The Kyrenia Mountains ( el, Κερύνειο Όρος; tr, Girne Dağları) is a long, narrow

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

that runs for approximately along the northern coast of the

island of Cyprus Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and the 80th largest island in the world by area. It is located south of th ...

. It is primarily made of hard crystalline

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, with some

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. Its highest peak is Mount Selvili, at . Pentadaktylos (also spelt ''Pentadactylos''; el, Πενταδάκτυλος; tr, Beşparmak) is another name for the Kyrenia Mountains, though '' Britannica'' refers to Pentadaktylos as the "western portion" of the latter, or the part west of Melounta. Pentadaktylos (''lit.'' "five-fingered") is so-named after one of its most distinguishing features, a peak that resembles five fingers. The Kyrenian mountains are named after the Kyrenian mountains in Achaia, Greece, which are well known from mythology because of the connection with one of the 12 labours of Hercules, the capture of the Kerynitis deer that lived there. This sacred deer of Artemis with golden horns and bronze legs ran so fast that no one could reach it. Hercules, however, after pursuing it for a whole year, managed to catch it and transport it alive to Mycenae. A devastating fire in July 1995 burned large portions of the Kyrenia Mountains, resulting in the loss of significant forest land and natural habitat. The only other mountain range in Cyprus is the

Troodos Mountains Troodos (sometimes spelled Troödos; el, Τρόοδος ; tr, Trodos Dağları) is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympus ( el, Όλυμπος), also known as Chion ...

Geology

These mountains are a series of sedimentary formations from the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

to the Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

pushed up by a collision of the

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

plates. Though only half the height of the

, the Kyrenia Mountains are rugged and rise abruptly from the

Mesaoria The Mesaoria ( el, Μεσαορία, tr, Mesarya) is a broad, sweeping plain which makes up the north centre of the island of Cyprus. Geography The Mesaoria is the name given to the broad tract of plain which extends across the island from the ...

plain.

History

The location of the mountains near the sea made them desirable locations for watch towers and castles overlooking the northern Cyprus coast, as well as the central plain. These castles generally date from the 10th through the 15th centuries, primarily constructed by the Byzantines and Lusignans. The castles of

St. Hilarion Hilarion the Great (291–371) was an anchorite who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). While St Anthony is considered to have established Christian monasticism in the Egyptian d ...

, Buffavento, and Kantara sit astride peaks and were of strategic importance during much of the history of Cyprus during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Painted flag

Nicosia 01-2017 img17 View from Shacolas Tower

flag of Northern Cyprus The flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti Bayrağı) is the national flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and is based on the flag of Turkey, with the colors reversed and two additional ...

is painted on the southern slope of the Kyrenia Mountains. It is reportedly 425metres wide and 250metres high, and is illuminated at night. The flag is considered controversial as evidenced in the Parliamentary Question put to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Antigoni Papadopoulou Antigoni Papadopoulou (Greek: Αντιγόνη Παπαδοπούλου; '' née'' Pericleous (Greek: Περικλέους); born July 8, 1954) is a Greek Cypriot politician and chemist. She was one of the first two Cypriot women to be elected a ...

on 22 October 2009, "How can it permit the existence of such a flag which, apart from the catastrophic environmental damage it causes, the use of chemical substances and the brutal abuse of the environment, involves an absurd waste of electricity at a time of economic crisis? Does Turkey show sufficient respect towards the environment to justify its desire to open the relevant chapter of accession negotiations?"

Legends

There are many legends about the Pentadactylos mountains. One tells the story of a conceited villager who fell in love with the local queen and asked for her hand in marriage. The queen wished to be rid of the impertinent young man and requested that he bring her some water from the spring of

Apostolos Andreas monastery Apostolos Andreas Monastery ( el, Απόστολος Ανδρέας; tr, Apostolos Andreas Manastırı) is a monastery situated just south of Cape Apostolos Andreas, the north-easternmost point of the island of Cyprus, in Rizokarpaso in the K ...

in the Karpas, a perilous journey in those days. The man set off and after several weeks returned with a skin full of that precious water. The queen was most dismayed to see that he had succeeded, but still refused to marry him. In a fit of rage, he poured the water on to the earth, seized a handful of the resulting mud and threw it at the queens head. She ducked and the lump of mud sailed far across the plain to land on top of the Kyrenia mountain range, where it is to this day, still showing the impression of the thwarted villager’s five fingers. Another famous one is of the Byzantine hero

Digenis Akritas ''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the Acritic songs and is often regarded as the only surviving epic ...

. Tradition has it that Digenis Akritas's hand gripped the mountain to get out of the sea when he came to free Cyprus from its

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

invaders, and this is his handprint. He also threw a large rock across Cyprus to get at the Saracen ships. That rock landed in

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

at the site of the birthplace of Aphrodite, thus known to this day as

Petra Tou Romiou Petra tou Romiou ("Rock of the "Roman") (that is East Roman or Byzantine as Byzantines referred to themselves as either Greeks or Romans until the 1920s), also known as Aphrodite's Rock, is a sea stack in Paphos, Cyprus. It is located off the sh ...

or "Rock of the Greek".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyrenia Mountain Range Cyprus Mediterranean forests Kyrenia Mountains Mountains of Northern Cyprus Mountain ranges of Cyprus