M e d i e v alCy p r u s

e M a g a z i ne

The first illustrated emagazineabout the fascinating history of cyprus

• issued on behalf of the medieval cyprus fellowship •

ISSUENR. 1

MARCH2012

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M e d i e v a l C y p r u seM a g a z i n e

This month...

Management:On behalf of the Medieval Cyprus Fellowship (MCF): Hans Doeleman (TRNC)

Managing editor:Hans Doeleman (History Consultant)

Editorials:Mustafa Tolgalı (TRNC)(Official Kitreb Guide at St Hilarion Castle)

Contributors:Prof. Allan Langdale (Canada)Dr. James Scott Petre FCIS (UK)Prof. Michael Walsh (Singapore)

Special effects photography:Bo de Visser (Spaarndam, Holland)

Cartography:Cartographics (Heemskerk, Holland)

IT technical advisor:Roger Heykoop (Spaarndam, Holland)

Contact us (content and advertising):Email: mcf.trnc@gmail.comTelephone: +9 0533 864 5433Skype: dutch_crusaderWhatsapp (Internet life chat): +9 0533 864 5433

Annual subscriptions: (12 issues): £ 10(€ 12 or 30 TL). Payment: PayPal only.

01 - Cover photo: the mighty Kyrenia Castle

03 - Welcome and how to subscribe

05 - Romantic secrets of St Hilarion Castle; many photos

16 - The (original French) House of Lusignan

19 - Photos from readers: Salamis

20 - Old photographs: Kyrenia Harbour: 1878 and 1950

21 - The sad history of the ruined Kantara monastery

25 - The Stones of Famagusta - a ʻmust haveʼ DVD

27 - Bibliography A-Z: books & documents about Cyprus

28 - Programme Historic Walks

29 - Find the ten differences in this photograph

30 - Photographs from readers

32 - Back in time: Follow George Jefferyʼs 1915 route…

35 - Famagusta clean-up campaign

Next month:More about St HilarionMedieval Cyprus music on CDOld maps of Cyprus and their cartographers: how did

they design their masterpieces? - and much more..!Questions & Answers: we answer your questions...

Leading story:St Hilarion Castle

NOTE : This eMagazine is guaranteed to be free of spyware, adware, viruses and other malicious software.

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For almost ten years I have lived in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - a real paradise for lovers of history.Many times I had the pleasure of meeting (mainly British) expats and tourists, explaining to them details of the rich medieval past of this wonderful island.

But words are easily forgotten and although I maintain a huge website - I kept looking for a more satisfying way of sharing my interest and hobby and the knowledge of other experts.

So I played with the idea of publishing eBooks but finally choose the modern format of a monthly eMagazine - you are reading it now...

I’m very pleased that well-known experts in the field of Cyprus’ medieval history support my idea and have promised to contribute.

But to make this eMagazine a success we appreciate the help of our readers. We need your suggestions for medieval subjects you’d like to read about in articles. Maybe you’ve always wondered about a monument in or near your village? Please ask us all kinds of questions!

Last but not least: subscribe to this eMagazine and give a subscription to friends and relatives! - HANS DOELEMAN

The first issue of the Medieval Cyprus eMagazine. Welcome!

CONTRIBUTORS

MUSTAFA TOLGALI (OFFICIAL KITREB GUIDE)

PROF. ALLAN LANGDALE

PROF. MICHAEL WALSH

STEFAN DIEMEER(CARTOGRAPHICS)

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: (12 ISSUES): £ 10 (€ 12). PAYMENT: PAYPAL ONLY.

They are all

experts who

like to share

specialities

and expertiseBO DE VISSER(SPECIAL EFFECTS PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Advertisement

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An illustrated story (part 1) bymustafa tolgali

(turkish tourist guides association - kitreb)

THE romantic SECRETS OF

ST HILARION

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ST HILARION CASTLE

T H E R O M A N T I C S E C R E T S O F

If you were an American tourist we could give you a lecture in five seconds or seven words: “Saint Hilarion looks like a ruined castle”. End of story. Move on...But, weʼll do it different - and thatʼs why this article is entitled:

“The Secrets of Saint Hilarion”

The castle of St. Hilarion, also known as 'Dieu d'Amour' (which means “God of Love” in French), is the principal fortress of Cyprus.

Below is the exact location of one of the most astonishing monuments of the astonishing architecture of the Middle Ages...

Unique 'château fort’

was built as a royal residence

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Once the home of the Royal House of Cyprus…

by MUSTAFA TOLGALITurkish Tourist Guides Ass.

The largest link in the mountain castle chain of Cyprus is Saint Hilarion", which is locally also known as the “101 Houses"...

Although it is generally known by this name among the locals, it is a historical structure that has been known under various names since it was created, to date.

According to information conveyed by Christian Historians of the early period and some church sources, the castle took its present day name "Saint Hilarion", from a Palestinian named 'Hilarion' who was born an atheist and converted to Christianity at the age of 15, in 271 AD.

