Το Κάστρο της Κερύνειας - Kyrenia Castle - Cyprus

See also

List of Cyprus archaeological sites on this blog

Η Νεολιθική θέση Βρυσί στον Άγιο Επίκτητο - Archaeological excavations at the Neolithic site of Ayios Epiktitos-Vrysi in the Kyrenia District

Μερικά απο τα ευρήματα βρίσκωνται στο κάστρο της κερύνειας

Το λιμανάκι της Κερύνειας- Kyrenia Harbour - Cyprus

Η εκκλησία του Αγίου Γεωργίου μέσα στο Κάστρο της Κερύνειας - Agios Georgios Churche in Kyrenia Castle - Cyprus

Το καράβι της Κερύνειας (Το αρχάιο ναυάγιο) στο κάστρο της κερύνειας - The Kyrenia ship - Ancient Shipwreck in Kyrenia Castle - Cyprus

Αρχαίοι λαξευτοί τάφοι στην Αγία Ειρήνη Κερύνειας - Ancient Tombs at Agia Irini

Μερικά απο τα ευρήματα βρίσκωνται στο κάστρο της κερύνειας

Αρχαίος τάφος στο χωριό Κρηνί - Bronze Age Tomb at Kini Villages - Cyprus

Μερικά απο τα ευρήματα βρίσκωνται στο κάστρο της κερύνειας

Kyrenia Castle (Greek: Κάστρο της Κερύνειας Turkish: Girne Kalesi), at the east end of the old harbour in Kyrenia is a 16th-century castle built by the Venetians over a previous Crusader fortification. Within its walls lies a twelfth-century chapel showing reused late Roman capitals, and the Shipwreck Museum.

Kyrenia has been created and been around since the 10th century BC. Excavations have revealed Greek traces that date back to the 7th century BC, but the site was developed into a city under Roman rule.


Kyrenia Castle
Research carried out at the site suggests that the Byzantines built the original castle in the 7th Century to guard the city against the new Arab maritime threat. The first historical reference to the castle occurs in 1191, when King Richard the Lionheart of England captured it on his way to the Third Crusade. He did so by defeating Isaac Comnenus, an upstart local governor who had proclaimed himself emperor.

After a short period, Richard sold the island to the Knights Templar, and then to his cousin Guy de Lusignan, the former king of Jerusalem. This began the 300 years of the Frankish Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus (1192–1489). Initially the castle was quite small. John d'Ibelin enlarged it between 1208 and 1211. The Castle's main function was military and the improvements consisted of a new entrance, square and horseshoe-shaped towers, embrasures for archers, and dungeons.

The castle was subjected to several sieges. A Genoese attack in 1373 almost destroyed the castle, and the longest amongst the sieges, in the 15th century, lasted nearly four years and reduced the unfortunate occupants to eating mice and rats. By 1489 the Venetians had taken control of Cyprus and in 1540 they enlarged the castle, giving it its present-day appearance. The chief changes, such as the addition of thick walls and embrasures for cannons, were adaptations to changes in warfare in the form of gunpowder artillery. The Venetians also installed gun ports at three levels so that they could direct cannon fire against attackers from the land. Inside the castle, they built huge long ramps so as to be able to drag artillery up on the walls. When the work on the castle was finished, its walls also encompassed the small church of St. George, which the Byzantines may have built in the 11th or 12th century.


Kyrenia Castle's courtyard
In 1570, Kyrenia surrendered to the Ottomans. The Ottomans too made changes to the castle, but the British removed these during their occupation. The castle contains the tomb of the Ottoman Admiral Sadik Pasha. The British used the castle as a police barracks and training school. They also used the castle as a prison for members of the Greek Cypriot EOKA organization.

The Kyrenia Department of Antiquities took over custodianship of the castle in 1950, though it reverted to British control during the EOKA turmoil. The Department regained control in 1959 and since 1960 the castle has been open to the public. However, during the period from 1963 to 1967 the Cypriot National Guard used the castle as a military headquarters. Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, in 1974 the Girne Department of Antiquities and Museums took over responsibility for the castle's preservation and use. The Department is keeping icons that were collected from churches in the Kyrenia area pre-1974 and has stored them in the castle's locked rooms for safekeeping. Some of these are now on display in the Archangel Michael Church.

