Kyrenia

This city was founded by Hellenistic people over 3000 years ago. They valued Cyprus for its copper and other metals, and mostly got around by sea, but the Romans from the first century AD carved a road right around the island and another inland through the mountains. As the chief port on this coast Kyrenia controlled trade and needed to be defended - the harbour castle you see today was built in 1540 and has been maintained ever since. Kyrenia had a Greek majority population until 1974, when Turkey invaded and most Greeks fled. After the ceasefire there was a population exchange, with Greeks deported and Girne, as it now became, settled by Turks from villages in the south.

The 1990s saw a thawing of the "Cold War" or frozen conflict between Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, and Girne became a popular resort for westerners. It's always called Kyrenia in tourist literature so that's the name used here.

The town is walkable, but you need a car to explore - there are a dozen rental companies in town if you didn't pick one up at the airport.

Minibuses ply along the coast resort strip but don't reach outlying sights such as St Hilarion Castle.

There's no longer a bicycle hire shop here.

• 🌍 Kyrenia Castle. M-Sa 08:00-18:00. Stonking great castle dominating the harbour. The first known castle was Byzantine, 7th century AD, and that was probably the version captured by Richard the Lionheart (along with the rest of Cyprus) in 1191 during the Third Crusade. He sold it to his French allies the Lusignans, who saw off sieges by Genoa but fell to the Venetians. They rebuilt the castle in its present form in 1540, but in 1570 had to surrender it to the Ottomans. They in turn occupied it to 1878 then ceded it to the British, who used it as a police barracks and training school, and in the 1950s as a prison for EOKA guerrillas. The castle interior is fairly bare, but there are various living quarters, a Byzantine church, a museum displaying a 4th century BC shipwreck (no extra fee), and the tomb of Admiral Sadik Pasha the Ottoman conqueror of Kyrenia. Take care on the battlements as there are worn steps and broken railings. 25 TL. (updated May 2023)
• Ağa Cafer Pasha Mosque west side of the castle was built in 1590. The interior is fairly plain.
• St Andrews Church at the southwest corner of the castle is Anglican. Baldoken graveyard next to it has a few old Ottoman tombs.
• 🌍 Archangel Michael Church (Ιερός Ναός Αρχαγγέλου Μιχαήλ) is Greek Orthodox. The church and its museum of frescos have been closed since 2018 for re-building.
• 🌍 Harbour breakwater is a good spot for views of the castle. Some sections are in poor repair and work is under way in 2023.
• Museum of Decorative Arts on Bozoklar Sk by the harbour remains closed in 2023. The Museum of Fine Arts has closed permanently.
• 🌍 Bellapais Abbey, Zafer Cd (6 km southeast of town). Daily 08:00-18:00. A monastery founded in 1197 by the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre after they fled Jerusalem. The main building you see now was built in the 1270s and the cloister and refectory circa 1330 by King Hugh IV of Cyprus, who resided here. The place was ransacked by the Genoese in 1373 and wrecked by the Venetians in 1489. When the Ottomans took control of Cyprus they handed it over to the Greek Orthodox community, who used it as a parish church. Pockmarks in the refectory walls are from British soldiers enjoying food fights, only with pistols instead of potatoes and stale buns. 20 TL. (updated May 2023)

• Bitter Lemons 200 m south of the abbey is the cottage where the writer Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) lived in the 1950s. Shortly after he left he published Justine, the first part of his best known work Alexandria Quartet. The naturalist Gerald Durrell was his younger brother. In 2023 the cottage is derelict and for sale.
• 🌍 Noble Peasant Statue is a 40 m-tall metal structure visible from the Nicosia highway. The kneeling figure is meant to symbolise the common heritage of the warring factions of Cyprus, descendants all of humble farmers of the same soil, and thus promote reconciliation. Well, worth a go maybe.
• 🌍 St Hilarion Castle, Karaman (10 km south of town). Daily 09:00-16:00. Saint Hilarion here is not the 4th century monk of Palestine, but an obscure fellow who fled the Holy Land after the Arab conquest. The mountaintop castle was built in the 10th century and reinforced by the Byzantines in the 11th. Richard the Lionheart captured it in 1191 when he took over Cyprus. Access is by a lane off the highway to Nicosia: do not stray from this, as it's a military area. From the car park a steep rugged footpath ascends to the Lower Ward, which housed the guard and stables, then the Middle and Upper Wards for the royal family. Great views back to Kyrenia on the coast. 15 TL. (updated May 2023)
• 🌍 Buffavento Castle is a similar Byzantine fortress, reached from its south side by a rugged trail.

• City Amphitheatre is a modern venue off Mersin Cd near the ferry port.
• Hiking: there are several trails in the mountain ridge separating Kyrenia from Nicosia.
• Scuba diving centres near town include North Cyprus British Scuba, Amphora Diving, Nautilus, Scuba Cyprus and Cyprus Underwater Explorers. They all offer training, equipment hire and trips for certified divers.
• Turtle watching: Loggerhead and Green turtles nest on Alagadi beach 30 km east of town. Females lay eggs in June and July, and hatchlings emerge in Aug and Sept. The beach is closed to the public on summer nights to protect the turtles, but you can join the volunteer rangers on guided walks.
• Boat trips potter along the coast, often in gulets and serving a meze lunch. Operators based at the harbour include Aphrodite, Derya Deniz, Happy Sea Yacht Tours and Vela Yachting.
• Paragliding: Highline have tandem paragliding flights, no experience needed.
• Golf: the nearest course is Korineum Resort, see Sleep.
• Northern Cyprus Music Festival is held at Bellapais Monastery mid-Sept to early Nov.

• The official currency is the Turkish lira (TL), but most businesses accept euro, British pounds, US dollars and bank cards.
• Supermarkets: a dozen medium-sized places, typically open daily 07:00-23:00, no dominating big store.

• Harbour waterfront has 6 Brothers, Set Fish Restaurant, Kyrenia Four Season and Corner Balık.
• Halil İbrahim Sofrası on Ziya Rızkı Cd scores well for its Turkish food. It's open daily 10:00-02:00.
• Mantı Sofrası on Göksu Sk a block back from the harbour also scores well. It's open daily 11:00-23:00.
• The George, off Ziya Rızkı Cd (opposite Town Hall), ☏ +90 533 860 8641. Daily 08:00-01:00. Cheerful place serving trad British fare all day. (updated May 2023)
• Niazis serves great fish and meze. It's on 20 Temmuz Kordonboyu Cd next to Rocks Hotel and open daily 12:00-00:00.
• Los Amigos, Semih Sancar Cd 91 (by Grand Pasha Hotel), ☏ +90 533 872 1150. Daily 11:30-23:00. Not that you'll admit to needing a change from Turkish food, but this is a great value Mexican east side of town. (updated May 2023)

• Cafes and restaurants serve alcohol. Most free-standing bars folded during covid.
• Sitare Bar a block back from the harbour is open daily 13:00-02:00.
• Gillham Vineyard (see Sleep) offers tours and tastings.
• No brewery or distillery in Northern Cyprus so you'll be drinking imported Efes again.

As of Sept 2023, Kyrenia, the beach strip and approach roads have 4G from KKTC Turkcell and KKTC Telsim. 5G has not reached Northern Cyprus.

• Famagusta has an old centre with Venetian fortifications, amidst much war damage ancient and modern.
• Nicosia is a fascinating Ottoman city. The ceasefire line runs through it, so its southern part is in Greek-speaking Cyprus.
• You need your own vehicle to tour the Karpaz peninsula to the east, to be assailed by wild donkeys.