Bellapais Abbey, Gothic monastery in Kyrenia, Cyprus

Bellapais Abbey is a Gothic monastery set on a hillside above Kyrenia featuring limestone walls and pointed arches characteristic of medieval religious architecture. The main structures include a church, a covered walkway around an open courtyard, and a dining hall where monks once shared their meals.

The site, earlier called Episcopia or Piscopia, was settled by the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, custodians of the Jerusalem church who fled after its fall to Saladin in 1187. Aimery de Lusignan founded the monastery, with the first buildings dated 1198–1205, consecrated as St. Mary of the Mountain. The White Canons (Premonstratensians) succeeded them in 1206, and 15th- and 16th-century documents call it the White Abbey.

The name Bellapais likely derives from the French Abbaye de la Paix, corrupted after the Italian takeover into Bella Paese, "Beautiful Land"; George Francis Hill doubted both parts of this derivation. The refectory now hosts concerts and lectures, and classical music festivals with international and local performers are held in spring and early summer.

The site is built on sloping terrain with multiple levels and staircases, so comfortable shoes and unhurried time are essential for exploring. Early morning or late afternoon visits offer better lighting and fewer crowds, making it easier to move around and take in the details.

The refectory's east wall still shows bullet holes left by British soldiers, who used the room as a hospital after 1878 and fired small arms inside it. In the cloister, two Roman sarcophagi stacked one above the other once served the canons as lavabos, water running from the decorated upper basin to the plain lower one and out into the garden.