Monk

Because of the miracles he realised Hilarion ascended to sainthood level in a very short period of time, and dedicated his whole life to spreading Christianity as a monk. After travelling to many countries Hilarion came to Cyprus and lived, until his death, in a cave in the area where the castle stands today.

Although a chapel and a monastery were built here previously, as a result of the destruction of the monastery, the Byzantines constructed the castle on the remnants of the monastery in 800 AD to take control of the Arab raids. The Byzantines used the castle as an observation tower and military garrison.

Some written sources state that in those years they gave the castle its first name "Didimous" meaning 'Twin Hills'.

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According to the beliefs of villagers of Templos (Zeytinlik) and people of villages located in the vicinity of the castle, a group of youths from Templos village came to visit the castle and while wandering around on that exact day (the day of wishes), the door of the l0lth room of the castle opened. Whereupon the youths immediately entered the room, and on setting their eyes upon the valuable jewellery, became possessed by their enchantment and began to dash around and gathering them.

While this blind confusion and greed continued, time had run out and the door closed leaving them inside.

After these youngsters stayed in the room for forty years and the door had reopened, they returned to their villages, only to realise that even though the children they had left behind at that time had aged forty years, they were still the same age."

Another legend, on the other hand, tells of the love between the Queen and a shepherd.

"There was once a very beautiful queen of the 101 Houses during the Lusignian Period. Although the queen lived in an abundance of riches, she was extremely unhappy and lonely and spent most of her day sitting on the stairs of the window on the second floor of the Royal Palace and combing her hair and knitting whilst looking out at the view of Karmi Village...

She would go out for fresh air and take a walk in the forest from time to time. There was also a goat shepherd who lived in these mountains who very beautifully played a pipe. Despite this, very few people had actually seen this shepherd who was very ugly.

There is a magnificent panorama here, for it gives an almost aerial view of Kyrenia on the plains below, and on clear days in winter the snowy peaks of the Taurus mountains of southern Turkey add to the splendour.

The Byzantine reign came to an end after the English King Richard the Lionheart seized Cyprus from the Byzantines during the 3rd wave of Crusades in 1191, and even though the control of Saint Hilarion Castle along with the island was passed on to the English, they rented it out to the Templar Knights after a short time. Because a rebellion could not suppressed, due to the heavy taxes imposed on the public, with the permission of Richard, the island and all its castles were sold to the Lusignians in 1192 who were to reign for the next 306 years.

With the arrival of the Lusignians on the island many changes were made with respect to the structure of the castle. In addition to the military garrison built during the Roman Period, the noble section

(section 2) and Royal palace (Section 3) were built.During the Lusignian Period the castle was named 'Dieu D'Amour'. The most splendorous and radiant era was experienced during theLusignian Period and at the same time it played host to many a legend and tragedy. Among these is the most renowned legend known among the locals which is still talked about today; the legend of the 101 rooms.

"According to the legend, the locals called the castle “01 Houses" because they believed that St Hilarion Castle had 101 rooms and one of them opened once every forty years, and that the person who found this room at the right time would become rich from the treasures that were filled inside it.

110

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Views aroundSt Hilarion Castle...

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There is a fine view of the outer walls and the 7 towers...From a distance, the mountain top at 732 metres reveals twin peaks, and the old name for Hilarion was 'Didymus', the Greek word for twins. Each of these peaks has a tower or ruin, and with all the other turrets, towers and walls, it looks as if the whole castle has sprouted out of the rocks.

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After some time, while the Queen was roaming the forest she heard and immediately fell in love with the beautiful sound of the pipe and searched and searched until she found the shepherd. She not only found him, but she also fell in love with him...

Thus, they began to meet frequently. The Queen who would secretly spend most nights with this shepherd eventually bore a daughter. She also had golden coloured hair and sky blue eyes. She became even more beautiful than her mother when she was around 15-16 years old. Although she was warned by her mother not to wander too far from the castle, the young girl would frequently venture out around the forest and pick flowers. One day from a distance, she too heard the sound of a pipe; she followed the sound of the pipe and consequently shared her mother's fate.

Daughter

The girl found the shepherd and just like her mother and began to experience all that she too had experienced in the past.

After a while, the Queen noticed some changes in her daughter and asked her for an explanation. With the reply she received from her daughter, the Queen who was standing at the palace window dropped her comb to the floor and then threw herself out of the window onto the rocks below."

Today this window is known as the “Queen's Window", and those who see the bright yellow winter sun streaming through the clouds from the peak of the mountain draw a deep sigh, saying, “The hair of the Queen has appeared". Alongside this, they believe that the poppies which bloom in the spring around the castle represent the blood of the Queen."

Apart from this legend, the legend of the tower where one of the princes of the Lusignian Period, Prince John, pushed 24 Bulgarian soldiers to their deaths from the tower has been talked of over the centuries.

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Views aroundSt Hilarion Castle...

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SPLENDID VIEWS...

