bella pais abbey

Bellapais is a small village in northern Cyprus, about four miles from Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish) and was the home for some years of Lawrence Durrell who wrote about life in Cyprus in his book Bitter Lemons. He mentions passing the time drinking coffee under the Tree of Idleness in the village and there are two places which lay claim to being the spot. Unfortunately his book did not identify it completely or perhaps it is fortunate because two establishments can cash in on the name. His house, up a very steep climb has a plaque on it and one can have the pleasure of returning by a not-quite-so-perpendicular way which has an added interest in passing by old olive presses....

The jewel in the whole village is Bellapais Abbey, the abbey of peace, built by monks of the Premonstratensian order in the 13th century. It is a most imposing ruin in a wonderful situation commanding a long view down to Kyrenia and the sea.

Most of the monastic buildings can be traced around the cloister : in Britain these would normally be built on the south side of the church so that to some extent it protected the living quarters from the cold air from the north. At Bellapais, the monastic buildings are on the north probably to be cooler although occasionally, no matter where, the position was dictated by the lay of the land