ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE KYRENIAN MOUNTAINS

FORGOTTEN FOURTH FORTRESS: A SECRET...

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By HANS DOELEMAN (Founder of the Medieval Cyprus Fellowship)



[Above] My map shows the location (above) of the "Forgotten Fourth Fortress", which was possibly built as a watch and communications tower. From the fortress soldiers could oversee the Mesoaria plain as far as Morphou (now Güzelyurt) and warn the Royal Palace in Nicosia with fire signals or mirrors if invaders entered Cyprus from the West. Although there are still many unanswered questions around the mysterious "Forgotten Fourth Fortress" (*) in the Kyrenia mountains - there is one secret less...



[Above] The mysterious "Forgotten Fourth Fortress" (*) in the Kyrenia mountains.



[Above] There is a path that runs in front of the building (from the main road 236 m to the southwest corner of the fortress; the elevation of the path at this point is 744,60 m above sea level. The bottom of the castle stands 750 metres above sea level.



[Above] The medieval path runs from the "Fourth Fortress" to connect with the medieval road (probably only a rough, rocky path at the time) between Nicosia and Kyrenia. I walked this difficult and sometimes dangerous path (almost 7 kilometres) to prove my speculation...



[Above] The 6,9 km long medieval footpath, leading from the "Forgotten Fourth Fortress" (left) to the medieval Nicosia-Kyrenia road (probably just a rough, rocky path at the time). I have projected this path (using a Garmin GPS) on this Google Earth Pro map. It's a great walk, giving you a wonderful view of the Mesoaria plain! And remember: possibly as far back as 800 years ago Anglo-French soldiers walked here also! Nothing is known about the builders, the soldiers serving there - just nothing. But - the fortress and the medieval path are still there...

(*) For details see my lecture - available on line here.