The moat on the landward side of the castle was full of water prior to the 14th Century AD and served as a harbour to the castle. One enters the Castle through its north-west entrance, which opens on a bridge spanning the moat. From the first gate, lying to the north west of the fortified wall that the Venetians built, one comes to a vaulted corridor that leads to the entrance of the Lusignan castle. A passage to the left of the corridor gives entry to the cruciform Church of St. George. The dome of this church rests on marble columns with Corinthian capitals that were salvaged from an older building elsewhere and placed here.

The tomb in the entrance corridor of the Lusignan castle belongs to the Ottoman Admiral Sadik Pasha who conquered Kyrenia in 1570. The corridor then leads to the castle's large inner courtyard, which is lined with guardrooms, stables and living quarters. The arched rooms (royal guard rooms, prison etc.) to the north and east of the yard belong to the Lusignan Period. The Royal quarters to the west of the yard, as well as the big and arched windows of the little Latin Temple also date back to the Lusignan Period. On the southern part of the yard there are fortifications and remains belonging to the Byzantine Period. Ramps lead to the defences on the upper sections of the walls. One can climb steps to the Lusignan royal apartments and a small chapel. The depths of Kyrenia Castle contain dungeons, storage rooms and the powder magazines. Off the courtyard, there is a room displaying the finds from various archaeological sites such as the Akdeniz village tomb, the neolithic settlement at Vrysi, and the Kirni Bronze Age tomb. There is also a small souvenir shop and simple cafe at the northern end of the courtyard.

One of the rooms leading off the courtyard contains the Shipwreck Museum, which exhibits the remains of a Greek merchant ship from the 4th century BC, one of the oldest vessels ever to be recovered, together with its cargo. In 1965, Andreas Kariolou, a Greek-Cypriot diver, discovered the vessel, laden with millstones and amphorae of wine from Kos and Rhodes. The vessel was sailing to Cyprus when a storm wrecked it outside Kyrenia harbour. In 1967 he showed the wreck to archeologists. A team, under Michael Katsev of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, then studied the wreck from 1969 to 1974. The vessel was approximately already 80 years old at the time it sank. Today, the 47-foot-long hull (14 m), made of Aleppo pine sheathed in lead, is preserved in a specially controlled environment in the Museum, together with its amphorae.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Το Κάστρο της Κερύνειας είναι κάστρο που βρίσκεται στο λιμάνι της Κερύνειας της Κύπρου.

Χτίστηκε αρχικά από τους Ρωμαίους και τον 7ο αιώνα ανακατασκευάστηκε από τους Βυζαντινούς στη προσπάθεια τους να προστατεύσουν την πόλη από τις αραβικές επιδρομές. Ανακαινίστηκε τον 11ο αιώνα για να ανακαινιστεί πάλι από τους Λουζιτανούς ηγεμόνες της Κύπρου. Τον 13ο αιώνα μέσα στο κάστρο χτίστηκαν βασιλικά διαμερίσματα τα οποία γκρεμίστηκαν αργότερα από τους Ενετούς. Οι Ενετοί ανακαίνισαν εκ νέου το κάστρο, ισχυροποιώντας τα τείχη του και κατασκευάζοντας νέους πύργους. Το 1570 πέρασε στην κατοχή των Οθωμανών και έκτοτε χρησιμοποιήθηκε ως φυλακή από τους Οθωμανούς και αργότερα από τους Βρετανούς.

Το 1955 από το κάστρο δραπέτευσαν 16 μέλη της ΕΟΚΑ χρησιμοποιώντας σεντόνια για να κατέβουν από τις επάλξεις. Μετά το 1960 το κάστρο χρησιμοποιήθηκε για πολιτιστικές εκδηλώσεις. Το 1974 κατά την Τουρκική εισβολή στο κάστρο έγινε μάχη μεταξύ μικρής ναυτικής μονάδας Κυπρίων και των Τούρκων.

Σε αίθουσα του κάστρου βρίσκεται το Πλοίο της Κερύνειας, αρχαίο σκαρί πλοίου του 4ου αιώνα π.Χ., που έχει βρεθεί στη θάλασσα, ανελκύθηκε και συναρμολογήθηκε.
Από τη Βικιπαίδεια, την ελεύθερη εγκυκλοπαίδεια

Photos 3/4/2016 by George Konstantinou

Damask rose - Rosa damascena Mill. - Δαμασκηνή τριανταφυλλιά - Cyprus

Rosa × damascena, more commonly known as the Damask rose, or sometimes as the Rose of Castile, is a rose hybrid, derived from Rosa gallica and Rosa moschata. Further DNA analysis has shown that a third species, Rosa fedtschenkoana, is associated with the Damask rose.

