there is an amazing view of Lefkoşa. Believe me, what you see is breathtaking. To get to the fortress, you have to overcome the path of the “snake mountain”. This is the habitat of the viper. It is a rock that looks like a huge snake with something in its mouth. This place also has its own legend. One day the Lord spoke to a rebellious serpent and said, “From now on, mankind must rule this earth.” The Serpent King shouted angrily, “I will not allow anyone to be the Head of my land. I will devour anyone who comes here and come what may.” But by order of the Almighty, people began to come, and the Serpent King felt that he was being pushed out and continued to devour everyone who entered his territory. But the Lord turned the Serpent into stone. To this day, approaching the mountain, you can meet snakes guarding the mountain.
The Bufavento Castle was built by the Byzantines during the wars with the Arabs. During the conquest of Cyprus by King Richard I of England, the “Lionheart” hid his daughter in Buffavento Castle. Guillaume subsequently took her to the castle of St. Hilarion, where he spent several days with her before handing her over to King Richard. In 1368, King Peter I of Cyprus ordered the transfer to the fortress of the unfortunate John Visconti, who had informed the king about his wife’s pranks in Buffavento. Only 2 rooms have survived to this day. Yes, and even then in a dilapidated state. One room is consecrated in the name of St. Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople. And the other one is in honor of St. Helena.
Kyrenia Fortress
People have always lived near the harbor of Kyrenia. It is an ideal place for a port and the erection of high walls for defense. Subsequently, the power of the kings from the Lusignan dynasty was established on the island. Construction work began, which significantly strengthened the walls of the fortress. The fortress withstood many long sieges. Queen Charlotte held it the longest (about 4 years) in the first third of the 15th century. James tried to take Kyrenia by storm. He wanted to starve his sister out. When the cook began to feed Queen Charlotte an omelet made of sparrow’s eggs, she fled to Rhodes, and the starving garrison capitulated.
During the Venetian-Turkish War in 1570-1573, the fortress was surrendered by the commandant of its garrison, Gian Mario Murazzo, to the commander-in-chief of the forces, Mustafa Pasha, without firing a single shot on honorable terms. By the way, the remains of an ancient ship are stored in the fortress. This is a very exciting sight. I advise everyone to visit the museum. The remains of the ship date back to the period of Alexander the Great’s domination of the Mediterranean. A storm drove it to the shores of Cyprus, where the ship sank. This was about 2500 years ago. The ship has remained on the seabed to this day. A local diver discovered it and informed archaeologists of his find. Over several years, the ship was gradually raised to the surface and installed in the museums of the Kyrenia Fortress. There is a great view, on the walls of which you can wander for a long time. Girne Harbour Bay is a piece of the history of this amazing place.
Castle of St. Hilarion
One of the most interesting places in Girne is the ancient royal castle. It is located at an altitude of 732 meters above sea level. “The abode of the king of the elves” was called this castle by the English writer Rosa Maclay. By the way, if you didn’t know, maybe your kids will tell you 🙂 The silhouette of the castle was copied and used in the Walt Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In this amazing place, a church and the premises of the monastery were erected, founded in 370 by a monk from Egypt – St. Hilarion. During the years of endless wars with the Arabs, the Byzantines turned the fortress into a fortified castle, rebuilt from a monastery. And already, in 1092, the governor Philokalis built a fortress here.
In the XIII century, the Lusignans strengthened all the fortifications, surrounding them with powerful walls. The first tier housed stables, workers, domestic animals and soldiers’ barracks. The second level of the castle, located on a rocky ledge, is reached by a vaulted corridor made of carved stone. Thus, in 1228, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen tried to take the fortress by force during the VI Crusade against Jerusalem. Surprisingly, it is a fact that the fortress held out for 2 years and was captured by the German king only in 1230 as a result of treason. Subsequently, in 1232, Frederick II was knocked out of the castle.
Medieval Tower of Othello
Another major attraction is the medieval Othello Tower in Famagusta. There, to this day, the marble bas-relief of the lion of St. Mark, the coat of arms of the Republic of Venice, sparkles in the sun. As you know, all Shakespeare’s dramas were based on events described earlier by someone. So, in our case, Shakespeare borrowed the plot of “Othello” from the Italian writer Cintio. This is an amazing story of the Venetian captain Othello, who was married to the noble Venetian Desdemona.
A lieutenant served in his garrison, who really wanted to seduce Desdemona. However, his courtship did not find a response and then the sneaky lieutenant stole Desdemona’s handkerchief and threw it into the corporal’s room. Accordingly, having found Desdemona’s handkerchief under the bed, Othello lost his head from jealousy and strangled his own beloved out of jealousy. But he did not do it himself, but entrusted it to an intriguing lieutenant. He strangled the unfortunate Desdemona and managed to convince the Venetian general that it was a jealous husband who did it. Othello was arrested and exiled from the Republic of Venice. And the lieutenant got the place of his superior. This story is still told by the elders in Famagusta. But you can see all this with your own eyes if you come to North Cyprus in the summer or buy real estate here. You will have a unique opportunity to personally explore the entire island far and wide. We don’t have time to tell you other amazing stories about Kantara Castle and Nitovykla and dozens of other attractions. We will definitely do this in other articles. After all, we have a great many historical castles, ancient cities and ruins of the Great History of the past here. We invite you to North Cyprus! Come…
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Source: Veles Enterprises Article prepared by: Valerii Veles
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