Bellapais Abbey lies on the northern side of Bellapais village, about 3 miles (5 km) from Kyrenia, at 720 feet (220 m) above sea level. Aimery de Lusignan founded it, with first buildings dating to 1198 through 1205. The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were the first occupants, and the White Canons succeeded them in 1206. The main building dates to the reign of Hugh III, from 1267 to 1284, and the cloisters and refectory to the reign of Hugh IV. The article names no architect.
The article calls the refectory Gothic, 98 by 33 feet (30 by 10 m), with a rose window on the east wall. The cloister has 18 arches.
The Genoese stripped the abbey after raiding Kyrenia in 1373. After the Ottoman conquest of 1571, the Premonstratensians were expelled. The British Army used the refectory as a hospital in 1878, and bullet holes remain in its east wall. Today it hosts concerts.
Comments