Kantara is one of the most important castles by which the natural defence of the Kyrenia range was reinforced, The word 'Kantara' in Arabic means bridge or arch. Since this castle bridges the range and commands all the area surrounding it, the name is more than appropriate. It is planted on a group of steep cliffs. The origins of the Kantara castle go back to the 10th century when it was built as a lookout post. The first reference to the castle in the records is in 1191 when Richard the Loinheart captured Cyprus and Isaac Comnenos, the rebel Byzantine prince from Trapezus (Trabzon) who had captured the island and proclaiming himself King of Cyprus, after having ruled for seven years as a despot, sheltered in Kantara.
In the 12th century it was remodelled by the Lusignans, throughout the island's history Kantara often served as a shelter for defeated barons and kings. When Genoese conquered Famagusta and Nicosia in 1373, Kantara remained in the hands of John of Antioch, the brother of King Peter 1 of Cyprus until he moved to St. Hilarion. Later his brother, King James 1 (1382-1398) of Cyprus refortified Kantara, most of the surviving parts belong to his restorations. It continued to be used as late as 1525 when Venetians having relied on the coastal fortresses such as Kyrenia and Famagusta for the defence of the island neglected it as they had done with the other island castles’ of Saint Hilarion and Buffavento.
Small note on cache maintenance: we have asked our local cache guardian simboli2 who also supports us here with our other caches, they are more than happy to be our local cache guardian.