Kyrenia

Greek myth credits Kyrenia's founding to the Achaeans Cepheus and Praxandrus, who came here after the Trojan War and named the town after their home of Kyrenia in Achaea; the coast to the east is still called the Coast of the Achaeans. An ancient merchant ship that sank off the harbour some time after 294 BC is evidence of the busy sea trade of the time. The Romans laid the foundations of the castle, and early Christians used the old quarries of Chrysokava, just east of it, as catacombs and rock-cut cemeteries.

The town grew in importance after Arab raids destroyed Lambousa in 806, because its castle offered protection. In 1191 Isaac Komnenos sent his family and treasure there for safety when Richard I of England seized the island, which passed in 1192 to Guy of Lusignan. The Lusignans walled the town and enlarged the castle, which never capitulated in the island's medieval wars; the Venetians rebuilt it for the age of artillery, adding massive round towers, but surrendered it and the town to the Ottomans in 1571. Christians were then expelled from the fortified town and moved to Pano Kyrenia or to the mountain villages.

In 1831 the town was almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians, but under British rule many Turkish Cypriots left for Anatolia, and Greek Cypriots became the majority. The British built a road over the mountain pass to Nicosia, and tourism revived the economy. The town saw little fighting in 1963–64, though the Kyrenia–Nicosia road was blockaded. On 20 July 1974 the Turkish army, responding to the coup by EOKA B and the Greek junta, landed west of the town and reached Kyrenia on 22 July. Its Greek Cypriot inhabitants, around 2,650 people, fled or were displaced.

Kyrenia today is the cultural and tourist centre of Northern Cyprus. Its Festival of Culture and Arts, held through June and later extended across the summer, brings concerts by Turkish bands and singers, Latin and reggae music, talks and theatre to the city amphitheatre and Ramadan Cemil Square; in 2012 some 500 to 600 artists and performers took part. In 2014 the town hosted the Golden Island International Film Festival, the first such festival in the north.

Bellapais Abbey, above the town, is its most atmospheric stage. Its refectory hosts concerts and lectures, and two music festivals are held there — a spring festival of opera and classical music, and the International Bellapais Music Festival, with Turkish Cypriot musicians such as the pianist Rüya Taner alongside international performers.

The layers of the town's past sit close together: the Venetian castle, the Ottoman Agha Cafer Pasha Mosque of 1589–1590 and four 19th-century fountains, and the church of the Archangel Michael, rebuilt after the Ottoman reform edict of 1856 and now an icon museum. Before 1974 Greek, Turkish, Maronite, Armenian, Latin and British residents lived side by side here; today the population is Turkish Cypriot, mainland Turkish and British.

The municipality has about 33,000 people — Turkish Cypriots, settlers from mainland Turkey and British expatriates. Several universities, among them Girne American University and the University of Kyrenia, have around 14,000 students between them.

Tourism is the core of the economy. Kyrenia is described as the tourism capital of Northern Cyprus, with many hotels and a busy nightlife, and the old harbour is lined with cafés, bars and restaurants used by locals and visitors alike. Casinos draw a share of the visitors, though they do not necessarily benefit local businesses. The Kyrenia Touristic Port, opened in 1987, is a major transport hub thanks to its closeness to Turkey and the entry point for those who arrive by ferry.

The old harbour itself has a hard history: harbour works begun by the British in 1885 left it open to the northern gales, and many caiques were wrecked in it over the following decades. Today it serves boats taking visitors along the coast.

Kyrenia's food is Cypriot, with a Turkish Cypriot accent. Grilled meat is the centre of it: chunks of pork, lamb, beef or chicken cooked on skewers over charcoal, known as şiş in Turkish and souvla or souvlaki in Greek, alongside gyros, called döner in Turkish, with slices of grilled meat. Halloumi, the semi-hard brined cheese of goat's and sheep's milk, may be eaten fresh, grilled or fried, and aged halloumi is grated over pasta.

A meze is the fullest meal: olives, tahini, potato and garlic dip, taramosalata and cacık — the yoghurt dip known in Greek Cypriot as ttalattouri — with bread and salad, followed by grilled halloumi, meatballs, sausages and more. On the harbour front fish leads the menu, and a fish meze brings calamari, octopus, cuttlefish, red mullet and sea bass. Boat trips along the coast often serve a meze lunch on board.

Sweets include loukoum (Cyprus delight), tulumba, baklava, loukoumades and ravani, a semolina cake with citrus. To drink there is, as across the island, brandy and zivania, the grape spirit.