PANAGIA AFENTRIKA (RUINS)

This important monument rises at the archaeological site of Afentrika, on the northern coastline of occupied Karpasia, there where the ancient city of Ourania flourished. It is a half-ruined three-aisled early Christian basilica of large dimensions which was partly rebuilt during the Middle Ages, combining historical structural elements of various periods. Today the building lacks a roof and functions exclusively as a protected archaeological remnant beside an ancient cove. Owing to the Turkish occupation since 1974, access is restricted, with the ruins of the church standing as an imposing, silent witness of the long Christian tradition of the island.