Sightseeing in Northern Cyprus
Salamis
This collonaded quadrangle is part of the gymnasium and bath complex at the eastern Roman/Byzantine city of Salamis. The city was damaged by earthquakes in the 1st and 4th centuries, and the columns were collected by the Byzantines from other areas of the city when the gymnasium was rebuilt in the 4th century A.D. A close examination shows that they are do not match, but have been set on bases of varying heights, in order to make their tops come out at the same level. The gymnasium as shown was restored in the 1950's.
Toumba tou Skourou
In the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600 BC. to 1200 BC) traders from the Aegean Sea appeared in Cyprus. They founded several cities on the island, including that of Toumba tou Skourou (the "Mound of Darkness"). The site is located on the course of trhe old River Ovgos, and would have probably been on the west coast of the island; now, however, the river has silted up, and the coast is about 3 miles to the west. The site lies in an orange grove north of Guzelyurt (Morphou). The city was raised above marshy ground on an artificial platform. In the southern part of the site, the excavators found houses and chambered tombs, while to the north potter's workshops and storerooms were located. Some copper was discovered in some of the tombs, and the outstanding examples of Late Bronze Age, hand-made pottery are now on display at the Guzelyurt Museum. The city was originally surrounded by a massive mudbrick wall on stone foundations, but much of the city was buldozed in the late 1950's and 1960's when local Greek farmers planted the orange groves. It was found and investigated in the 1930's.
Enkomi
Another Bronze Age city was located on the east coast. Enkomi was founded in the Middle Bronze Age (ca 1900 BC to 1600 BC) but reached its zenith during the Late Bronze Age, when it was possibly the main center of the copper smelting industry on the island. The site of Enkomi is located on the eastern edge of the Masarya Plain, just below a low ridge next to the River Pedeios. The river was navigable for some distance inland at his time, but has since been raised by earthquake activity. Enkomi may be the site of ancient Alaysia, at least one of the early excavators (Shaeffer) thought so. Ancient texts discuss trade and diplomatic exchanges between "brothers" (that is, between rulers who are viewed as equals). Copper from Alaysia was sent to Egypt in excange for gold, silver, ebony, and horses, and the king of Alaysia was commissioned to build ships for the Egyptians. Some scholars believe that Alaysia may refer to the island of Cyprus, rather than the specific site of Enkomi, but its extensive fortification walls, important tombs, and large copper processing facilities clearly indicate that it was an important site.
Enkomi in the
Late Bronze Age
Sometime around the beginning of the 13th century BC, a massive destruction occurred at Enkomi, and the city was rebuilt on a larger scale, according to a clear plan. The earlier town, which had been built around irregular open spaces, was replaced by a series of long, parallel east-west avenues and a perpendicular main street. Older structures or tombs were covered over or removed entirely. Finely cut stone blocks, called "ashlars" covered the facades of the new buildings, a construction feature that is found in other Cypriot cities, and may have been imported from the Syrian mainland. The perimeter wall was massive, and enclosed an area of about 400 by 350 meters. Many rich tombs were found in the vicinity. of the site, the excavators found houses and chambered tombs, while to the north potter's workshops and storerooms were unearthed.
Bellapais Abbey
A few kilometers east of Girne (Kyrenia) lies the village of Bellapais, made famous by Lawrence Durrell in Bitter Lemons. The village is located on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean, and affords spectacular views. It is dominated by the Abbey, which was founded around 1200 by Augustinian monks who had fled Palestine following the recapture of Jerusalem by Saladin. The monks then adopted Premonstratenian orders, a strict form of their Augustinian order. The abbey was endowed with a piece of the True Cross in 1246 by a knight named Roger the Norman, and the Lusignan King Hugh III gave the abbots of Belapais the right to wear a mitre, a sword, and gilded spurs.
The present refectory and cloisters were built during the reign of Hugh
IV (1324-1359). They are regarded by many as the finest example of Gothic
architecture in the Near East. This was clearly the zenith of the abbey,
for by the early 16th century all maintenance had stopped. In 1565 the
Venetian governor of Cyprus reported that the monks all had women, and
would only accept their own sons as initiates. In 1570, with the arrival
of the Turks, these scandalous friars were turned out of the abbey, and
it was given to the Greek Orthodox Church. The village of Bellapais, which
now surrounds the monastery, is reported to have been originally populated
by descendants of the monks. The Abbey was in danger of being dismantled
by the British in the 1870's, but its stone was found to be too soft for
road building, and it was restored by the architect George Jeffery in the
early 20th century. Today the refectory is used for concerts and plays,
while restaurants and souvenir shops line the street outside.
Vounari
Down the north slope from Kantara, towards the sea, lies the village of Mersinlik (Phlamoudi). About one kilometer north of the village one comes upon a prominent knoll that contains the remains of the site of Vounari. Dating at least from the Bronze Age (Middle Cypriot III to Late Cypriot II, about 1650 to 1350 BC), the site has been reported to also contain artifacts from as far back as the Neolithic period and as recent as the Byzantine period. Vounari appears to have been a small sanctuary site, but there are traces of residential remains, especially on the southern part. The site was excavated by archaeologists from Columbia University in 1970-1973, and has since remained undisturbed. It now lies surrounded by a wheat field, and is covered with grass and wildflowers in the spring. The Columbia University excavation areas can still be seen, where several walls were exposed. Some of the walls have eroded in the past 25 years, but otherwise, the site seems intact.
Melissa
Located on a low, flat ridge about 5 miles west of Vounari, the site of Melissa is today dominated by an abandoned Greek Orthodox Church, which has been sealed up, and is apparently intact. Before 1974, Greek residents of Phlamoudi (now Mersinlik) reported that their ancestors had lived at Melissa. It is clear that the site was occupied during the Byzantine period, for there are pottery fragments of that era to be seen in large numbers over an area of perhaps 500 by 700 meters, mostly to the east of the church, but probably on the west of it as well. When we visited the site, wheat was growing in the field to the west, and we were unwilling to go trampling through it looking for sherds and architecture.
The old church building was built directly over the foundations of an earlier
(probably Byzantine) church. The earlier structure seems to have been much
larger-certainly the apse (the curved part of the eastern end of Orthodox
churches) was about twice as big. There are field walls at intervals over
the flat area to the east, and some of the stones clearly came from the
old Byzantine church. Like Vounari, this site was examined by archaeologists
from Columbia University in the early 1970s. In addition to the Byzantine
remains, they reported a Late Cypriot II occupation, east of the church,
and slightly downslope from it. There is a Neolithic site on a prominent
knoll north of Melissa, overlooking the coast road. It has been reported
that Neolithic remains are associated with the site at Melissa as well,
but I found no evidence of any. The site is now covered with grass, wildflowers,
wheat fields, and olive orchards.
