To get acquainted with Girne I could have a chance only after four days I had been in Northern Cyprus. Girne is the city having old and rich history. In order to feel and to know it you must walk on its streets step by step, you must visit to the sources which immortalize its history. In order to feel, it is necessary to visit the fortresses, museums, mosques and churches of this city, you must have a talk with the people living there, and listen to the whispering of its streets and alleys.

Girne is the city which immortalizes the history of the ancient civilizations.

Antiquity that arose from the depths of the countries step side by side with contemporaneity. The modern part of Girne consists of the new style residential buildings, administrative centers, higher educational institutions, trade places, entertainment places, sumptuous hotels, Turkish, French, Chinese restaurants that present the national and world meals, and including the music that enchanting the hearts. Girne consists of the streets surrounded by the palm-trees, olive trees and orange trees, of the avenues and parks adorned by the colored flowers that grow only in Cyprus. In certain hours the sound of azan that calls the people to namaz, is spread all around like the belief of Girne and the population of the city. Some people hurry to their homes, some hurry to the mosque. Some people perform this holy ritual in their working places. The local inhabitants say that in each season of the year it is possible to meet across the foreigners in the streets of Girne. We also often met across the tourists in the city. In summer season the tourists choose to travel this city in order to swim in the waving waters of the Mediterranean Sea, but in other seasons they are eager to visit the fortresses, the museums, monasteries, mosques, churches, tekkes that immortalize in themselves the

thousand years’ history of this city. The warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea make the eyes of every visitor shine with delight.

In different seasons of the years the hearts of Girne beats with the hearts of the visitors of it. If I remark that the difference between the old Gine and modern Girne is as big as the age of this city I am not wrong. As if they are the children of the same mother, but were born with the difference of thousand years. In official sources it is said the population of Girne is 62000 persons. But it must be taken into consideration that the visitors of the city and about ten thousand students who study there add warmth to the life of the city. In one word, Girne looks like ’ a garland of colored flowers because of the people coming there from the four corners of the world.’

From Ercan International Airport to Girne city the roads are plain. But when our driver told us that we would reach ´Miracle” after getting over the mountain in front I imagined the winding roads. It was Beshbarmaq mountain. Though this mountain hasn’t got many winding roads, while the vehicle climbed to the height of it, the Mediterranean Sea dazzled our eyes like the bright reflection of the sky. At times among the road signs we could notice that in front of the word Girne there was added Kyrenia. Afterwards, while getting acquainted with sources related with the history of Girne, I learned that this city was called just Kyrenia during the period of Ottoman empire. The historians say that this city was built in the 10th century BC. In some historical sources it is noted that the builder of the city- Akalar, called the city ’ Kurenia”, after the name of the mountain in the country from which they had moved there. Some historians say that the city was built by the Phoenicians in the 9th century BC. ( https: //gezimanya.com) During the Roman Empire, Girne city was called as Korineum. Though the Arabians attacked the Cyprus Island repeatedly, they couldn’t take possession of this city. The historians connect it by city’s having military strength that was able to defend the it heroically. Including the historians characterize Girne city as the only city in the Cyprus Island which never yielded to the Arabian invasion. During all the times of its history Girne was in the focus of the attention for its important strategic

importance. So, the hero of my next article is Girne city. We began to discover the city that our driver called it as ´Miracle” , starting from Girne castle.

Girne Castle- the reliable friend of the city

Girne Castle isn’t the heart of Girne, but also it is the heart of Cyprus. All the tourists visit that castle. Even most of the tourists come to Cyprus just for to visit Girne Castle. If you watch it from a distance it looks like an army standing proudly on the seashore. And it seems as if the sea is a troop that is going to attack it. How much the sea is stormy and looks for the ways to win the heart of the castle it can’t attain its purpose. According to the words of the historians, the people of Girne built this castle in the 7th century. It is the time hen Cyprus was face to face with Arabian invasion. We pass through the bridge which is the only entrance to the castle, and stand face to face with this historical monument. On the information board there are comprehensive writings about the history of the castle. It has been written on the board that the king of England, Richard, as bold as a lion arrives at Cyprus in order to invade Jerusalem in the Holy Lands, during his Third Crusade.

He occupied both the castle and the island. Richard, who was as bold as a lion didn’t stay in the island for a long time. He sold the castle to Knights Templar and continued his way. Who were Knights Templar? They are also called as “ Knights of Temple” . In the history of Crusades the establishing of monk knights’ organizations ( orders) is one of the points that draws the attention. One of those organizations was “ Knights of the Temple”- Templar. In Europe they were called as Templar. They say that the reason of to call the organization so, was that their first residence was situated on the place of Prophet Solomon’s temple. It was as following in their code of laws: “ The Templar have to protect the pilgrims who pilgrimage to Jerusalem from the invasions of the thieves and robbers.” But those monk- knights soon lost their interest to serving the religion and began to appreciate material profits. They mastered the art of trade in the East and soon

they gathered much wealth. In XII and XIII centuries Knights Templar owned large lands in Palestine, Syria and Europe. Even in the lands and churches to which Pope of Roman was responsible, they had privilege. But originally their main task was to protect the pilgrims visiting Jerusalem.

During 1118 -1191’s Knights Templar operated in Jerusalem, during 1191-1291 they operated in Akkoda. And during 1291-1314 they operated in Cyprus. On October 13, 1307 their organization was liquidated by the Philip IV of France

( Philip the Fair) .All of their property was confiscated by the king. Even in XV century they were accused according to the “ Holy Church laws” ( inquisition) and were burnt in the bonfire. (Бордонов Жорж. (англ.)русск.. Повседневная жизнь тамплиеров в XIII веке / Пер. В. Д. Балакин. — М.: Молодая гвардия, 2004. — 243 с. — (Живая история: Повседневная жизнь человечества). — ISBN 5-235-02631-4.

But it was difficult for them to remain in the castle. That was why they returned it again to Richard as bold as a lion.

Then Richard sold the castle to Guy de Lusignan. By this the foundation of the governance of Lusignan family was set up in the island. Their reign in the island had begun since 1192. And it must be added that Lusignan family were French by origin. During their reign they strengthened the defense opportunities of the castle. Since 1489 the castle passed to the subordination of the Venetians. The Venetians always expected the danger by the Ottomans, and that was why they strengthened the castle more.. But despite of all these it was impossible to withstand at the Ottoman army. The Venetians yielded the castle to the Ottoman army only after a battle. During the conquest of the castle the admiral of the Ottoman army, Sadik Pasha was killed for faith. His grave is in the entrance of the castle. After moving forward in the castle we saw the Holy Georgian Church . It has been written on the information board that the church was built after 1100

AC. It was also remarked on the information board that firstly the church was built in the outside of the castle. But afterwards the Venetians broadened the castle and the church remained inside of the church and became a part of it.

The list of the used literature:

1. https://gosailing.ru 2. https://gezimanya.com Бордонов Жорж. (англ.)русск.. Повседневная жизнь тамплиеров в XIII веке / Пер. В. Д. Балакин. — М.: Молодая гвардия, 2004. — 243 с. — (Живая история: Повседневная жизнь человечества). — ISBN 5-235-02631-4

Translator: Sevil Gulten