The walls
Sand-coloured stone.
Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michal Klajban — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michal Klajban — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michal Klajban — CC BY-SA 4.0
Kyrenia Castle is a 16th-century castle on the north coast of Cyprus, at the end of the old harbour in the town of Kyrenia, Girne in Turkish. The Venetians built it over older Crusader defences, and inside are a 12th-century chapel and the Shipwreck Museum. The Byzantines probably built the first castle here in the 7th century to guard the town against raids from the sea. It is first mentioned in history in 1191, when King Richard I of England took it on his way to the Third Crusade. The Lusignan dynasty then ruled the island for some three hundred years, and the Venetians reshaped the castle in the 15th century. From the harbour you see massive sand-coloured stone walls and round towers above the boats. Inside are wide courtyards, stone stairs and vaulted halls, a small chapel with a stone dome, and from the walls a view over the harbour, the sea and the Kyrenia mountains. It stands at the old harbour in central Kyrenia. 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.
Sand-coloured stone.
A stone dome.
Over the harbour.
Old harbour, Kyrenia, north of Cyprus
The Venetians, over older Crusader and Byzantine defences.
Through the crossing points with a passport; the Republic of Cyprus treats entry via the north's airport as illegal.
