St. Hilarion Castle

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St. Hilarion Castle is a large castle complex halfway between Kyrenia and Nicosia in Northern Cyprus.

	st-23 Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 3 Get around 4 See 5 Buy 6 Eat & Drink 7 Sleep 8 External links

Understand

The best preserved of North Cyprus' three castles, this fairytale castle (said by some to have inspired the one in Disneyland) is perched on a steep hilltop with commanding views over Kyrenia and the coast.

The castle is named not after St. Hilarion the Great, the founder of monasticism in Palestine who died near Paphos about A.D. 371, but after a later saint, of whom little is known. He is counted among the three hundred saints who according to local tradition, sought refuge in Cyprus when the Arabs overran the Holly Land. His relics were preserved in the castle and "kept right worshipfully" according to an English visitor in the 14th century. It may be presumed that he retired to this hill-top to live the life of a hermit and that as the hermitage of St. Neophytos near Paphos, a monastery was established to shelter those who should follow his example, as well pilgrims to his tomb. The first certain reference to the castle dates from 1191, when Richard the Lionheart successfully sieged it after conquering Kyrenia.

Get in

St. Hilarion is well signposted and just off the main highway connecting Kyrenia and Nicosia. There is no public transport, so car hire or chartering a taxi/dolmus is recommended.

Get around

The car park lies at the foot of the castle, and from here the only way to get around (and up) is on foot. It's a bit of a steep climb all the way to the top, but the castle is quite large and there's plenty to see along the way.

See

The castle has three parts draped over the mountain.

• The Lower Ward consists of parapets defending the main entrance, still used to this date. The largest part of the castle, this area was inhabited by soldiers and their horses, tasked with defending the fortress.
• The Middle Ward houses the royal palace, the church, the kitchen and a large cistern for collecting rainwater.
  • Entry to the Middle Ward is via a large Lusignan gate. Once through there is a courtyard in the middle, separating the quarters of the nobles on the east side from the kitchen and other utility rooms on the west side.
  • The Church (partly ruined, partly reconstructed) is oversized compared to the rest of the castle and in some form probably dates back to the castle's first incarnation as a monastery.
  • Be sure to check out the panoramic view from the Queen's Window on the second floor of the royal apartments.
• The Upper Ward lies to the west of Middle Ward and is reached by a restored staircase. The highest point is at the summit of the mountain (732 meters) and the squat Prince John Tower, surrounded by a precipice on three sides, is where a group of Bulgarian mercenaries suspected of plotting against Prince John of Antioch in 1373 were thrown off to their deaths.

Buy

Eat & Drink

There is a refreshment room (basically a cafe) selling mildly overpriced drinks and snacks in a restored gate house right next to the entrance.

Sleep

There is no accommodation in St. Hilarion and most visitors daytrip from Nicosia or Kyrenia.

External links

• North Cyprus Home Page: St. Hilarion (http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/city/kyrenia/castle/sthilarion/)

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