A lot of people don’t know that Cyprus is divided, with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus only being recognised internationally by Turkey. It may not be as popular — or quite as touristy — as the Republic of Cyprus on the southern two-thirds of the island. Yet there is so much to uncover in this area…
My wife and I were in Turkish Northern Cyprus for a few days with a walking group and decided to take time out to explore the harbour area of Kyrenia, a place populated since the 10th century BC. It turned out to be a wonderful day where we discovered ancient history, fascinating architecture, and the charm of the old city.
This spring day was not too hot, nor was it crowded with too many tourists. Years of experience living further south on the island had taught us to wear sturdy shoes for the stone streets and hats for the Cyprus sun. An easy 20-minute drive from Lapta, where we were staying, brought us to a big car park just behind the castle.
A short walk got us to Kyrenia Castle. The original was built by the Byzantines in the 7th century to protect the city, on the site of an even older Roman structure. After that, everyone seemed to have taken their turn at it — from England’s King Richard the Lionheart, to the Christian Knights Templar, to the last crowned King of Jerusalem, to the Venetians — and finally the Ottomans. Most of what we had in front of us was only 500 years old.
Entering at the castle’s northwest corner gate, we crossed a bridge over what was once a moat. We loved exploring this old building where we discovered remains of churches and temples, royal suites, living quarters, dungeons, stables, ramps up to the top and a Bronze Age tomb.
In one room off the big central courtyard is the Shipwreck Museum, where we were fascinated by the display of part of a hull and cargo of a 14m Greek ship discovered in the waters off the harbour in the 1960s. Sunk in a storm, likely between 286 BC and 272 BC, its cargo and remains were untouched for millennia.
Truly fascinating, but all these centuries of facts could cause history overload in the keenest of heritage buffs! With so much to see and learn, we will have to come back again to absorb the rest.
Leaving the castle, we walked down to the sunny harbour, developed by the Ottomans over their 400 years of occupation. On one side was the jetty protecting the small harbour with its marina full of fishing boats, powerboats and yachts. We were tempted to go on one of the touring vessels, but the water outside the harbour looked pretty rough.
On our left were the centuries-old carob warehouses, built to store the valuable produce before being shipped. The crop was once known as ‘Cyprus Black Gold’. These have all been turned into restaurants and gift shops; my wife dragged me somewhat unwillingly through some of the latter.
However, I am actually glad that she did. Aside from the usual tourist stuff, there are a few offering beautifully crafted pottery, handmade jewellery and leather work. The prices were very reasonable because of Turkish inflation. Our euros went a long way.
We wandered down some of the alleys into the old town, where we found many buildings slowly deteriorating. In between, we came across a few coffee shops filled with old Cypriot men talking loudly and playing backgammon with passion and concentration. We also discovered a few more historical gems in the old town, like the old Ottoman mosque and the remains of Chrysopolitissa Church.
Returning to the harbour, we followed the stone jetty past the old lighthouse. At the end, we had a great 360-degree view of the Mediterranean, the castle, the harbour, and the mountains behind. Tired and hungry, we stopped at a traditional Turkish restaurant overlooking the boats for a late lunch. It turned into two hours of an early dinner with local favourites.
With so much to choose from, the owner talked us into having a meze. The abundant small dishes were a wonderful variety, including village salad, special sauces, fresh seafood, kebabs and my favourite, grilled halloumi cheese. We washed it down with a lovely bottle of the Cypriot white wine made from the indigenous Xynisteri grapes.
Sated with history, scenery and food after such a full day, we strolled back along the harbour enjoying the lively atmosphere and the late sun reflecting off the water. We had one last stop to make: a return to a gift shop where my wife had spotted some unique dark blue ceramics. As she made her selections, I bought a hand-tooled leather backgammon game. It’s a great memento of our lovely day in Kyrenia, though it will be a long time before I can match the old fellows in the coffee shops playing so intently.