You can pay a visit to Prince Johns' Tower which was constructed in close vicinity to where this tragedy occurred. Prince John, "Prince of Antakya" (Antioch), who gave his name to this tower, was also the brother of the first king of Cyprus Peter. Because Prince John, who settled here for protection from the Genoese, believed the lies of Queen Elenor II, who accused his 24 mercenary Bulgarian guards of planning a conspiracy against him, another tragedy of that era was experienced after he pushed them out of the tower one by one. For those who are curious, the Prince John Tower stands amongst the clouds waiting for visitors.

After a short climb to the peak of the tower the souvenir photograph you will take next to the "congratulations" sign at the

peak, will justly provide you with an incomparable sense ofpleasure in proudly climbing to 732 metres above sea level.After the Lusignian Period, as a result of the conspiracies that occurred within the Royal family and because the last Lusignian Queen was originally Venetian, Cyprus was handed over to the Venetians and the Lusignian Period came to an end. In this way, the fate of the castle and the whole island changed.

Fortifying the existing castles along the coastline gained importance because of the advances in firearms during the Venetian Period and the probable Ottoman attacks, resulting in the coastal castles being fortified. In this way, St Hilarion and the other two mountain castles were left to their fate and lost their past importance.

The castle, which was not used by the Venetians between 1498 and 1571, was subjected to the same fate between 1571 and 1878 by the Ottomans.

Small repairs undertaken from time to time has kept the castle standing; it was also unused during the British Colonial Rule from 1878-1960, it is now the best preserved mountain castle that survives to date.

In the 1920s, during British Colonial Rule, a visit to the castle by Walt Disney caused the castle to become globally recognised. Walt Disney was greatly influenced on his visit to Cyprus in those days by what he had seen at St Hilarion Castle and depicted the gothic window in the background of his animated film, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Abandonment

The 460 year fate of abandonment and silence was broken in 1963 in the years named “the National Struggle Years”, when the Cyprus Turkish Fighters (TMT) used it as their main headquarters between 1963 and 1974. It finally took its place in history by playing its greatest role as the greatest touchstone in the winning of the battle. The castle was introduced to the new name of, "Eagle's Nest" in those years and is still called in some circles by that name today.

Those who come for a visit to the castle today will feel as though they have lived through all the eras from the beginning until the present day in a magical and mysterious atmosphere, and see and experience the difference in the lifestyles of slaves and nobles, their tragedies, the entertainments they organised, the outfits they wore, the arms they used, their kitchens and their rooms, as if they were transported though a time tunnel to the past.

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It is advised that those who want to pay a visit to the castle should most certainly wear trainers and to make 1.5 hours of their time available to the castle.

For those who are seeking a mystical atmosphere, apart from wandering around the castle in the mist in December, January, February and March, most of the time visitors have the opportunity of sipping their coffee with the view of the Turkish Taurus Mountains - as weather conditions permit.

Flowers

As for those who love flowers, the months when nature comes alive are Mid-March, April and May, when visitors have the opportunity of taking a closer look and finding "St Hilarion Cabbage and St Hilarion island tea" among many other species at the castle.

The most prevalent of these species are for example; the Arabia-Cypria, Cyprus Onosma Caespitosa, Yellow Tulip, Cyclamen, Mandrake, Snapdragon, Sage (Camels tongue), Cyprus Lettuce Plant, Sideritis Cypria, Wild Carnations, Tragopogon Coloratus, Venus Lettuce and the Sedum Lampusae.

Cafetaria

There is a cafeteria* in section 2, at the middle part of the castle, where you can have a rest and enjoy coffee or a drink.

Also we are certain that this cafeteria will attract your interest with its exhibition area displaying pictures of flowers. There's only one thing left to do! And that is to come and visit this eagle's nest...

* In the cafetaria is a CD for sale with beautiful flower pictures.

[End of part 1]

Next month: a closer look at the three levels (wards) of St Hilarion Castle. •••

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The family originated at the Château de Lusignan in Poitou, near Poitiers (Western France), a château-fort that is still the largest castle in France. According to legend the earliest castle was built by the folklore water-spirit Melusine.

The lords of the castle at Lusignan were counts of La Marche, over which they frequently fought with the counts of Angoulême.The Lusignans were among the French nobles who made great careers in the Crusades. An ancestor of the later Lusignan dynasty in the Holy Land, Hugh of Lusignan, was killed in the east during the Crusade of 1101. Another Hugh arrived in the 1160’s and was captured in a battle with Nur ad-Din. In the 1170’s, the brothers Guy and Amalric arrived in Jerusalem, having been expelled by Richard the Lionheart (at that point, acting Duke of Aquitaine) from his realm, which meant that they were not allowed to sojourn at their home near Poitiers. In the Holy Land, they allied themselves with Raynald of Chatillon, who led one of the factions currently dividing the

kingdom. Raynald's faction was mostly composed of newcomers (also known as the "court party" due to their influence in the royal court), while the opposing faction of old established families was led by Raymond III of Tripoli.In 1179 Amalric became constable of Jerusalem, with the support of Agnes of Courtenay, mother of the then King (Amalric was supposedly having an affair with Agnes). The court party also made Guy regent of the kingdom in 1180. Guy became king himself in 1186 as consort of the new Queen, Sibylla of JerusalemGuy's term as king is generally seen as a disaster; he was defeated by Saladin at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, and fled to Cyprus as Saladin reconquered almost the entire kingdom.

