Today I was taking a day trip out from Nicosia to two medieval ruins on the northern Turkish side, St Hillarian and Bellapais Abbey. Today was also my Birthday, yippee!!
Originally I had booked this tour thru Viator where I book most of my day trips. For some reason they replied back this trip was cancelled. Not only is this the most popular day trip so it was odd it was cancelled, this was the trip I had scheduled for my Birthday.
Frantically before my trip I was scouring the internet looking for another tour but they all ran from other cities such as Paphos, Larnaca, or Limassol where all the tourist resorts where. Fortunately I did eventually find one from one local guide and historian though she doesnt run the trip regularly. Luckily for me my birthday was one of the days she was scheduled to run the tour.
She wanted to meet at the University of Nicosia parking lot at 830am, which I had to look up on google maps and verify with her. She suggested taking a taxi but I prefer city buses to unreliable cab drivers trying to scam tourists.
At the Solomos Square bus station they had interactive maps so I was able to look up the bus numbers to get to the campus. Across was a bakery so I got a mushroom pasty for breakfast for 1 Eu. There were also lots of Filipino women in the bus terminal having a big argument. I like to tell my Filipino friends back home about all the Pinoy people I come across.
Buses 123 or 259 goto the University campus. I was tracking the bus on my GPS phone now that I just discovered it still works without being signed into any wifi. In the campus parking lot the group was assembling and our guide gave me a gift bag with a book she authored as I'd mentioned it was my Birthday when I confirmed my attendance.
Our group consisted of 5 English speakers and 20 Greeks. I guess people from the south of the island or from Greece do not feel comfortable going into the north by themselves. We passed thru the UN border zone and showed our passports.
It was a steep drive climbing up the hill and a bit tricky with their curves. For the final part the bus had to reverse uphill and I was thankful we had an experienced bus driver!
The hilltop fortress was originally built to defend against Arab raids. They wanted the island so they could control the sea trade routes. In the 12th century the Lusinians from France (I've never heard of them) built three hilltop fortresses to control the hills. Later Syrian refugees came bringing their own skills and contributed to the culture and life of the island.
There was even more stair climbing to ascend into the complex. First there were what was stables and a cistern leading to a chapel.
Part of the complex also included Royal Apartments and Barracks. The apartments are now just a shell but more of the architecture of the barracks remains.
The complex is multi level on the moutaintop. There was yet more long stair climbing to reach the peak. This was the most protected part due to its height and housed the most important residents.
You can see in the design of what remains of the windows how prestigious this part of the site was. There would have been kitchens, apartments, and a great hall.
The British took control of the island from the Turks during the Victorian era. The Turks had leased the island in exchange for British help against Russia. The British restored some of the site as they favoured that which was neither Greek or Turkish.
There was actually more to see than in photos I've seen. However there is no bus access so you can only come by taxi, car, or organized tour. My tour was arranged by Anna Marangou thru http://www.historiccyprus.com/en/
2025-05-23