Monasteries and churches

The St Barnabas monastery lies 8 km northwest of Famagusta and consists of a church building with a garden surrounded by a wall and a mausoleum where the remains of St Barnabas are supposed to be buried. The current structures were built in the 1750s. The church nowadays is desecrated and has been converted to a museum. Between the church and the mausoleum there is a small archaeological site, where excavations are ongoing. The Saint Magar monastery (also known as Sourp Magar or Սուրբ Մակար in Armenian) is an Armenian monastery located in the North Cyprus coastal mountain range at 530m of altitude. The monastery nowadays ia abandoned and consists of a set of ruins, some dating back to the 19th century. Also the church of Christ Antiphonitis (Χριστός Ἀντιφωνητής in Greek) is located on the northern slopes of the coastal mountain range. It is a Greek Orthodox church, dating back to the 12th century, in a quite good preservation status. Access to the church is granted by a caretaker who will open the door to visitors. Inside the church building are a number of frescoes. Nowadays the church is a museum.