Kyrenia (Girne)
Bellapais Abbey:
Four miles to the east of Girne, on the outskirts of the peaceful village which was once home for Lawrence Durrell, Bellapais Abbey is arguably one of the most impressive sites in the Mediterranean and indisputably one of the most majestic sites of the island.  It is the most impressive Gothic monument in North Cyprus.  Yielding magnificent views, it overhangs citrus gardens which stretch out to the sea below. The name comes from the combination of the French words 'belle' and 'pais' meaning "beautiful peace".  It has also been called Abbey de la Pais (the Abbey of Peace).  It was founded during the Lusignan reign by the Augustinians in 1205.  Hugh III, a Lusignan king, financed the majority of the construction.  Hugh IV was even more attached to Bellapais, adding magnificent apartments and living there between 1354 and 1358.

Old Kyrenia Harbour:
It is undoubtedly one of the most enchanting sites of the oriental Mediterranean.  The marina is surrounded by old Venetian houses, restaurants and taverns.  It attracts numerous colourful fishing boats as well as elegant yachts.  Kyrenia was founded by the Myceneans towards 1600 BC.

Kyrenia Castle:
Nobody has yet been able to establish the exact date of the construction of the castle.  As a result of excavations at the site, it is thought that the original castle was built in the 9th Century AD by the Byzantines to defend Kyrenia against Arab raids. Later additions were constructed by the Lusignans and the castle was further strengthened by the Venetians.  An interesting fact about the castle is that in al its history, the caste was never captured by assault.

The Shipwreck Museum:
The museum, which is inside the castle walls, houses the remains of the oldest trading ship ever to have been recovered from the sea.  It sank in a storm around the year 300 BC, less than a mile off the coast of Kyrenia.  The ship was raised from the sea bed by a team of experts in 1969, reassembled, and treated with a preservative before being put on display.  Also in the museum is the cargo carried by the ship on its last voyage, including 400 wine amphorae, 9,000 almonds, 29 millstones, 4 wooden spoons, 4 jars of oil, 4 salt pots, and 4 casks of alcohol.

Famagusta
The Ruins of Salamis:
Only a few miles North of Famagusta, you can find the remnants of the ruins of the antique city of Salamis abandoned to the encroaching sand.  It was built in the 11th century BC by Achaean and Anatolian settlers who were soon joined by the refugees who finally abandoned Enkomi-Alasia in 1050 BC.  Salamis is a great site.  The most impressive remains are the theatre and the gymnasium.  The others are the palaestra (vast exercise ground with marble columns), the sudatorium (or sweating room) and the calderium. The excavations are scattered over a square mile of scrub and acacia.  It was in the town of Salamis that St. Paul and St. Barnabas first set foot into Cyprus.

Othello Tower:
A visit to this tower which keeps guard on the port is a must.  It is said that the drama which inspired Shakespeare took place in Famagusta.

St. Nicholas Cathedral:
It became the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque in the 16th century, after the Ottoman conquest.  It is a replica, with yellow stones, of the Reims Cathedral in France.

The Monastery of St. Barnabas:
It houses a church built in 1756 and the National Museum of Antiquities with objects, especially potteries, discovered at Salamis and Enkomi-Alasia.

Nicosia (Lefkosa)
St. Sophia Cathedral  (Selimiye Mosque):
This is the earliest and perhaps the finest of the Lusignan churches, built by French architects and Queen Alix of Champagne (wife of Hugh the First) in the same style as Chartres and Rouen Cathedrals in France.  Following the Ottoman conquest in the 16th century, it was transformed into a mosque with the addition of two minarets.

Atatürk Square and the Venetian Column::
The grey granite column which stands in the middle of the major square of Nicosia is thought to have been brought from the ruins of Salamis by the Venetians. Originally it bore a lion on its top. Its base is decorated with Venetian coats of arms. The Ottoman Turks overturned it after the conquest in 1570. In 1915 the British re-erected it this time with a copper globe at its top. 

Büyük Hamam:
It is thought that Büyük Hamam, or the Great Bath, Which still functions, incorporates the remains of the fourteenth century Latin Churuch of St George of De Poulains. Its Lusignan Gothic portal is thought to have come from another monument. The rest of the establishment follows the general principes of Turkish bath architecture.

Karpaz
Karpaz peninsula (or the panhandle) is the easternmost part of the island of Cyprus, where the land tapers into a thin strip which stretches out towards Turkey. 

The area is rich in subterranean water reservoirs and thus crops such as tobacco are grown in abundance. Another main source of income in the region is fishing. Boğaz and Kumyalı are the fishing centres in the Karpas. 

As well as numerous Byzantine churches, the most notably the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas, the area boasts some of the finest countryside in the countryside. The Karpaz peninsula has been called the nature reserve of Cyprus for birds, wild flowers, and sea fossils are to be found everywhere.