On Cyprus, in 1191, he met Richard, now king of England and a leader of the Third Crusade. Richard supported Guy's claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem, though Sibylla had died in 1190, but in the aftermath of the crusade Conrad of Montferrat had the support of the majority of nobles. Instead, Richard sold Guy the island of Cyprus. Guy thereby became the first Latin lord of Cyprus. Amalric

succeeded Guy in Cyprus, and also became King of Jerusalem in 1197. Amalric was responsible for establishing the (Roman) Catholic Church on Cyprus.The male line of the Lusignans in the Levant died out in 1267 with Hugh II of Cyprus, Amalric's great-grandson (the male line continued in France until 1307).At that point, Hugh of Antioch, whose maternal grandfather had been Hugh I of Cyprus, a male heir of the original Lusignan dynasty, took the name Lusignan, thus founding the second House of Lusignan, and managed to succeed his deceased cousin as King of Cyprus.These "new" Lusignans remained in control of Cyprus until 1489; in Jerusalem (or, more accurately, Acre), they ruled from 1268 until the fall of the city in 1291, after an interlude (1228-1268) during which the Hohenstaufen dynasty officially held the kingdom.Also after 1291 the Lusignans continued to claim the lost Jerusalem, and occasionally attempted to organize Crusades to recapture territory on the mainland. In the 13th century the Lusignans also intermarried with the royal families of the Principality of Antioch and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

The famousHouse of Lusignan

French nobles who became Kings of

Jerusalem and Cyprus

The Lusignan coat

of arms:

"Barruly of ten,

argent and azure"

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The Kingdom of Cyprus was a (Roman) Catholic Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the late Middle Ages.

The island was conquered from Isaac Comnenus, an upstart local governor and self-proclaimed emperor in Cyprus, in 1191 by King Richard I of England during the Third Crusade. Richard then sold it to the Knights Templar, who in turn sold it to King-Consort Guy of Jerusalem in 1192 after the failure of Richard's Crusade and when Guy was going dispossessed from his late wife's kingdom. His brother and successor, Amalric I of Cyprus, received the royal crown and title from Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. A small minority (Roman) Catholic population of the island was mainly confined to some coastal cities, such as Famagusta, as well as inland Nicosia, the traditional capital. (Roman)

Catholics kept the reins of power and control, while the Greek inhabitants lived in the countryside; this was much the same as the

arrangement in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The independent Eastern Orthodox Church of Cyprus, with its own archbishop and subject to no patriarch, was allowed to remain on the island, but the Latin Church largely displaced it in stature and holding property.

After the death of Amalric of Lusignan, the Kingdom continually passed to a series of young boys who grew up as king. The Ibelin family, which had held much power in Jerusalem prior its downfall, acted as

regents during these early years. In 1229 one of the Ibelin regents was forced out of power by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who brought the struggle between the Guelphs and

Ghibellines to the island. Frederick's supporters were defeated in this struggle by 1233, although it lasted longer in Palestine and in

Europe. Frederick's Hohenstaufen descendants continued to rule as kings of Jerusalem until 1268 when Hugh III of Cyprus claimed the title and its territory of Acre for himself upon the death of Conrad III of Jerusalem, thus uniting the two kingdoms. The territory in Palestine was finally lost while Henry II was king in 1291, but the kings of Cyprus continued to claim the title “King of Jerusalem”.Like Jerusalem, Cyprus had a “Haute Cour” (High Court), although it was less powerful than it had been in Jerusalem. The island was richer and more feudal than Jerusalem, so the king had more personal wealth and could often afford to ignore the Haute Cour. The most important vassal family was the multi-branch House of Ibelin. However, the king was often in conflict with the Italian merchants, especially because Cyprus had become the centre of European trade with Africa and Asia after the fall of Acre in 1291.The kingdom eventually came to be dominated more and more in the 14th century by the Genoese merchants. Cyprus therefore sided with the Avignon Papacy in the Great Schism, in the hope that the French would be able to drive out the Italians. The Mameluks then made the kingdom a tributary state in 1426; the remaining monarchs gradually lost almost all independence, until 1489 when the last Queen, Catherine Cornaro, was forced to cede the island to Venice.

The House of Lusignan

On January 17, 1369 a group of Barons entered the palace and stabbed King

Peter I of Cyprus to death in his bed...

