The cloister
Gothic arches.
Vadim Indeikin — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jorge-11 — CC BY 2.0 · Jorge-11 — CC BY 2.0 · Vadim Indeikin — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Josef Moser — CC BY-SA 4.0
Bellapais Abbey is the ruin of a 13th-century Gothic monastery in the village of Bellapais, about five kilometres from Kyrenia. It sits at 220 metres with a long view down to Kyrenia and the Mediterranean, and concerts are held in its refectory. The first known occupants were canons of the Holy Sepulchre who fled Jerusalem after its fall in 1187; they had been the guardians of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Aimery de Lusignan founded the monastery, with the first buildings in the late 12th century. The site was earlier called Episcopia and probably housed the Bishop of Kyrenia. You see a cloister of pointed Gothic arches around a courtyard with tall cypresses, and stone walls with tall windows looking out to sea. The ruins hold a carved stone rose window, columns with sculpted capitals, and green mountains behind. It is about 5 km from Kyrenia in a straight line. Visitors from the south cross at the checkpoints with a passport, and the Republic of Cyprus treats entry through the north's airport as illegal entry.
Gothic arches.
In the courtyard.
Over the sea.
Bellapais village, near Kyrenia, north of Cyprus
Canons of the Holy Sepulchre who fled Jerusalem in 1187.
Through the crossing points with a passport; the Republic of Cyprus treats entry via the north's airport as illegal.