My Cypriot Adventure: Rocky Hilltops of Northern Cyprus

On my fourth day in Cyprus, I awoke in Kyrenia, ready to explore the more mountainous and rockier landscape. As luck would have it (as a result of the hostel's blunder), I ended up sharing a room with an American girl named Layli who I quickly found out was studying Arabic in Amman at Qasid. We had a few friends in common and we will actually be living together here in Amman starting in January! After walking around Kyrenia's old town for a bit on my own, we went off on a short adventure together.

Chrysopolitissa Church, built in the 14th century.

Loved how rustic yet refined this was.

One of old town Kyrenia's winding streets

Next to the harbor.

Breathtaking views of mountains rolling into the Mediterranean.

Blue skies and blue seas

Attaturk love.

A section of the old harbor

Northern Cyprus had a ton of stray cats and dogs which were all
very used to humans. The dogs were all tagged and taken care of, they
just roamed the streets.

I accidentally glanced at this guy and he proceeded to follow me for
awhile until I got into a cab. Just look at those floppy ears!

Layli and I teamed up to share the cost of a cab up to Bellepais Abbey on one of the hilltops of the Kyrenia Mountain range. My photos do not begin to do this sight justice--the remaining shell of the abbey was awesome and hard to capture on camera. The abbey was built in the 12th century by Augustinian monks who had fled Palestine after the fall of Jerusalem to Saladdin in 1187. We spent a solid hour here, wandering around the sight and taking a lot of pictures (attempting) to catch the beauty.

Me in front of my favorite angle of the abbey ruins.

Layli's new friend (not mine)

The view from Kyrenia to the Mediterranean

The main cloister area with window frames still standing

The ruins of the refectory on the other side of the abbey

Remains of the rose window in the refectory

View from the cloister area out to the Mediterranean

Bells atop the church portion of the abbey

A peak of the Kyrenia Mountain Range in the distance

Beautiful fresco above the door

Fancy chandeliers inside the church

Altar of the Greek Orthodox Church

This old school car was perfectly staged when we were leaving.

After exploring Bellepais Abbey, Layli and I headed back to Kyrenia where she went off on a hike and I went off on another taxi ride to catch St. Hilarion Castle. Towards the end of the cab ride, we rounded the corner of a mountain peak to catch St. Hilarion Castle clinging to the side of the mountain cliff. It was absolutely jaw-dropping despite the overcast weather. Again, I don't think my pictures even begin to do it justice!

The castle is named for a monk by the named of Hilarion who fled the Holy Land and died in a cave on this sight. Because of the sight's location, it was used as a beacon during the Arab raids of the 7th and 8th centuries. It wasn't expanded until 1191 when Guy de Lusignan expanded it to become the summer residence of the (French) Lusignan court. This castle is rumored to be the inspiration for the castle in Snow White and is also rumored to have once had 101 rooms. It was huge and a lot of fun to ramble over and explore, although a bit harder when it started drizzling. The only downfall of traveling in shoulder season (especially in Northern Cyprus) was the guaranteed one-a-day rainstorm.

View from below the castle--the castle spreads out over the whole hilltop

Clinging to the side of the cliff--the sheer drops were intense

I think this shot looks a lot like the Snow White castle

Castle walls

This is a good perspective on just how far it stretched

Historical display about knights and all that jazz

The Byzantine church built in the 10th century

Locals.

The windy path between the second and third sections of the castle

There were a few versions of these

Western view towards the sea

The peak! It was a steep climb!

Eastern view towards Kyrenia Harbor

After my expensive jaunt to St. Hilarion Castle, I headed back to the harbor for a meal of fish and chips, Efes, and dondurma (Turkish ice cream) before returning to Nicosia/Lefkosia in the Republic of Cyprus. I needed to make an 8AM bus the next morning and knew it would be impossible to do from Kyrenia, so I returned back to the Centrum Hotel for one more night.

A snapshot of Eid in Kyrenia--lots of families walking around
(and even more shebab (male youth))

Boys fishing in Kyrenia Harbor

Shebab loitering around Kyrenia Castle--I was very excited to get back
to the Republic of Cyprus and away from some of the shebab whom
I was happy to be on vacation from in Jordan

Dondurma--sticky but tasty Turkish ice cream

Logistics/Recommendations:

Hired taxis in Northern Cyprus (and the Republic of Cyprus, for that matter) were very expensive. The main sights in Northern Cyprus, however, are not city-based and require cars to get up into the mountain range to access the sights. The trip to Bellepais Abbey cost $7.50 while the trip to St. Hilarion Castle cost $35(!!!). It was worth it, but still expensive as a solo traveler. I was hoping to get to see Ancient Salamis on the Eastern coast of Northern Cyprus, in order to get a taste for the only region of Cyprus I didn't make it to on this trip, but the trip would've been over $100 so I decided against it. My jaunt to the north definitely inspired me to come back, but to do so with a rental car.