Kyrenia is a seductive city
Beware not to be lured into it
If she beguiles you then try not to dally with
anyone
ried to her
If you fall for a dazzler then avoid getting married to her

If you do,heaven forbid,have no children

Nothing describes Kyrenia better than this tongue twister. Kyrenia is like a breathtakingly beautiful woman with whom men can easily fall in love. Once captivated by the town’s fascinating beauty one can easily forget all his loved ones back at home and will find many excuses not go back to where one belongs. This tongue twister is /was intended to warn the menfolk before they really take to Kyrenia but, sadly, not many heed the warning.

Kyrenia,one of the most beatiful cities in the entire Mediterranean, is located on the northern coast of the island and is well-known for its historic harbour and castle. From its early days of settlement Kyrenia’s commerce and maritime trade benefited enormously from its proximity to the Asia Minor coast as boats set sail from the Aegean islands and traveled along the Asia Minor coast and then crossed over the short distance to the northern shores of Cyprus to reach the two city kingdoms of Lapithos and Kyrenia. As the town grew prosperous the Romans established the foundations of its castle in the 1st century AD.

The Byzantine emperors fortified the Roman castle and in the 10th century they constructed in its vicinity a church dedicated to Saint George which the garrison stationed there used it as a chapel. When Lambousa was destroyed in the Arab raids in 806 Kyrenia became more important because its castle and garrison offered its inhabitants protection and security. Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, the island’s last Byzantine governor, sent his family and treasures to Kvrenia castle for safety in 1191 when King Richard the Lionheart of England went to war with him and after defeating him he became the island’s new master.
Under Lusignan rule the villages of the district of Kyrenia became feudal estates and the town became once again the administrative and commercial centre for its region. The Lusignans enlarged the castle by building a wall and towers around the town and extending the fortifications to the har-bour. They also fortified the Byzantine castles of Saint Hilarion, Buffavento and Kantara, which, together with Kyrenia Castle, protected the town from land and sea attacks. Kyrenia castle played a pivotal role in the island’s history during the many disputes among the Lusignan kings as well as the conflicts with the Genoese. On numerous occasions the castle came under siege but it never capitulated. The castles of Kyrenia and St. Hilarion had served the Lusignan kings and queens as a summer resort while the same castles were used as prisons for some of the nobles who had committed crimes against the state.
In 1489, Cyprus came under Venetian rule.

