Nicosia — St. Hilarion Castle — Bellapais Abbey — Kyrenia — Kyrenia castle — Shipwreck museum
Our tour will start with visiting the capital of Cyprus — Nicosia. Today it is the only divided capital in the world. After passing the passport control, we will head to Kyrenia mountains. Here, at a height of 725 m, on the top of the mountain range, a spectacular castle of St. Hilarion is standing proudly.
Location on a high cliff is offering stunning views of Kyrenia and its surroundings. The castle was built in the 10th century in honour of St. Hilarion from Palestine. In medieval times, during the reign of the French Crusaders, the castle was transformed into royal palaces. Fantasy Bavarian castles in Walt Disney films were also based on St. Hilarion architecture with its towers, outlined domes and Gothic windows.
In the picturesque harbour of Kyrenia we will visit the castle, built by Romans and the museum, located inside the castle, where fragments of a ship wreck dating back to the 3rd century BC, are being kept.
We will have enough time to have a relaxing lunch at one of the cosy restaurants by the sea and visit local shops.
Next stop of the trip will be Bellapais Abbey, where Lawrence Durrell wrote his famous novel “Bitter Lemons”. This charming abbey with its quaint Gothic architecture was founded in 1200. The Abbey was built for Augustinian monks from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, after church was captured by Saladin during the second crusade. Beautiful Roman sarcophagus, located in the monastery’s courtyard was used by monks for ablutions.
Meeting time: 08:00 — 09:00.
Time of return: 17:30 — 18:00.
Lunch is not included in the price.
Schedule:
- Paphos: Monday, Saturday — weekly;
- Limassol: Saturday — weekly;
- Larnaca: Friday — weekly.
For more information contact us:
Please do not forget to bring your passport.
