CYPRUS,
PLAN OF KANTARA
CASTLE
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Note: This plan will be found in the brochure you'll receive when entering the castle.
Legenda
The first mention in historical records of Kantara Castle is in the year 1191 a.d. when a certain king or 'Emperor' of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenos took refuge here during the time of King Richard's Crusade. From this single piece of written evidence it is reasonable to assume that long before 1191 there was a castle here, in which case it must have been erected by the Byzantines.
1 - Outer entrance 2 - Barbican 3 - Inner entrance 4 - Rectangular tower 5 - Rectangular tower 6 - Horse-shoe shaped tower 7 - Horse-shoe shaped tower 8 - South-East tower 9 - North-East tower 10 - Vaulted chamber 11 - 12 - 13 - Vaulted chamber (barracks) 14 - Medieval latrine (now rightly positioned by the webmaster) 15 - Southern wall 16 - Cistern 17 - Remains of tower 18 - Horse-shoe shaped tower 19 - Vaulted chamber 20 - Vaulted chamber 21 - Vaulted chamber 22 - Cistern 23 - Cistern 24 - Gate 25 - Chamber 26 - Horse-shoe shaped tower.
The first mention in historical records of Kantara Castle is in the year 1191 a.d. when a certain king or 'Emperor' of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenos took refuge here during the time of King Richard's Crusade. From this single piece of written evidence it is reasonable to assume that long before 1191 there was a castle here, in which case it must have been erected by the Byzantines.
1 - Outer entrance 2 - Barbican 3 - Inner entrance 4 - Rectangular tower 5 - Rectangular tower 6 - Horse-shoe shaped tower 7 - Horse-shoe shaped tower 8 - South-East tower 9 - North-East tower 10 - Vaulted chamber 11 - 12 - 13 - Vaulted chamber (barracks) 14 - Medieval latrine (now rightly positioned by the webmaster) 15 - Southern wall 16 - Cistern 17 - Remains of tower 18 - Horse-shoe shaped tower 19 - Vaulted chamber 20 - Vaulted chamber 21 - Vaulted chamber 22 - Cistern 23 - Cistern 24 - Gate 25 - Chamber 26 - Horse-shoe shaped tower.
Kantara castle was originally built as a watch tower to give warning of approaching Arab pirates who launched a continuous series of raids on Cyprus (and the coasts of Anatolia, Turkey) from the 7th to the 10th century.
The plan shows that Kantara castle is on a very rocky hilltop with so many large masses of rocks in awkward places that, without a map, one soon gets lost. Most maps are orientated so that the top is the north, but in this plan it is slightly different in order to show the entrance in a convenient place. The entire circuit should not take more than one hour, but if you are in a hurry, just make for the summit to see the fine panoramic view and the Gothic window. Then, on your way out, glance at the Barbican and south east tower. This can be done well within the halfhour.
Remember that the castle has been a ruin for more than four hundred years, during which time the place has been a convenient quarry for local farmers to build their walls and houses. No one stopped you, the stones were there for the taking and no need to spend hours shaping them into blocks for that had already been done hundreds of years before. Also, the castle was used as a temporary abode for wandering bands of gypsies whose fires within the walls speeded up their decay. This state of affairs existed in all the castles of Europe until the early part of the present century, when governments began to realise the touristic value of historical places.