page_title: Kantara Castle
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Kantara Castle / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Maps of Kantara Castle, North-Cyprus Deutsch: Grundriss der Burg Kantara in Nordzypern, erbaut in 10. Jh., erweitert bis zum 14. Jh., zerstört im 16. Jh.
context_page_description: Kantara Castle is a castle in north Cyprus. The exact date of its construction remains unknown, the most plausible theory being the Byzantine period. It combines Byzantine and Frankish architectural elements, became derelict in 1525 and was dismantled in 1560. It gave its name to the nearby Kantara monastery.
context_section_description: Kantara is situated on an altitude of 550–600 metres (1,800–1,970 ft) above sea level. The castle is surrounded by ridges of barren granite and sandstone bedrock which were used as the main building materials for the castle's construction. The materials were subjected to coarse masonry; most of the buildings are coated with thick layers of plaster to cover the poor quality of the materials. Doors, windows and quoins were transported from elsewhere. The lack of local water sources necessitated the collection of rainwater through the use flat roofs which were connected to the cisterns through a drainage system. Among the six cisterns used the largest stood outside the walls. Buildings contained bread ovens and perhaps even a mill.
  The steep crags limit the available pathways to a narrow valley on its eastern side, which is guarded by twin towers named Nicolas and Faucherre respectively. The first gate is followed by a barrel vaulted barbican, a steep chicane then leads to the portcullis protected main gate. The barbican shows great similarities with contemporary Cilician Armenian designs, having a gallery of arrowslits and two towers of its own. To the north of the main gate stands a horseshoe shaped tower providing additional support to the defenders of the barbican. The apsidal vault at the front of the tower facilitates better shock absorption. Despite its similarities to Roman and Byzantine military architecture it was in fact constructed sometime between 1208 and 1228.
  The surrounding 120 by 70 metres (390 ft × 230 ft) wall contained ten garrison rooms which were constructed in the late 14th century, the barracks were connected with a latrine. A concealed postern, guarded by two towers lies on the south–western corner of the castle. To the south of the main gate, was built a rectangular, barrel vaulted keep, used a prison, later converted into a cistern. The centre of its northern wall is graced by a refined late 14th century Frankish window built from what once was an embrasure. The shape of the embrasures throughout the castle points out that they were mainly used by crossbowmen. At the top of the castle stand the ruins of "The Queen's Chamber", an alleged fortified chapel destroyed in a Turkish naval bombardment in 1525 and looted in the 19th century.
caption: A plan of the Kantara Castle.
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