One Night In The Castle

Now this is a memory which I will never forget and will always talk about happily. 2013 was not the year of my life...far from that. But this night was definitely one of the highlights and I'll always be grateful for that.

My birthday was around the corner, the big 30th..and it was definitely and unusual way to celebrate it. My friend was always quite creative when it came to road trips so when I received a brief message asking me to pack my bag for 2 days I was more than curious to know where we will head to this time.

Soon enough I gathered we are about to cross the border to North Cyprus.

Most of my Cypriot friends will denounce me if I say I find the North more beautiful and relaxing, but it's true. The Turks took the better part of the island and luckily preserved it as it was.

Cathedrals, castles, forts...I dare to say that the harbour of Kyrenia can't be compared to any others in the South.

But Kyrenia was not our destination apparently.

After another 50 minutes drive we reached an empty, dusty mountain road seemingly leading nowhere. I didn't want to look disappointed so remained quiet but when the road became so steep and narrow that it seemed impossible to navigate or drive, never mind the missing barriers, I started to wonder if my birthday party will be held in a Turkish hospital's ICU.

Free helicopter ride at least huh...

But we made it! Countless road turns and prayers but we arrived safe and sound. Arrived..but where? The parking was just an empty vacant land, hardly could call it a campsite.

I was quickly told though to look up.

And there it was! A castle on the top of the mountains. Not a well preserved one but the location was awesome. Behind the Five-Fingers mountains, high above Kyrenia, so i was sure the view would be awesome from the top.

Now my only question was, why we needed to carry all the heavy bags up there...but the answer never came, I was just simply asked to start climbing the stairs.

It was quite an exhausting climb but totally worth it.

Oh wait, I didn't even tell you yet, which castle I'm writing about. It was Buffavento, one of the three crusader castles, (St Hilarion, Buffavento and Kantara) built to spot the Arab raiders in the 10th century, standing at 3,100 feet making it the highest and most inaccessible one.

After an hour almost vertical climb we reached the first gateway where some store rooms and dormitories with fireplace and underneath cisterns were located. I looked up and estimated another 15-20 mins walk until the top. The sun was about the set so we had no time to waste.

I summoned all of my energy and begin to climb. The lower and upper section of the castle is connected by an even narrower stairs and my fear of heights didn't help.

(on the way to the top)

We finally reached the top and the 360 degrees panoramic view was just incredible. I felt literally on the top of the world. All I could hear was the wind, no birds, no people, no cars around anymore. Just the nature and us.

And at last my friend revealed the big surprise. He was carrying a tent all the way up and we were going to spend the night between the castle walls, celebrating my birthday. What an amazing idea! Even though I was not entirely sure if it's 100% safe but I didn't want to turn back anymore.

Whilst he was setting up the tent I had time to walk around and watch the sunset which was breathtaking, taking in Kyrenia, Famagusta, Nicosia and the Troodos Mountains.

Once the darkness arrived tens of thousands lights lit up under our feet, forming each town and roads. Stars appeared slowly and pure silence fell.

It was until I've heard the opening theme of Amelie coming from a small speaker and seeing my friend smiling at me, preparing some drinks we could toast with. We sat down on the massive wall by the window, took few sips of our beers and just stared at Cyprus. No words were needed anymore, it was the best birthday present ever.

The name of the castle means buffeted by winds and it did live up to the expectations. The night was very windy and cold so we had to move the tent closer to the wall to be sheltered.

The next morning we woke up early to a different but just as beautiful landscape. Sun was rising, the sea was still peaceful and the air above it was clear so we could see the contour of the mountains in Turkey.

The cities and forests were still asleep.