Archaeological remains that have been unearthed at Lapta, Alsancak and Catalkoy, (Greek names: Ayios Epiktitos, Karavas and Lapithos respectively) show that there were prehistoric settlements in and around Girne. Further sites have been unearthed to the east of Girne adjacent to the Club Acapulco holiday village and several sites some 10, 12 and 40 Km further out towards the Karpas. During the middle to later period of the Bronze Age the population of the area increased significantly with strong influences of the coastal civilizations of Asia Minor together with Achean immigration. The name Kerynia dates back to before 312BC when the city lost its status as an independent kingdom. Ptolemy refers to the town as Keronian or Kerevnian implying that there may have been a temple devoted to the goddess Aphrodite Keravnia (literally Aphrodite with the thunderbolt), in fact a late 19th century tourist named Cesnola reports finding inscriptions in the distinctive Cypriot script (as opposed to the more customary Greek) that refer to the Goddess of Paphos.

Cesnola also discovered a Phoenician inscription that turned out to be a commercial treaty thereby establishing that a Phoenician settlement and trading post was set up during the 10th century BC at Kyrenia. There was a much larger Phoenician settlement at Lambousa or Lapithos some thirteen kilometres west of Kerynia and Kerynia seems to have been subservient to the sovereign of Lapithos.

In his first century BC accounts of battles fought by Alexander the Greats successors the historian Diodorus Siculus' writes 'Nicocreon and other kings concluded a treaty with Ptolemy, but Kition and Lapithos as well as Marium and Kerynia were friendly with Antigonos. Therefore the kingdoms were divided and Seleucos besieged Kerynia and Lapithos.

Kyrenia lies at the foot of the northern slopes of the Kyrenia Range and because of its medieval buildings, Venetian castle and picturesque harbour reminds many people of St Tropez. The old tall buildings that surround the harbour were constructed as carob warehouses in the days when this was the chief export of the town, since the demise of this trade these have been converted into restaurants and hotels and the modern harbour with its long mole and quays was constructed during the British Colonial period. Until the Middle Ages vessels were simply drawn out of the sea onto the beach and the remains of a hollowed out block that housed a winch for this purpose can still be seen. The harbour was closed off by heavy chain and was protected to the east by Kyrenia castle and a fortified city wall with towers - three of these Frankish Towers still remain. The pillar that supported the chain is still visible today. The Lusignians had an inner harbour, accessed by a large archway, situated in front of the castle to accommodate small warships, and this was subsequently filled in by the Venetians to form a dry moat.

The Ptolomemies had a large cemetery in Kyrenia and the Romans continued to use it. The rock cut tombs of its eastern entrance are situated close to the Atlantis hotel and further west one can view rock cut tombs close to the Liman Hotel. The western limit was situated close to the present day electricity building and when a cinema was constructed in 1949 many remains were brought to light. It is generally assumed that the harbour was originally sited to the east of the castle - a supposition that is supported by the location of the cemetery, the existence of breakwaters that have been incorporated into the yacht harbour wall together with numerous recent archaeological finds. To the immediate east of Kyrenia in what is today Karakum, coins with the seal of Drosus the son of Tiberius have been found, as well as objects from other periods, indicating that there was settlement in the area during the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman times. Other interesting finds include the remains of a Roman wall indicating that it must have fallen within Kyrenia's city limits and an inscription dating to 32-43 AD referring to a Roman aqueduct and their benefactor Tiberius Claudius of the Quirinial son of Tiberius Claudius Aineios.

Back To Kyrenia (Girne) Page