The Lusignan coat of arms:

"Barruly of ten, argent and azure"

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Lords of Lusignan (France): • Hugh I the Hunter (1st half of the 10th century) • Hugh II (died 967) • Hugh III • Hugh IV, the Brown • Hugh V (died 1060) • Hugh VI, the Devil (died 1110) • Hugh VII (died 1151) • Hugh VIII (died 1165) • Hugh (died 1163), son of Hugh VIII, predeceased his father • Hugh IX,

the Brown (died 1219 in Damietta on the Fifth Crusade) • Hugh X the Brown (1219-1249) • Hugh XI, the Brown (1249-1260) • Hugh XII, the Brown (1260-1282) • Hugh XIII (1282-1303) • Guy (1303-1307), brother of Hugh XII • Yolande (1307-1314), sister and heiress of Hugh XIII and Guy; sold Lusignan, Angouleme, and FougŹre to Philip IV of France in 1308.

Other Lusignans of renown:

• Guy of Lusignan, uncle of Hugh IX, married Sibylla of Jerusalem and became King of Jerusalem (1186-1192), then king in and lord of Cyprus (1192-1194) • Amalric, elder brother of Guy and younger brother of Hugh IX's father; lord, later king of Cyprus (1194-1205) and king-consort of Jerusalem (1197-1205), founder of the Lusignan dynasty in Cyprus

List of Kings of Cyprus:• Guy of Lusignan (1192-1194) • Amalric of Lusignan (1194-1205) (Amaury) • Hugh I (1205-1218) • Henry I (1218-1253) (Le Gros) • Hugh II (1253-1268) (Huguet) • Hugh III (1268-1284) • John I (1284-1285) • Henry II (1285-1306) • Amalric of Tyre (1306-1310), Regent and usurper • Henry II (1310-1324) again • Hugh IV (1324-1359) • Peter I (1359-1369) • Peter II (1369-1382) (Perrin) • James I (1382-1398) • Janus (1398-1432) • John II (1432-1458) • Charlotte (1458-1464) and 1459- her husband Louis of Savoy of Cyprus • James II (1464-1473) (James the Bastard, Jacques le BČtard) • James III (1473-1474) • Catherine Cornaro (1474-1489). There were and still are pretenders of the Kingdom. •••

The Lusignan family in

many centuries...

From Lords in

France to Kings

in the Holy Land,

Cyprus and

Silicia...

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SALAMIS : PHOTOS FROM READERS

Photo 1 © ClarissaPhoto 2 © ClarissaPhoto 3 © Marion PricePhoto 4 © John GodsonPhoto 5 © Carol Ellis

Did you also take a picture of a medieval or ancient monument? Mail your photograph to mcf.trnc@gmail.com - show it to the world!

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2

3

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KYRE

NIA

harb

our

!1878

1878

1950KYRENIA HARBOUR: a rocky beach in 1878, a sandy beach in 1950 - where now the tourists dwell on an asphalt road and have a beer on one of the terraces...

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The ruined monastery of Kantara is one of them. Below you read a route description and on the map in this article you'll find a route when you take the coastal road from Girne.

From Trikomo (Turkish: Iskele) the ascent to Kantara Castle is usually made via Ay. Elias (T: Yarköy), a village with a Maronite monastery in the neighbourhood; in the middle ages the Maronites had their principal centre at a place called Tala or Attalia in the Karpas, a place no longer traceable. Continuing the road through Ardana (T: Ardahan) an old village with a modern church, and skirting the cliffs of the upper range of hills, the monastery of Kantara is reached.

ResistanceKantara monastery presumably occupies the site of the Orthodox monastery of the middle ages, the centre of Orthodox resistance to the encroachments by the Latins in the Xlllth century. It was here that John and Konon, the emissaries from Mount Athos took up their abode in 1230.

Here they collected around them a number of disciples, attracted to the spot by the fame of their austerity and good works. Reports of this saintly band at length reaching the ears of the Latins, they resolved to judge for themselves as to the truth of what they had heard... The answers received proved satisfactory until their

Famous, but now ruined…

KANTARAMONASTERY

One day in 1878 this foreign man, with a never

before seen wooden box on a tripod ("camera obscura"), visited the Kantara monastery. He was the British photographer whose heritage of hundreds of pictures of Cyprus is now, more than 130 years later, a joy to view. They're all long gone: the photographer, the priests and amazed locals on his pictures - but many of the pictured buildings can still be visited.

questioners came to touch upon that subject, so fertile in disputes between the two Churches, the use of azymes... Summoned within a stated period to answer before the Archbishop of Nicosia for the disrespectful way in which they had spoken of the Romish Mass, these intrepid men, beholding with joy the near approach of their long expected martyrdom, expressed their readiness to die a thousand deaths if necessary, for the Orthodox faith.

