Buffavento

Buffavento (“buffeted by the wind”) is the highest, wildest and most-difficult-to-reach of the big castles of the northern coast: first there's a four-mile-drive along a tyre-cutting army track, then a sweaty half-hour hike up to the actual ruins. The positive side is that not many people visit this hidden gem: we had the whole of the castle to ourselves.

Looks rather impregnable from the outside. Like St Hilarion Buffavento is built on several levels. It started as a Byzantine watchtower and was surrendered to Guy de Lusignan in 1191. The Lusignans made it into a “real” castle, to strengthen their defenses against raiding Arabs (though it was also used as a prison). Every castle along this stretch of the coast was in the line of sight of the next one, so that signal fires could be used as an early warning system.

Looks rather impregnable from the inside as well! Nevertheless, the Venetians dismantled the structure, like almost all the other castles on Cyprus – they were a seafaring nation and feared that inland castles would be used as strongholds against them.

The castle and the Kyrenian mountain chain, extending far into the west. On some hill in the daze ahead there should be St Hilarion.Further east (and so not on this photo) lies the castle of Kandara, even more of a ruin than Buffavento.

$updated from: Buffavento.htxt Mon 30 Mar 2009 11:48:51 thomasl$

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