The flowers are renowned for their fine fragrance, and are commercially harvested for rose oil (either "rose otto" or "rose absolute") used in perfumery and to make rose water and "rose concrete". The flower petals are also edible. They may be used to flavor food, as a garnish, as an herbal tea, and preserved in sugar as gulkand.

The Damask rose is a deciduous shrub growing to 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) tall, the stems densely armed with stout, curved prickles and stiff bristles. The leaves are pinnate, with five (rarely seven) leaflets. The roses are a light to moderate pink to light red. The relatively small flowers grow in groups. The bush has an informal shape. It is considered an important type of Old Rose, and also important for its prominent place in the pedigree of many other types.

Rosa × damascena is a cultivated flower, no longer found growing wild. Its origins were traditionally thought to have been in the Middle East, though recent genetic tests indicate it is a hybrid of (R. moschata x R. gallica) crossed with the pollen of Rosa fedtschenkoana, suggesting that a more probable origin is the foothills of central Asia, home of its pollen parent.

The Crusader Robert de Brie is sometimes given credit for bringing the Damask rose from Syria to Europe sometime between 1254 and 1276. The name refers to Damascus, Syria, a major city in the Middle Eastern region. Other stories say the Romans brought the rose to England, and a third account says that the physician of Henry VIII gave him a Damask rose, as a present, around 1540.

There is a history of fragrance production in Afghanistan (Kabul Province) from the Damask rose. An attempt has been made to restore this industry as an alternative for farmers who currently produce opium.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Agios Epiktitos 3/4/2016 by George Konstantinou

Wisteria - Cyprus

Cyprus garden plant

Wisteria (also spelled Wistaria or Wysteria) is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing bines native to the Eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Some species are popular ornamental plants. An aquatic flowering plant with the common name wisteria or 'water wisteria' is in fact Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae.

The botanist Thomas Nuttall said he named the genus Wisteria in memory of Dr. Caspar Wistar (1761–1818). Questioned about the spelling later, Nuttall said it was for "euphony," but his biographer speculated that it may have something to do with Nuttall's friend Charles Jones Wister, Sr., of Grumblethorpe, the grandson of the merchant John Wister. (Some Philadelphia sources state that the plant is named after Wister.) As the spelling is apparently deliberate, there is no justification for changing the genus name under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. However, some spell the plant's common name "wistaria", and Fowler is decisively for the "wistaria" spelling.

Genetic analysis shows Callerya, Afgekia and Wisteria to be each other's closest relatives and quite distinct from other members of the tribe Millettieae. Both have eight chromosomes

Wisteria vines climb by twining their stems either clockwise or counterclockwise round any available support. They can climb as high as 20 m above the ground and spread out 10 m laterally. The world's largest known Wisteria vine is in Sierra Madre, California, measuring more than 1 acre (0.40 ha) in size and weighing 250 tons. Planted in 1894, it is of the Chinese lavender variety.

The leaves are alternate, 15 to 35 cm long, pinnate, with 9 to 19 leaflets. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 10 to 80 cm long, similar to those of the genus Laburnum, but are purple, violet, pink or white. There is no yellow on the leaves. Flowering is in the spring (just before or as the leaves open) in some Asian species, and in mid to late summer in the American species and W. japonica. The flowers of some species are fragrant, most notably Wisteria sinensis. Wisteria species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including brown-tail.

The seeds are produced in pods similar to those of Laburnum, and, like the seeds of that genus, are poisonous. All parts of the plant contain a saponin called wisterin which is toxic if ingested and may cause dizziness, confusion, speech problems, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhea and collapse. Wisterias have caused poisoning in children and pets of many countries, producing mild to severe gastroenteritis and other effects.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Kazafani 3/4/2016 by George Konstantinou

Onthophagus (Palaeonthophagus) opacicollis Reitter 1893 - Dung beetle - Cyprus

Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea

Family: Scarabaeidae


Description
Onthophagus species can reach a length of 5.5–11 millimetres (0.22–0.43 in). These small beetles are oval shaped, the color is usually black or reddish-brown. Sometimes the pronotum has a weak metallic sheen. The males of some species have on the heads horns that they use to fight with each other to gain mating rights with females. Some males do not have horns, and therefore do not come into the fight, but have larger gonads. This adaption reduces direct competition with horned males.