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The night before their departure from Kantara they spent in the chapel of the monastery in prayer, and praise, and in participation in the Holy Eucharist. On the morrow they took their way to Nicosia where they lodged in the monastery of St. George of Mankana without the walls... As soon as their arrival was announced the Latin Archbishop Eustorgius ordered the holy monks to be brought before him. They at once obeyed the summons and with John and Konon at their head wended their way to the Archbishop's Palace, singing as they went the 119th psalm. When they appeared he inquired if the report he had heard about them was true, and on their replying that it was, committed them to prison, hoping by such means to shake their fortitude... For three whole years did these devoted men endure without a murmur all the miseries of a most irksome captivity." (Source: Hackett's "History of the Church of Cyprus," p. 94)

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They were eventually martyred with all the revolting circumstances of medieval fanaticism. After being dragged over the rocks of the river bed, tied to the tails of horses, their lifeless bodies were burnt and as a matter of course their relics were afterwards collected by the enthusiastic and admiring co-religionists. So late as the time of Archimandrite Kyprianos the skull of the martyred Konon was preserved at Paphos (A.D. 1780).The present monastery of Kantara consists of a small mono-tholos in the centre of a plot of ground intended to be surrounded in the usual way by a monastic enclosure, only half of which has been built. The church is of no architectural pretensions and with its surroundings probably dates from the XVIIIth century. Within it is a fine bronze chandelier of medieval style.A small ruined church with earthenware plates stuck into the plastered vault is to be found to the west of Kantara Castle on the way up from the monastery. (Source: Jeffery, 1918).

Photo (December 2012): The church is all that’s left from Kantara monastery...

Recommended website:http://is.gd/nZTjHT

(Mystagogy)

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The easiest (though not the ultimate scenic!) route to Kantara Castle is well known in the expat community: from Girne take the coastal road and follow the signs to Kantara Castle.

Entering the village of Kantara you’ll find “Kantara Restaurant” on your left hand - then turn right (see the map, left).

[ End ]

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DVD ‘The Stones of

Famagusta’ - a ‘must

have’ for Cyprus

history fans!

Purchase the DVD in USA or Europe:

CLICK HERE

Canadian art historian Allan Langdale takes viewers on a whirlwind bicycle tour of a remarkable and forgotten city: Famagusta, on the eastern shores of the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. Considered to be the world’s richest city in the 14th century, Famagusta was the center of a French crusader kingdom for three hundred years. Numerous examples of French gothic architecture still stand in the confines of the walled city, whose complete ramparts are among the most impressive in the world. The Venetians also ruled the city before being conquered by the Ottomans and each culture left behind remnants of their magnificent architecture. Gothic cathedrals and churches like those in Paris or Reims—now with minarets—sit alongside Ottoman bath houses, Byzantine churches, and Venetian gates and palaces. The city walls themselves, with a dozen enormous bastions and a castle, are one of the most unique and

well-preserved examples of medieval and renaissance military architecture.

The story of the city’s meteoric rise to prominence and precipitous collapse into oblivion is told through the architecture of the town’s many conquerors, building to the climax of the famous siege of Famagusta of 1571, when a small group of Venetians held off a massive Ottoman army for almost a

year. Today, the picturesque ruins of the vast churches are still riddled with the iron cannon balls fired in that conflict.

Famagusta’s two-mile long city walls enclose one of the world’s richest concentrations of historical architecture and in 2007 the city was placed on the World Monument

Fund’s 100 Most Endangered Sites. The film helps focus world attention on these impressive monuments which are little known outside of Cyprus. •••

Professor Allan Langdale: “The extraordinary architectural remains in Northern Cyprus deserved to be recorded.”

FACTSHEET (2008)

Title & Date:! ! The Stones of Famagusta: Story of a Forgotten City,Country (filmmakers): ! Canada & BritainCountry (setting)! Northern Cyprus Country (funding)! U.S.A./Turkish Cyprus/Republic of CyprusRunning Time: ! ! 70 minutesDirectors: ! ! Allan Langdale & Dan FrodshamProducers: ! ! Allan Langdale & Dan FrodshamCinematography:! Dan Frodsham (picture right)Additional Cinematography: Allan LangdaleEditor:! ! ! Dan FrodshamAssistant Editor:! Allan LangdaleScriptwriter:! ! Allan LangdaleHost:! ! ! Allan LangdaleGrips/Crew:Idowu Sholanke (Nig), Isik Atay (Tr), Alessandro Caciotto (It)

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BOOKS&

DOCUMENTS ABOUT CYPRUS

Principal authors of manuscripts, books and other printed or painted sources on (medieval) CyprusArcheology, Topography and History (including the Military Orders)

