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Crumbling old houses and a cheerful clutter of bazaars surround the medieval monuments of the Turkish half of the divided city. The Selimiye Mosque – a picturesque hybrid of medieval Christian and Islamic architecture – is the city’s most prominent landmark.

Beneath the jagged sierra of the Kyrenia range, this city is home to a pleasant collection of shops, restaurants and hotels around and above a superb natural harbour. It is dominated by the battlements of a massive Venetian sea-fort that withstood every assault for centuries until, in 1570, its defenders surrendered to the Ottomans. The North’s best hotels arefound either side of the city (see Northern Cyprus Resorts; also see Northern Cyprus Hotels).

Built in the 11th century for the Lusignan kings and steeped in history, St Hilarion would be the perfect setting for a medieval romance, with its elaborate defences built around steep mountain crags. Legends, indeed, surround it, including tales of a hidden treasure-room, an enchanted garden, and stories of Byzantine treachery and medieval intrigue. It was last occupied in the 16th century by the Venetians.

Perched above the sea, Bellapais would be worth the journey into the mountains just for the view. But the abbey, built by the Augustinian order in 1200, is also the most spectacular piece of Gothic architecture in Cyprus, with vaulted stonework decorated with elaborate carving.

Almost 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level, Buffavento’s dilapidated square tower and keep were built by the Byzantines to watch for Saracen raiders and alert the defenders of Kyrenia. Long abandoned, its windy battlements offer breathtaking views of the coast – even with no pirate sails in sight.

Graceful columns, rising from a honeycomb of toppled walls, mark the site of the greatest of Cyprus’s ancient cities. Founded more than 3,000 years ago, Salamis dominated the island until its near-destruction by earthquakes in the 4th century AD. Archaeologists have found Hellenistic mosaics, the remains of Roman baths, a fine amphitheatre and the foundations of two Byzantine basilicas.

Within Venetian ramparts, Famagusta conceals a wealth of Gothic and Islamic architecture. At its heart is the Lala Mustafa Pasa Mosque, originally the cathedral of St Nicholas, with its graceful Gothic porticoes and sixpaned rose window. Huge stone cannon-balls, relics of the eight-month siege of the city in 1570, lie in the streets, while overlooking the harbour is the “Othello Tower”, so called because Famagusta was the main setting for Shakespeare’s play.

The imposing monastery with its sturdy dome was built in 1756, but its main attraction for Orthodox pilgrims was a much older relic: the tomb of St Barnabas, who brought Christianity to Cyprus. Within the monastery is an archaeological museum housing delicate Bronze Age pottery.

Commanding the western end of the Kyrenia range, Kantara’s walls ascend from a formidable barbican gate to a ring of inner battlements and towers. When Richard the Lionheart conquered the island this was the last refuge of the Byzantine prince of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenos.

This long, rocky spit is the least developed part of the island, with sandy beaches on its north and south coast and a scattering of historic Christian churches, including the monastery of Apostolos Andreas, which is being restored with UN and EU funding. Within is a holy well famed for its mystic healing properties.