After driving past impressive villas and slowly winding
up the Kyrenia Mountains, we arrived in a tranquil village that overlooked the Mediterranean
Sea.
One look at Bellapais,
located in the Turkish-controlled North Cyprus, and I thought I could easily
spend a long holiday here. The village is also known as Beylerbeyi in Turkish.
The village offers breathtaking sea views, tiny streets
to explore, charming cafés, small boutique hotels and bed and breakfasts as
well as ancient buildings to admire.
The most notable ancient building here is the
Bellapais Abbey or “The Abbey of Peace,” translated from French Abbaye de la
Belle Paix.
Reaching back to my Spanish skills, I would
translate it as “beautiful country.” I think the Spanish translation sums up
this village rather nicely.
The Bellapais Abbey is known as one of the finest
examples of French Gothic architecture in the Eastern Mediterranean. The monastery’s first settlers were the priests of the
Augustinian order who migrated from Jerusalem. They constructed the first
monastery building between 1198-1205.
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| A side view of the Bellapais Abbey with the Mediterranean Sea in the background. |
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| The monastery's beautifully restored exterior walls. |
But most of the buildings that remain
standing today were built by the French King Hugh III between 1267-1284. The
pavilions around the courtyard and the refectory were constructed during the
reign of King Hugh IV (1324-1359). After the Ottomans conquered Cyprus in 1570,
the monastery was plundered and given to the Greek Orthodox Church.
The church, next to the courtyard with two
large mandalina trees, is the part
which appears to be in the best condition and is still used for special events.
For some reason, the monastery and church were not open on the day that we
visited back in February. You can learn more about the Bellapais Abbey’s
interesting history here.
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| The courtyard of the church at Bellapais, North Cyprus. |
We took our time taking photos of the
monastery and then wandered around the old cobblestone streets of Bellapais
with our Cypriot and Turkish friends. Cherry trees were blossoming as well as several colorful varieties of wild flowers. We bought a huge bag of local mandalina that we immediately ate along the side of the road. The
day really was perfect!
While the village of Bellapais is only 4 kilometres
from the city of Kyrenia, it is about 45 minutes away from the Ercan Airport.
You’re pretty much required to rent a car.
After seeing what I have of North Cyprus so far, I would have no problem renting a car and spending a week or more exploring the Turkish
side of this beautiful island.
For further reading, check out “Bitter
Lemons of Cyprus,” written by
author Lawrence Durrell who lived in Bellapais during the 1950s and chronicled
his time in Cyprus. I’ve just downloaded the book to my Kindle.
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| The stone arches in front of the Bellapais Abbey. |
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| My husband, Jason, posing with our friends: Umut, Huseyin and Ceren. |
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| A single arch leading into the Bellapais Abbey. |
8 comments:
Pictures of the Abbey and surrounding area, wonderful! Will have to add to my places to visit. Thank you
. . this brought back a few memories; I was in the area in 1963-4 as part of the peacekeeping force on the occasion when UK fulfilled its obligations under the treaty. We later became the first troops of the UN force and caused consternation by refusing to replace our maroon berets with UN blue. In the end there was a compromise and we had a maroon patch behind the UN badge - the only time this has happened. I still have mine.
Loved seeing your sunny photos, enjoy! Best wishes for the festive season, xx Ozlem
@Anonymous, You're welcome! N. Cyprus has tons of other ancient sites to visit as well.
@Alan, WOW, I can only imagine what Cyprus must have been like during the time you were there! I'm sure you have some stories you could share! :-) Thanks for sharing this memory.
@Ozlem, Oh, if only Istanbul were sunny instead of gray and dreary. The lodos has arrived. Wishing you happy holidays as well!
What a blue blue sky! Have you just been there? I used to go to N Cyprus for my job and always loved it.
With Pegasus's great deals at the moment, this sounds like a good Spring escape.
@Claudia, yes, we just went to N. Cyprus last weekend. It was sunny the whole time and during the day you could wear jeans and a t-shirt. It was lovely!
@BacktoBodrum, yes, it pays to pay attention to Pegasus's airfare deals! I watch their specials like a hawk. ;-)
North Cyprus is an amazing place! I love it with all my heart. I advise you to check Сyprus Tourism Centre in order to find more information about other magnificent sites of this paradise. With an interesting and challenging history, it has been off-limits for too long and now people often don’t know how much more accessible it is. But it is only a benefit for those, who love silent places with pure nature.
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