A• ALBRECHT, Peter-Jürgen, † 20-09-1999 - North Cyprus, a Travel Book. (Also available in German: Nord Zypern, Ein Reisebuch. Havellia-Verlag, Berlin). Havellia-Publishing, London 1994.• AMADI, Francesco (d. 1565) - Cronaca di Cipro (Chronicle, 1190-1438). Chronique de Chypre, edited by Count R. de Mas Latrie (Paris, 1891).• AMADI, Francesco - Cronaca di Cipro (Chronicle, 1190-1438). Paris, 1891. (Arch. Makarios III Foundation, Nicosia, 1999, Italian language only, pp.534, h/b).• ANDREWS, Allen - Kings & Queens of Scotland & England. Marshall Cavendish 1986.• ANGLURE - Le saint voyage de Jérusalem du seigneur d'Anglure (1395-1396), Société des Anciens Textes, cd. by Fr. Bonnardot and A. Longnon (Paris, 1880).• APPLEBY, John T., (ed.), 1963 - The chronicle of Richard of Devizes at the time of King Richard the first, Thomas Nelson and Sons, London.• ASSISES DE JÉRUSALEM - Ed. by Beugnot (Paris, 1841), 2 vols.• ATTAR, Francesco - Relatione e particular raguaglio dell' Isola di Cipro (c. 1540), Bibliothéque Nationale, MS. ital. No. 1230, fol. 43.• AUSTRIA, H.I.H. Archduke Louis Salvator of Levkosia (London, 1881, new edition London, 1983).

B• BAKER, Sir S. – Cyprus as I saw it in 1879. London, 1879. 8vo, engraved plate of Larnaca, (42 pages of advertisement at end), publisher’s pictorial cloth gilt. The author spent most of 1879 exploring Cyprus.• BARBARIGO - Risposta del doge a diecinove domande della communita di Famagosta, (1590), Bibi. Nat., MS. ital. No. 895.• BARBER, Malcolm - The Trial of The Templars. Cambridge University Press, 1978, 1996.• BARBER, Malcolm - The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple - Cambridge University Press, 1994, 1998.• BARBER, Malcolm. ed - The Military Orders. Fighting for the Faith and Caring for the Sick (Aldershot: Variorum, 1994).

[ To be continued: A - Z ]

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Please include in your reservation email:

1: date of the walk, 2: your name, 3: number of participants and 4: your (mobile) phone number (to inform you about last minute changes and other emergencies).

If you want to walk (with a group of minimum 6 participants) on a different date than programmed - mail me your wish!

PROGRAMME HISTORIC WALKS IN 2012

MARCH (check for availabie places here).

• 04, Sunday: Kyrenia Walk, from 10.30 am.• 09, Friday, South-Nicosia Walk, from 09.00 am.

• 11, Sunday: Kyrenia Walk, from 10.30 am. • 16, Thursday, North-Nicosia Walk, from 09.00 am.

• 18, Sunday: Kyrenia Walk, from 10.30 am.• 23, Friday, Famagusta Walk, from 09.00 am.

• 25, Sunday: Kyrenia Walk, from 10.30 am.• 30, Friday, Salamis Walk, from 09.00 am.

PROGRAMME AND RESERVATIONS HISTORIC WALKS

Check the available dates and make a reservation (via email)

from the agenda below. All reservations will be confirmed (email).

Texts below in blue are clickable links.

Reservations via email:

click this address

mcf.trnc@gmail.com

From mail & messages: what the participants think...

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FIND THE TEN DIFFERENCES...Buffavento Castle in Northern Cyprus…

This is really difficult: can you spot the

TEN differences on the photograph below..?

DON’T LOOK YET…, you’ll find a picture with the solution on the next page of this eMagazine…

Special effects:Bo de Visser,Holland.

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But, good for us, Michael is not lost for TRNC.

From an email he wrote me recently: “Actually I 'll be back in Famagusta this summer doing work on a painting there… I may have left Cyprus, but I have not forgotten it… at all.

Also - watch out for my new book Medieval and Renaissance Famagusta: Studies in Art, Architecture and History which will be out in July!”

I have Michael’s permission to publish in this eMagazine from his many publications. I’m most grateful and I’m sure the readers will also appreciate it! - Hans Doeleman

THE TEN DIFFERENCES...Buffavento Castle in Northern Cyprus…

The

TEN differences on the second photograph on the previous page...

Special effects:Bo de Visser,Holland.

Many people in Northern Cyprus will have been listeners to one of the talks about medieval Cyprus by Professor Michael Walsh.

His love for the island and especially Famagusta made him a great teacher!

Unfortunately he left the Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus and now teaches as Associate Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

If you have a question about medieval Cyprus (maybe an ancient monument in your village?) mail your question to mcf.trnc@gmal.com . We’ll reply to your question in Q&A in the next eMagazine.

New book ProfessorMichael Walsh

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FAMAGUSTA TO NICOSIA

The visitor/resident in Cyprus is invited 'to do' a route as described below... This route originates from circa 1915, when towns, villages, hamlets etc. were explored by George Jeffery (read his book Monuments of Cyprus). Jeffery had to do this by means of the railroad (now disappeared), carriages and mules - you can do it more comfortably with a hired car and this excursion can easily be done in one day. Start the route in Famagusta and find out what is left of what Jeffery saw 100 years ago...

You'll be extremely amazed!

