The original simple arch of the Gateway had good carvings on its corbels. These are understood to have comprised the symbols of the four Evangelists, but two have been concealed by a fourteenth century tower built to house the mechanism of a drawbridge. The Church, which is across a forecourt and immediately opposite the entrance, is the oldest surviving part of the abbey buildings, being either thirteenth- or fourteenth-century. Jeffery points out its similarity to the contemporary Much Wenlock Abbey in Shropshire. The porch has recesses at the north and south ends. These may have been intended to contain the tombs of King Hugues III and Seneschals of the d'lbelin family. Faint fragments of painting are attributed to the Italian cinquecento period, though some may be earlier. The church has the architectural distinction of being provided with a flat roof. This was covered with local terrazzo - an economical finishing technique which has resulted in the disintegration of many ancient monuments in Cyprus.
Adjustments to the interior of the church have had to be made in accordance with its conversion to the Greek Orthodox rite. The provision of an iconostasis where none was intended cannot help but detract from the good proportions of the design, but it is still a lovely and graceful building. Note in particular the 'French' capitals of the thirteenth century pillars, and the fragmentary painted medallion of the Apostle James on the west wall. The night stair, now blocked, in the wall of the north transept provided access from the dormitory. There was also a smaller spiral staircase to the west of this, by which the treasury and the roof were reached. The remainder of the monastic buildings and the cloister should be approached through the forecourt outside the west entrance to the church.
The Cloister is a place of obvious beauty, greatly embellished by four pencil slim cypresses and a show of brightly coloured flowers which go well with the stone and the herbs which are traditionally associated with community life and cookery. The delicate tracery of the arcades, the fascinating and varied detail of the corbels which support the rib vaults and the central bosses should all be closely scrutinized. A most interesting feature in the north west corner of the cloister is a marble sarcophagus of the second century A.D. which has been adapted to form a marble lavabo decorated by attractive swags of carving in high relief. It was here that the monks washed their hands before proceeding through the main entrance to the Refectory. This great vaulted room is in excellent condition. It has a staircase set in the thickness of the north wall which leads to a jutting pulpit from which the Scriptures were read during meals. Six uniformly spaced windows in the north wall provide a wonderful view of the sea and, on clear days, the opposite coasts of Asia Minor.
The Chapter House adjoining the undercroft, both of which are to the east of the cloister, has interesting carvings which include a central marble pillar thought to have formed part of an early Byzantine church in Lambousa. The monks' Dormitory, which originally extended over the whole of the undercroft and chapter house, is reached by the night stair on the south side of the cloister. Each monk was provided with a window and a wall cupboard at the head of his bed, in which he could keep his few personal possessions. These can be seen in the surviving west wall.
The Treasury, which is above the north aisle of the church, is reached from the roof over the south side of the cloister. Damage to wall cupboards suggests that these were forced by the Genoese invaders who violated the church at the end of the fourteenth century. The Cellarium and the Kitchens were situated on the west side of the cloister and refectory. Near the ruins of these domestic offices a narrow flight of stairs leads down into two vaulted rooms which extend the full length of the Refectory immediately above them. These were once used as storehouses for the community's agricultural produce.
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| Description of Bellapais Abbey North Cyprus Kyrenia |
