In 1955 as troubles erupted all over the island, young Greek-Cypriots joined the EOKA group vowing to get rid of the British. Relations were tense and the feelings of the Cypriots were made quite clear.
EOKA managed to raid a police station along the Kyrenia castle for long enough to loot the arsenal. Those captured by the British were kept prisoner in the dungeons.
A Pageant of History was in preparation by the British to take place in the courtyard of the castle, with a thousand guests invited to attend. One of the officers’ wives was to appear as Aphrodite, a key role for which a spirited verse had been composed by a selected local resident to be performed. The Pageant had to be cancelled.
High up on the south-eastern tower is a cemented gun port from where the EOKA prisoners managed to escape.
The historical pageants, concerts and plays were often performed in the castle’s courtyard after 1960, when Cyprus gained its independence.
PNT-00333 > Arthur J. Legge (1859-1942), The Castle Kyrenia, Cyprus, watercolour, 25x35 cm, 1930.
© Costas and Rita Severis Foundation
