This beautiful monastery has none of the dilapidation characteristic of other religious houses which have departed from their primary use. Architecturally, too, this is different from other monasteries on the island. It is among the last few buildings to be erected by the Venetians before they left the island in 1570. For the usual historical reason the free-standing belfry is of later date. On the strength of a Latin inscription copied by Mr Drummond, the English Consul at Aleppo in 1745, the facade of the church and the ornamental fountain in the centre of the enclosure have been ascribed to 1530. All travellers before and after him have been interested in the monastery's water supply, which flows through an aqueduct built on Roman principles, though the discovery of air-shafts has suggested that the water was at one time brought in by the classic Greek method of tunnelling. It feeds two reservoirs, and the most obvious and beautiful features are a Roman carving in the form of a boar's head spewing out the water, and an ornamental fountain in the centre of the courtyard.
The monastic enclosure is entered through a Gateway surmounted by a sculptured coat of arms, so worn as to be undecipherable, with stone sockets for standards on either side. The large rectangular Gatehouse of two storeys on the right is Venetian in origin. Each panel of the beautiful octagonal Fountain has a heavy floral motif in relief. Animal heads and coats of arms above these have been defaced. A domed structure supported by four pillars is set above the fountain, allowing room for raised seats in the shady interior a very pleasant resting-place for pilgrims, as was its intention.
The Church is entered by its south door, above which there is another mutilated coat of arms. A wide entrance passage inside contains seats, and there is a Latin chapel to the east. The church is partially below ground, having been cut out of the rock. It may well be of greater age than is suggested by the Venetian techniques used in its visible construction.
Pietro de Valle, an Italian traveller writing in 1625, suggested that the squareness of the monastery buildings was intended deliberately as a deterrent to pirates, in the hope that they would be hoodwinked into presuming the place to be fortified. When de Valle visited the community it had recently been decimated by the Turks and by pestilence, but a Greek priest still officiated in the church, a part of which was set aside for the Latin rite.
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Price: 84950 GBP Villa in Karsiyaka North Cyprus |
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