Bellapais Monastary – Northern Cyprus Mountains with a private guide

Bellapais Abbey is now the ruins of a monastery built in the 13th century on the northern outskirts of the small village of Bellapais in northern Cyprus, about five kilometres from the town of Kyrenia. The monastery is situated at an altitude of 220 metres above sea level and offers a wide view of Kyrenia and the Mediterranean Sea.

The site was once the residence of the Bishop of Kyrenia and a refuge from Arab attacks in the 7th and 8th centuries. The first inhabitants known to have settled here or nearby were the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, who fled after Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem in 1187. The Canons were the guardians of the Holy Sepulchre.

 

Aimery de Lusignan founded the abbey, the first buildings of which were erected between 1198 and 1205. The abbey was dedicated to St Mary of the Mountain. In 1206, the White Canons Regular (Norbertines or Premonstratensians) succeeded the founding canons. This is why Bellapais is referred to as the „Abbey of the Whites“ in documents from the 15th and 16th centuries.

The main building was built in its present form between 1267 and 1284, during the reign of King Hugo III. The cloister and refectory were built under King Hugo IV between 1324 and 1359. Hugo IV lived in the abbey and had apartments built for himself.

In 1373 the Genoese attacked Kyrenia and severely damaged the castle. The Genoese looted Bellapais of everything movable and valuable.

In 1489 the Venetians took over the government of Cyprus. During the Venetian rule, the inhabitants of the monastery had abandoned the Premonstratensian rule. It is said that the canons took wives and took only their children as novices to keep the monastery in the family.

After the Ottoman conquest of Kyrenia and Kyrenia Castle in 1571, the Ottomans expelled the Premonstratensians and handed the abbey over to the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, which declared it the only legitimate Christian church in Cyprus. The Church of Cyprus neglected the abbey and it fell into disrepair. However, the abbey church itself served as the parish church for the village that grew up around it, whose inhabitants may have used the abbey as a quarry.

During the British rule in Cyprus (1878-1960), the British army initially took control of Bellapais. In 1878 they cemented the floor of the refectory, which they used as a hospital. Unfortunately, the soldiers also fired handguns in the refectory, bullet holes can still be seen in the east wall. In 1912, George Jeffery, the Conservator of Ancient Monuments of Cyprus, carried out repairs to the abbey.

Tags:
10 best places at cyprus, bellapais monastary, mountain village cyprus, private guide cyprus, sightseeing