St Barnabas Monastery, next to Salamis

St Barnabas Monastery sits on the plain beside Salamis, in the north of Cyprus, about 8 km from Famagusta (Ammochostos, Gazimağusa). You visit by passing one of the Green Line checkpoints, and what you need for that is in crossing to Northern Cyprus. The general official warnings are in Northern Cyprus. For me it’s the natural companion to the ruins of Salamis.

Barnabas, the apostle of Cyprus

The Acts of the Apostles introduce Barnabas as a Levite born in Cyprus and tell how, on his first journey with Paul, he landed at Salamis and preached in its synagogues. You feel that link across the island. Over in Paphos, the tourist board names the Mouti of Salamiou trail after Paul, Barnabas and Mark, who by tradition walked it on their way to the town.

The Union of Cyprus Municipalities notes that Salamis, rebuilt as Constantia in the 4th century, was the island’s political and church capital. This monastery next door keeps the memory of that era. When the Arab raids of the 7th century emptied Constantia and its people moved south, as the same Union records, the apostle’s tomb was left in the middle of an almost deserted plain, though Wikipedia says its church kept drawing pilgrims.

The tomb and the church

Next to the monastery is a small rock-cut chamber that tradition identifies as the apostle’s tomb. English Wikipedia says Archbishop Anthemius found the body there in the late 5th century, perhaps in 477, and that Emperor Zeno paid for the first basilica. I haven’t found an official source confirming those dates, so take them with caution.

What OpenStreetMap and Wikipedia do agree on is that the church you see today is largely the work of Archbishop Philotheos in 1756, with its bell tower and dome.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Protaras before prices climb.

A monastery turned museum

The last monks left in the 1970s, in 1974 according to Wikipedia and in 1976 according to OpenStreetMap. Since then the church has been an icon museum and the cloister buildings an archaeological museum with finds from the area. I’d take my time here, as this is a rare spot in the north where the ancient and the Christian story are told side by side, and the icons alone justify an hour.

Getting there from Protaras or Ayia Napa

From the Deryneia checkpoint it’s around 14 km to the monastery. Drivers have to take out a policy that covers the north, and I’ve found nothing official on opening hours or charges. The royal tombs of Salamis, which OpenStreetMap marks as an archaeological site, are practically next door to the monastery, and the walled town of Famagusta is about 8 km away.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in St Barnabas Monastery and choose by the reviews.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Protaras on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Protaras before prices climb.