Round Tower

Visit the round tower in Kyrenia Harbour for a real cultural experience and trip back into time.

Kyrenia Castle was originally built in the 7th century by the Byzantines to protect the town from Arab raids. This fortification was extended by the Lusignan’s and the round tower was built around 1300 using recycled Roman stones. It was joined to other round towers by a curtain wall enclosing the expanding town of Kyrenia.

The Venetians strengthened the fortification by widening the original Byzantine walls thus making the overextended Lusignan fortification largely redundant. The Lusignan walls fell down gradually, and by around 1600 when the Ottomans had become established, it was safe to build houses outside the walls. The round tower stood derelict for several hundred years and became a roofless shell.

In 1987, a local businessman received permission from the Ministry of Antiquities to restore the building – a fibre glass dome was put in place, a wooden gallery was erected, and during the excavation work a rough “shelf” was revealed. This and the floor have been covered in natural stone flags.

Since 1988, the tower has been open to the public as a gift shop and art gallery, that sells souvenirs, books, carpets, furniture, crocheted tablecloths, cushion covers, postcards, jewellery and displays works of art by local painters.

Although this round tower is the best preserved, there are remnants of the others still to be seen. One is on the back street leading from the Bandabuliya towards the harbour, and the another overlooks the harbour itself.