Onthophagus can pull a weight of 1141 times its own body mass and is considered the strongest animal on earth on a body weight to lift ratio.

Economic value
Dung beetles have been utilized in the breakdown of manure on sheep and dairy farms worldwide. These beetles pull the manure into the ground to create their brood balls, which they use as egg chambers. This increases grazing space for cattle, reduces habitats for flies and bacteria, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Edited). 

Photos at Cape Apostolos Andreas 19/3/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Male

Gibbium psylloides (Czempinski, 1778) - Spider beetle - Cyprus

Family: Anobiidae
Subfamily: Ptininae

Up to recently, Gibbium psylloides belonged to the Ptinidae family, but Ptinidae have now been included into the Anobiidae family. These inconspicuous insects, which shy away from light, rather thrive in quiet, dark places of warehouses and houses (attics, barns, cellars). Thanks to their smooth, shiny, round-shaped aspect, they are highly characteristic and easily recognisable. Adults are sometimes mistaken for small spiders, but the difference between them can easily be told thanks to their 3 pairs of legs (Arachnidae have 4 pairs of legs) and to their antennae. Gibbium psylloides cannot fly for their elytra are sealed together, and they move around rather slowly. They feed on dry organic debris of plant or animal oroigin. They can cause fairly important damage in fabrics and books, and minor damage in stored foodstuffs. Yet the damage they cause is considered as reaching a lesser extent than the damage caused by related species. They get adapted to cool climates quite easily and they can survive without food for long periods of time; adults can live up to 1 year. Some Hymenoptera belonging to the Bethylidae family can infest their larvae. From montpellier.inra.fr.

Photos at Karpasia (Peninsula) 19/3/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Oxythyrea abigail Reiche & Saulcy 1856 - Cyprus

Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea
Family: Cetoniidae

The genus Oxythyrea consists of a number of chafer beetle species. Members are typically about 10-15 mm in size, and are usually black with white dots or lines on the thorax, elytra, and abdomen; each species has its own distinctive pattern. Oxythyrea are active during the day, and are often found on flowers, feeding. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Oxythyrea abigail was firstly found in Cyprus by Christodoulos Makris. It is occurs at the sand dunes of Karpasia peninsula.

Photos at Pachyammos (Karpasia) 19/3/2016, by Michael Hadjiconstantis. 

Loquat - Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. - Μεσπιλιά - Μουσμουλιά - Cyprus

Cyprus garden plant
The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, an ancient fruit grown in Japan for the past 1,000 years, is probably native to the cooler hill regions of China to south-central China.

It is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its yellow fruit, and also cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Eriobotrya japonica was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar. It is also known as Japanese plum and Chinese plum., also known as pipa in China.

Eriobotrya japonica is a large evergreen shrub or small tree, with a rounded crown, short trunk and woolly new twigs. The tree can grow to 5–10 metres (16–33 ft) tall, but is often smaller, about 3–4 metres (10–13 ft). The leaves are alternate, simple, 10–25 centimetres (4–10 in) long, dark green, tough and leathery in texture, with a serrated margin, and densely velvety-hairy below with thick yellow-brown pubescence; the young leaves are also densely pubescent above, but this soon rubs off.

Loquats are unusual among fruit trees in that the flowers appear in the autumn or early winter, and the fruits are ripe at any time from early spring to early summer.[citation needed] The flowers are 2 cm (1 in) in diameter, white, with five petals, and produced in stiff panicles of three to ten flowers. The flowers have a sweet, heady aroma that can be smelled from a distance.

Loquat fruits, growing in clusters, are oval, rounded or pear-shaped, 3–5 centimetres (1–2 in) long, with a smooth or downy, yellow or orange, sometimes red-blushed skin. The succulent, tangy flesh is white, yellow or orange and sweet to subacid or acid, depending on the cultivar.

Each fruit contains from one to ten ovules, with three to five being most common. A variable number of the ovules mature into large brown seeds. The skin, though thin, can be peeled off manually if the fruit is ripe. In Egypt varieties with sweeter fruits and fewer seeds are often grafted on inferior quality specimens.

The fruits are the sweetest when soft and orange. The flavour is a mixture of peach, citrus and mild mango
.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos by George Konstantinou