To make it easy for you I have made a selection (mainly medieval interest) and have provided this route with a map. Furthermore you may often need this link to a page with (former) Greek and Turkish place names... (…) 1915: “A small railway between the two ancient capitals - Famagusta and Nicosia - of the island with a continuation to Evrykhou was constructed about the year 1905, chiefly for the purpose of carrying grain through the great agricultural plain of the Messaoria to the restored port of embarkation at Famagusta.

Railways with a very limited service of passenger trains are not of very much utility to the student of local topography and antiquities.

In the present case the vicinity of the three large towns Famagusta, Nicosia, and Morphou may be more conveniently visited from either of these centres by a carriage than from neighbouring railway stations." (...)

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“For Famagusta (now: Gazi Magusa) click here.

For Stylos (now: Mutluyaka), and the ruins of Trapeza, see Route VII (not published yet).

Gaidhoura (now: Korkuteli) is a small modern village with a prominent unfinished church (a rebuilding of 1906).

Prastion (now: Dörtyol), a modern village with two large modern churches. Near the railway station is a modern church of St. Anastasius. The name of Prastion seems a Romaic corruption of the Frankish Prati = fields.

Pyrga (now: Pirhan) and Sinta (now: Inönü) are small modem hamlets.

Yenagra (now: Nergizli, Nergisli), or Genagra, a mixed village of some antiquity has a church, conspicuous on a hill-top, of medieval cross plan with dome, and an added nave. 'Enagra' was a fief of the Domaine Royale in the Bailiwick of Lefkonico in the XVth century.

Mousoulita (now: Kurudere), an insignificant hamlet with two small modern churches.

Marathovouno (now: Ulukisha), an imposing village situated on a hill at some little distance from the railway. The village church in the modern style is of considerable size.

Angastina (now: Aslanköy), (on the ancient maps 'Angestrina') an ancient village with a name of possibly neo-latin origin. The village church is modern, but there is also a chapel of St. Therapon of Palestine, an early Bishop of Constantia who there suffered martyrdom at the hands of Abu Bekir in 632. This chapel seems an ancient structure, it is situated at the west end of the village.

Exometokhi (now: Düzova). A small hamlet with a modern church of St. George. Strambaldi says this village belonged to the Neville family in 1391 and it is therefore of some antiquity.

Epikho (Abukhor) (now: --). An uninteresting hamlet chiefly inhabited by Moslems. Near by are some large tombs which have been rifled long ago.

(Voni (now: Gökhan) and Trakhoni (now: Demirhan) form part of the excursion from Nicosia, and with Palekythro (now: Balikesir) is also taken as part of Kythrea (now: Degirmenlik or Deyirmenlik).

Kaimakli (now: Büyük Kaimakli). This, although ranked as a distinct village with a siding on the railway, is little more than a faubourg of Nicosia. It derives its name from having been at one time the principal milk farm of the district for the supply of the 'kaimak' or clotted cream beloved of Turks.

At the present day it seems to be considered the centre of the building fraternity whose members travel about the country for the purpose of erecting the strange and hideous 'barn' shaped churches now such a familiar characteristic of the Cyprus landscape. As if to advertise this special trade of its inhabitants the centre of the village is graced with one of the most pretentious of these remarkable structures surmounted by a dome which forms a landmark for some distance around.

The building is covered with ornament of the most barbarous and meretricious character - a mere pile of misapplied details and an exhibition of the total depravity of taste in modern work, even when uninfluenced by circumstances which are supposed to produce a similar result in more civilized countries.

The name Kaimakli does not of course occur on the maps made previous to the Turkish conquest, but a place name 'Micti' seems to occupy the position.

To this more ancient village belongs a small and picturesque church dedicated to the Archangel, situated at the east end of the settlement. This is a monotholos with a western narthex; within, the barrel vault is strengthened by ribs, and on its plastered surface are inserted old porcelain plates in the style of many old churches in Cyprus.

The most interesting feature about the interior is the presence of two medieval tombstones, with the effigies of a gentleman and a lady dimly discernible. In the usual position within the canopies over their heads are shields of arms: three crosses. The inscriptions on these memorials are unfortunately completely obliterated. This church is threatened with destruction but as it now serves chiefly as a cemetery chapel, it may remain abandoned to this more humble use.

Omorphita (now: Kücük Kaimakli). A mere modern off-shoot from Kaimakli.” (Are all the monuments still there..?)

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FAMAGUSTA CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGN BEGINS WITH AIM TO SAVE MONUMENTS

Cyprus TodayFebruary 8, 2012

We can’t do it without you. It’s that easy!

To make this eMagazine a success your help, reader, is needed also.

We need your suggestions for medieval subjects you’d like to read about in articles.

Maybe you’ve always wondered about a monument in or near your village? Please ask us all kinds of questions!

Last but not least: please subscribe to this eMagazine and give a subscription to friends and relatives! - HANS DOELEMAN

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: (12 ISSUES): £ 10 (€ 12). PAYMENT: PAYPAL ONLY.

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Cyprus TodayFebruary 8, 2012

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