We have a medieval castle and a well-known story – Shakespeare’s Othello. The castle was renovated in 2014-2015 and it is worth visiting when you go to the old city of Famagusta from Katehomena (the part of Cyprus occupied by the Turks).
The castle is on the left side of the wall that defends the fortress from “attackers from the sea”. OK, now it’s the wall that protects the port from prying eyes…
At 8 o’clock in the morning the gates open and you can start walking through the castle courtyard. The guy guarding the doors didn’t ask us for money and told us that he closes the doors at around 3 in the afternoon.
When you step inside, don’t forget to check the oldest wooden doors that have survived on the island.
The steps will take you through the rooms where servants used to work 500 years ago. There were the servants’ kitchens and bedrooms, and upstairs were the nobles’ bedrooms and the banquet hall.
Now only the walls and aisles have been preserved.
Be careful when trying to take the perfect picture not to trip over the fire extinguishers that I found scattered everywhere!
And also don’t miss reaching the top, on the castle!
🚩Check here for more details about 👉 Famagusta – the medieval fortress
A little bit of history
The castle was built in the 14th century by the Lusitanians to defend the port. It was then known as the “impenetrable fortress” because of the very deep ditches that surrounded it.
After Cyprus was sold to the Venetian Republic, the towers were rebuilt and became round to be harder to destroy and to be compatible with the modern artillery of the time.
I found that around 1492, the emblem of the winged lion of Saint Mark, the protector of Venice, would also have been placed on the wall.
Legend says that Leonardo da Vinci himself recommended the renovation of the castle in 1481.
🚩 See here more interesting details about 👉 Katehomena – the occupied territories
Othello and his castle in Cyprus!
This place gained its name after Shakespeare set the action of the play Othello precisely in this corner of the island, during the Ottoman-Venetian war (1570-1573).
So we have the Venetian general Othello who defended the Cypriot fortress and who married the much younger and beautiful Desdemona.
And Othello had the misfortune of having Iago by his side, who made him sick with jealousy and ended up killing his wife.
Now, it might be a sad story, but the walk through the castle on the shores of the Mediterranean is luckily a very pleasant one!