Editing Kyrenia (section)

===Architecture===
[[File:Girne Kalesi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Panorama of Kyrenia Castle (Girne Kalesi)]]
[[Kyrenia Castle]] at the east end of the old harbour is a spectacular site. The castle dates back to Byzantine times and has served the Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans, and British. Within its walls there is a 12th-century chapel containing reused late [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] capitols, and a shipwreck museum. Huge round towers that the Venetians built in 1540 occupy the corners. These strengthened the castle against the artillery of the time.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}.
[[File:Archangelos Church and Icon Museum.jpg|thumb|upright|Archangelos Church and Icon Museum]]
The town has an icon museum housed in a [[Archangelos Michael Church|church]] that had been dedicated to the [[Archangel Michael]]. Not far from it there are some tombs cut into the rock dating from about the 4th century. Behind the harbour are the ruins of a small Christian church, and in the harbour is a small tower from which a [[boom (navigational barrier)|defensive chain]] could be slung to close the harbour to any enemies. The Anglican Church of St. Andrews is behind the castle, close to the bus station, and is open all year round.

[[File:BellapaisMonasteryInnerCourt.jpg|upright|thumb|Bellapais Abbey inner court]]
An example of Ottoman architecture in the city centre is the [[Agha Cafer Pasha Mosque]], built in 1589–90.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bağışkan|first1=Tuncer|title=Kıbrıs'ta Osmanlı Türk Eserleri|date=2005|publisher=Turkish Cypriot Association of Museum Lovers|pages=136–8}}</ref> The city is also home to four 19th century fountains<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bağışkan|first1=Tuncer|title=Kıbrıs'ta Osmanlı Türk Eserleri|date=2005|publisher=Turkish Cypriot Association of Museum Lovers|pages=413–4}}</ref> and an Ottoman-era cemetery where soldiers serving at the castle and victims of contagious diseases are rumoured to have been interred.<ref>Bağışkan, p. 313.</ref>

[[Bellapais Abbey]] (from the French "abbaye de la paix" which means the Peace Monastery), in the northern village of Bellapais, was constructed between 1198 and 1205. The main building as it can be seen today was built during the 13th century by French Augustinian monks, and specifically during the rule of [[Hugh III of Cyprus|King Hugh III]] 1267–1284. The pavilions around the courtyard and the refectory were constructed during the rule of [[Hugh IV of Cyprus|King Hugh IV]] between 1324 and 1359. You can also see the Ancient [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] Church of Mother Mary Robed in White.

Outside the town, on the [[Kyrenia mountain range]], are [[Buffavento|Buffavento Castle]], [[St. Hilarion Castle]] and [[Kantara Castle]], all of which are thought to have been constructed by the Byzantines following the Arab raids on the island. During [[Lusignan]] rule, Buffavento Castle was a prison and called 'Château du Lion'. There the despot Byzantine king of the island, [[Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus|Isaac Comnenus]], is said to have fled after [[Richard the Lion Heart]] conquered Cyprus in 1191. The mountaintop castle of St. Hilarion dominates the town of Kyrenia and is visible for many miles along the coast. Historical records show that the castle was originally a monastery, founded about 800 when a monk by the name of Hilarion chose the site for his hermitage. Later, perhaps in 1100, the monastery was changed into a castle. The easternmost of the three castles is Kantara castle. Sources only mention the castle in the year 1191, when Richard Lion-Heart captured the island.