In 1540 they enlarged the castle, giving it its present-day appearance. The chief changes, such as the addition of thick walls and embrasures for can-nons, were adaptations to changes in warfare in the form of gunpowder artillery. The Venetians also installed gun ports at three levels so that they could direct cannon fire against attackers from the land. Inside the castle, they built huge long ramps so as to be able to drag artillery up on the walls.
When the work on the castle was finished, its walls also encompassed the small church of St. George, which the Byzantines may have built in the 11th or 12th century. These new towers, however, were never put to the test. In 1571, the castle and the town surrendered to the Ottoman army without putting up any resistance.
Under Ottoman rule Kyrenia district was, at first, one of four then one of six administrative districts of the island and the town remained as an administrative capital. However, the town’s fortunes declined after it was transformed into a garrison town. The Christian population was expelled from the fortified city and no one was allowed to reside within the castle other than the artillerymen and their families. These men coerced the town’s inhabitants and those of the surrounding villages Christian and Muslim alike to move out. The few local inhabitants who did not leave were merchants and fishermen whose livelihood depended on the sea. They built their homes outside the city wall, which through time, neglect and disrepair, turned to ruin. The rest of the inhabitants moved further out to the area known as Pano Kyrenia or fled further inland and to the mountain villages of Thermeia-Doğanköy,Karakomi-Karakum,Kazafani /Ozanköy, Bellapais / Beylerbeyi and Karmi.
The castle was, at times, used as a prison for the Young Turks who annoyed the Sultan. The Ottoman elite had mansions and luxury homes in the town itself and in a number of villages in the vicinity like Templos, Kazafana and Lapithos which they used as summer residences on account of the region’s mild climate. The Ottomans had solved the water problem of Kyrenia by digging wells and constructing aqueducts as they had done in Larnaca and Nicosia.
The town’s fortunes revived again when local maritime trade with Asia Minor and the Aegean islands resumed. In 1783 the church of Chrysopoli-tissa was renovated. Then in 1856 following the Hatt-1 Humayun which introduced social and political reforms and greater religious freedom for the various peoples of the Ottoman Empire, the church of Archangel Michael was rebuilt on a rocky mount overlooking the sea. At about this time many of the Christian inhabitants of the surrounding villages re-established themselves in the town. Local agriculture and maritime trade, particularly the export of carobs to Asia Minor, allowed the people of Kyrenia to have a comfortable living and to educate their children and pursue other cultural activities.
up 52% of the population.
According to the 1831 census, Muslims made In 1878, following a secret agreement between the British and Ottoman governments the island was ceded to Great Britain as a military base in the eastern Mediterranean. At first Great Britain did not undertake major administrative changes so Kyrenia remained the district’s capital. A road was constructed through the mountain pass to connect the town to the island’s capital, Nicosia, and the harbour was repaired and expanded to accommodate increasing trade with the opposite coast. The town’s municipal affairs were put in order and the municipal council took an active role in cleaning and modernizing the town.
In 1893 a hospital was built through private contributions and effort. By the 1900s Kyrenia was a buzzing little town with a new school building, its own newspaper and social, educational and athletic clubs. It was also a favoured vacation spot for wealthy Nicosia families. Many homes were converted into pensions and boardinghouses and in 1906, the first hotel, “Akteon”, was built by the sea.
These first decades of British rule however also saw increased economic hardship for the popula-tion. High taxation, frequent droughts and a world economic depression were precipitating factors for a mass exodus of people from the town and dis-trict, first to Egypt and then to the United States.
The transfer of the island to the British rule also prompted anxiety in the Turkish Cypriot population whose numbers stagnated as a significant number of them emigrated to Turkey. Meanwhile the ratio of the Greek Cypriots grew significantly from 49% to 67%.
In 1922, the episcopal see of Kyrenia relocated back to the town after the completion of a new metropolitan building. That same year the Greco-Turkish war brought to a halt all trade with the opposite coast causing a serious economic depression.

Costas Catsellis, a young repatriate from the USA, came to the rescue by building the town’s first modern hotels, the Seaview in 1922 and the Dome in 1932. Kyrenia’s mild climate, picturesque harbour, numerous archeological sites, panoramic views that combined sea, mountains and vegeta-tion, coupled with modern amenities soon attracted many travellers and Kyrenia’s economy revived through tourism.
After the Second World War more hotels were built and the town remained a favoured vacation spot for people from Nicosia and foreign travellers alike. The town’s population increased on account of the British citizens from the UK who chose Kyre-nia as their permanent place of residence. Although the British used the castle as a police barracks and training school the castle was also used as a prison for about 15 prominent Turkish Cypriots who were accused of anti-British activities during the First World War (they were released after the war had ended and in late 1950s for the members of the Greek Cypriot EOKA organization.
Kyrenia is presently a cultural and economical centre described as the touristic capital of Northern Cyprus. It is home to numerous hotels, nightlife and a port. It hosts an annual culture and arts festival with hundreds of participating artists and performers and is home to three universities (a fourth one due to open soon) with a student population around 14,000.
The Lusignan insignia of three lions on the vault of the inner gate was brought from another building.

The tomb of the Ottoman Admiral Sadik Pasa the Algerian who was killed during the conquest of the town by the Venetians in 1570 is in the entrance corridor of the castle. According to a story after the island was ceded to the British, the new District Commisioner visited the Kyrenia Castle and when he saw the neglected tomb of Admiral Sadik Pasa he took a kick at it and, in disgust, he said: “Remove this pile of rubble immediately”. But when he went home that night his foot became paralyzed and realizing that he had offended the soul of the Admiral the following morning he ordered that the tomb was repaired after which his foot got better.
The other sections of the castle are: the Venetian Towers of the Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast; the guards’ room, the big hall, various dungeons, and rooms used as depots belonging to the Lusignan period; a tower belonging to the Byzantine period; the Venetian defence platform; a cistern; an arsenal, and a cannon parapet belonging to the Venetian period; and the shipwreck museum. The large inner court is at times used for cultural and art activities.

Ali Nesim-Şevket Öznur