kyrenia_castle_insid_txt

At the time of erecting this part of the fortifications of the XVIth century the chapel was rebuilt on account of the three tombs which exist in the building. These tombs are however a great deal out of the centre of the interior, which suggests that they belong to an earlier church.

From the chapel of St. George a curious staircase leads down into the interior of the great round tower of the XVIth century (Used as a salt store less than one hundred years ago!).

Within the chapel of St. George and the adjoining round tower are numerous antiquities and fragments found in different parts of the Kyrenia District. Amongst them is an interesting gravestone of the XVIth century with the usual form of shield containing an 'impresa' or armorial device, a hand holding a quill pen and writing in a book. The inscription is: '(no date) QUI IACET ALUISE DEMEDICI DA BERGAMO CHERE I0'. The concluding word is perhaps 'Cherico' spelt 'Cherecio', the third letter from the end is, however, obliterated. As there is no date on this stone, it was probably executed during the lifetime of the deceased.

The chapel of 'S. Giorgio del Castello' is mentioned in the will of Donna Pienadabene of Ferrara, widow of Antonio di Bergamo, 1406 (Enlart), p. 574. It is singular that the tombstone of another person from Bergamo should now be lying in the chapel. This gravestone does not seem however to fit the tomb entrance in the middle of the chapel, and is said to have been brought from a village near Kyrenia.

Only the base appears to survive of the large square tower or donjon at the foot of which the little church was built. In all probability this square tower, surmounted the highest point of the rocky promontory enclosed within the medieval Castle and was an important landmark on the coast.

The west side of the castle court is the best preserved. The lower stories, consisting of long vaulted apartments, still remain. Above them the grand suite of chambers intended for the use of royalty - occupied for instance by Queen Charlotte in the years 1460-1463 (vide chronicles of G. Boustron) - extended with their windows facing the town.

On the north side - towards the sea - the curtain wall still remains intact for a great part of its length, with the remarkable hollow battlements of the XIVth and XVth centuries. Each battlement forms a kind of sentry box viewed from the interior of the Castle; the archer concealed within this protection could shoot through a long arrowslit on the outside face. Towards the west this wall has been rebuilt, with a sally-port leading to the sea-side, ingeniously defended by an embrasure within the gateway.

The curtains of the east and south sides have been much rebuilt and altered in the XVIth century. The internal row of store rooms and large vaulted chambers on the east wall were fallen into a deplorable state of decay and much of their vaulting had fallen in, but there has been many good restorations. (A part of them has been pulled down for the purpose of building a new inner wall along the south side, about a century ago). Much of the ruin on the east side of the Castle is the result of the wash of the sea in the little bay on that face.

KYRENIA CASTLE description - 2	Sources: see Bibliography (Cyprus). Text was also taken from the Kyrenia Castle Visitor's Guide published by the Antiguities Department of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Available with your ticket at the entrance. \| Plan of the castle of Kyrenia with Legenda \|
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At the time of erecting this part of the fortifications of the XVIth century the chapel was rebuilt on account of the three tombs which exist in the building. These tombs are however a great deal out of the centre of the interior, which suggests that they belong to an earlier church. From the chapel of St. George a curious staircase leads down into the interior of the great round tower of the XVIth century (Used as a salt store less than one hundred years ago!). Within the chapel of St. George and the adjoining round tower are numerous antiquities and fragments found in different parts of the Kyrenia District. Amongst them is an interesting gravestone of the XVIth century with the usual form of shield containing an 'impresa' or armorial device, a hand holding a quill pen and writing in a book. The inscription is: '(no date) QUI IACET ALUISE DEMEDICI DA BERGAMO CHERE I0'. The concluding word is perhaps 'Cherico' spelt 'Cherecio', the third letter from the end is, however, obliterated. As there is no date on this stone, it was probably executed during the lifetime of the deceased. The chapel of 'S. Giorgio del Castello' is mentioned in the will of Donna Pienadabene of Ferrara, widow of Antonio di Bergamo, 1406 (Enlart), p. 574. It is singular that the tombstone of another person from Bergamo should now be lying in the chapel. This gravestone does not seem however to fit the tomb entrance in the middle of the chapel, and is said to have been brought from a village near Kyrenia. Only the base appears to survive of the large square tower or donjon at the foot of which the little church was built. In all probability this square tower, surmounted the highest point of the rocky promontory enclosed within the medieval Castle and was an important landmark on the coast. The west side of the castle court is the best preserved. The lower stories, consisting of long vaulted apartments, still remain. Above them the grand suite of chambers intended for the use of royalty - occupied for instance by Queen Charlotte in the years 1460-1463 (vide chronicles of G. Boustron) - extended with their windows facing the town. On the north side - towards the sea - the curtain wall still remains intact for a great part of its length, with the remarkable hollow battlements of the XIVth and XVth centuries. Each battlement forms a kind of sentry box viewed from the interior of the Castle; the archer concealed within this protection could shoot through a long arrowslit on the outside face. Towards the west this wall has been rebuilt, with a sally-port leading to the sea-side, ingeniously defended by an embrasure within the gateway. The curtains of the east and south sides have been much rebuilt and altered in the XVIth century. The internal row of store rooms and large vaulted chambers on the east wall were fallen into a deplorable state of decay and much of their vaulting had fallen in, but there has been many good restorations. (A part of them has been pulled down for the purpose of building a new inner wall along the south side, about a century ago). Much of the ruin on the east side of the Castle is the result of the wash of the sea in the little bay on that face.