| map of region
| map of town
| photobook
| more history
| next page
Richard Pococke in 1738:
... CONVENT CALLED TELABAISE ...
Richard
Pococke (*) also approached Bellapais Abbey from Nicosia (1738).
Like Cornelis de Bruyn, he visited 'the rich convent of Chrysostom'
on the way: "This convent is near the road which leads to Cerines
(Kyrenia, Girne). We crossed the hills again to the north, and lay at
a village called Chilta."
"On the 24th November we went to a most magnificent uninhabited
convent, which is almost entire, called Telabaise,
it consists of a very beautiful cloister; on one side of it there is
a magnificent refectory, on the other a fine room up one flight of stairs,
which might be a library, and under it there are two very handsome apartments,
one of which might be a common refectory, and the other probably served
to receive strangers; on a third side is a church of a more ancient
and heavy building; all the rest is of a very fine Gothic architecture,
and in the cloister they have made a cistern of a beautiful coffin of
white marble adorned with bulls' heads, etc."
(*)
Richard
Pococke (1704-1765), was born in Southampton, England.
In 1738 he was in Cyprus and later reached Egypt. He returned to England
in 1742. Volume I of his book was published in 1743 and volume II in
1745; it was celebrated at the time and translated into French, German
and Dutch. References: A Description of the East and Some other Countries,
I, Observations on Egypt, London. 1743.
Drummond
(1745) notes a tombstone at the church door inscribed :
DOVXARIN. QVI. TRESPASSA. A. XXIX. JORS.
DE. DECEMBRE. A. LAN. DE. MCCCXVIIII. DE. CHRIST.
The great destruction of the buildings was subsequent to the above dates.
In 1884 the modern iconostasis of a very cheap pattern was set up, and
some few destructive alterations were made. An icon dated 1646 survives
from the ancient screen.
