It is always pleasant when your material is not only read, but also asked to develop a particular topic. This means that she did not leave the readers indifferent. These are the same castles … interesting topic? Yes, of course, and someone thought that it would be good to write about Russian fortresses. However, it is difficult to find something similar to the castle of St. Hilarion (also called the castle of Cupid *) in North Cyprus, and this is exactly what our story will go about.
So, Cyprus is an "island of copper", an island of ecological disaster, where in ancient times people cut down all forests for coal and boards for ships, an island of holy monasteries, miraculous icons and … castles! Who just built them here! And the crusaders of Richard the Lionheart, and the Byzantines and Venetians, ubiquitous in the Mediterranean, and the Turks, who later captured it. Even now there are "fortresses" … Great Britain! These are huge military bases, which, according to the country's constitution, must remain there forever! And the north of the country - the unrecognized republic of Northern Cyprus - is also Turkish military bases, of which there are plenty, so it's better not to get the camera in some places, otherwise the Turkish soldiers will go in, see and take it away, and nobody You won't complain about that: there are posters everywhere: “But Cameras! But photos!"
But this is information for thought. In fact, Cyprus is a very pleasant place: a lot of sun, warm sea, wonderful sand and flags everywhere, of which there are basically three: England, Cyprus and … Russia! Sometimes you catch yourself thinking that you never left Russia anywhere, but just ended up in our Crimea in a severe drought!
There is also something to see - as already noted, churches and monasteries, there is even a "cat monastery", however, the castles there are just very interesting, and again the most interesting on the northern side occupied by the Turks. But, however, you can get there on a tourist bus in the same way as to all other places: you buy a ticket from local tour operators for 28 euros and go. For our Russians, with the same quality, the excursion costs 56 euros, so I would not recommend using their services.
How did this castle come about? According to the legends that have come down to us, it was founded by an Egyptian monk named Illarion, one of the first Christian bishops. He wandered the Cypriot lands for a long time, trying to find solitude for prayer and a quiet hermit life. And finally, I found myself here, on the slopes of the Cyrene ridge, a place as picturesque as it is inaccessible. It was here that Hilarion settled, lived, prayed, and here he rested in the Lord. But his name was not forgotten, but remained immortalized in the stone walls of this most original fortress in Northern Cyprus.
The castle was built for several centuries until it turned into a truly impregnable fortress. In the dashing times of the Byzantine-Arab wars, it was an important fortification observation post. From the upper tower of the castle, the surroundings are visible to the very horizon. Moreover, it is significant that in its entire history, enemies have never managed to capture this castle: it was too cleverly conceived by Byzantine military engineers.
It is interesting that the size of St. Hilarion Castle is impressive not so much by the height of its walls and towers, but by its area and the way it is located on the slope of a high mountain. It consists of three autonomous levels, each of which simply fits perfectly into the surrounding area. If, for example, the enemy broke through the defenses of the first level and ended up on its territory, then he would immediately come under fire from archers from its upper tiers. At the first level of the fortress, behind powerful walls (today they do not seem very powerful, but we must not forget that they stand on the surface with an inclination of about 45 degrees, that is, you cannot attach a ladder to them!) There were stables, barracks for soldiers and outbuildings, while the uppermost ones were the living quarters for the royal family. There were several reservoirs (and they have survived to this day) for water supplies and warehouses for food supplies, so that this castle could withstand a very long, even long-term siege.
At the very top of the cliff there are the so-called "princes' towers", and one of them just hangs over a very steep mountain cliff and the view from it is simply amazing. Unfortunately, the upper rooms of the castle have practically not survived to our times, however, what has survived cannot fail to impress. Stairs alone, made of smoothly polished soles of thousands of feet, speak volumes. After all, how long did it take to walk back and forth on them like this for them to become like that? Well, if you have everything in order with your imagination, then the remains of walls and towers are quite enough here to "finish painting" the original view of the castle of St. Hilarion. The beautiful Gothic arches, figured window openings and even individual decorative elements of the structures located here remained practically intact. After all, the castle was rebuilt many times. And although the Byzantines laid it as a fortress, architects from Europe serving the Cypriot crusader kings from the Louisignan dynasty also had to work hard on it. So there are plenty of examples of Gothic architecture of the 13th century here. The towers of the first tier, together with the fortress wall, are well preserved, which are clearly visible from the serpentine road, which leads to the fortress past two Turkish military bases at once: special forces on the right and a sniper training ground on the left in the direction of movement towards the castle. Well, and at the top of the castle, on the watchtower, today there is an observation deck with a railing, which is very desirable for any self-respecting tourist to climb, although I would not advise people who suffer from dizziness and walk in shoes with slippery soles.
On the lower tier of the castle, near the inner gate, there is a small Turkish cafe where delicious Turkish coffee is brewed and where you can sit with Turkish soldiers and talk about such a difficult life, of course, only if a tourist is not waiting for you. bus. However, in Kyrenia, which is located below the sea, it is quite possible to rent a car to travel here.
Well, why the castle was truly impregnable is understandable. First, high in the mountains, which made it difficult to deliver everything that was possible to the besiegers. Secondly, there is simply nowhere and nowhere to put throwing machines, since the castle is arranged according to the principle "the further, the steeper." And, of course, it is inconvenient to shoot from bows and crossbows from bottom to top, but from top to bottom - quite the opposite. Plus the reserves accumulated in the castle. The water cistern on the second tier was most likely always full, because the clouds now and then creep up to the top of the mountain and to the castle, and where there are clouds there is always dampness, streams and water!
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With the advent of effective firearms, the castle lost all military significance, as happened with most other castles. Since it is located high in the mountains, there was no one to do it and it quickly fell into decay. But in the 60s. of the last century, during the military confrontation between Greece and Turkey, the castle again "shook the old days": Turkish militias settled within its walls, and there was no way to drive them out. Well, and then Turkish military bases were built nearby.
In some rooms of the castle of St. Hilarion, to the great delight of visitors and especially children, there are installations with mannequins demonstrating the life of the royal family and its retinue, and in some places you can see information tables with a description of this or that part of this fortress. But if the installations are really funny to look at, then the diagrams do not explain much. Well, and about those beauties that will open to you from almost any point of this mountain castle, in this case, perhaps, you can not even talk about. In a word, all those who expect powerful walls and tall towers in the castle of St. Hilarion will be disappointed. For such castles you need to go to England and France, but … to look at what time itself (and people too!) Has not been able to destroy for so many centuries is interesting and instructive. And take a break from the stifling Cypriot heat … why not?
* It was named Cupid's Castle because of the numerous love stories that took place within its walls. It makes no sense to retell them here. But it is worth noting that kings have always been able to reproduce in the best conditions compared to everyone else. That's why they were kings!
