Pentadactylos

Pentadactylos

The Pentadactylos mountains (Turkish Beşparmaklar) comprise the western half of the Kyrenia mountain range, a long, narrow chain which runs 160 km (100 mi) along the northern coast of Cyprus. Both the Greek name (Pentadactylos, also rendered as Pendathaktilos) and the Turkish name (Beşparmaklar) for these mountains come from the five finger-like projections of a mountain near Kyrenia. The names are also sometimes used synonymously with Kyrenia to refer to the entire range.

A devastating fire in July 1995 burned large portions of these mountains, resulting in the loss of significant forest land and natural habitat.

These mountains have many historical castles and monasteries including the St. Hilarion Castle.

There are many legends about the Pentadactylos mountains. One tells the story of a conceited villager who fell in love with the local queen and asked for her hand in marriage. The queen wished to be rid of the impertinent young man and requested that he bring her some water from the spring of Apostolos Andreas monastery in the Karpas, a perilous journey in those days. The man set off and after several weeks returned with a skin full of that precious water. The queen was most dismayed to see that he had succeeded, but still refused to marry him. In a fit of rage, he poured the water on to the earth, seized a handful of the resulting mud and threw it at the queens head. She ducked and the lump of mud sailed far across the plain to land on top of the Kyrenia mountain range, where it is to this day, still showing the impression of the thwarted villager’s five fingers.

Another famous one is of the Byzantine hero Digenis Akritas. Tradition has it that Digenis Akritas's hand gripped the mountain to get out of the sea when he came to free Cyprus from its Saracen invaders, and this is his handprint. (He also threw a large rock across Cyprus to get at the Saracen ships. That rock landed in Paphos at the site of the birthplace of Aphrodite, thus known to this day as Petra Tou Romiou or Rock of the Greek.

ee also

*Geography of Cyprus
*Kyrenia mountain range


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Montes Pentadáctylos — Pentadáctylos (Beşparmaklar). Los montes Pentadáctylos o cordillera Kyrenia es una larga y estrecha cadena montañosa que recorre aproximadamente 160 km a lo largo de la costa septentrional de la isla de Chipre. Las montañas son principalmente… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lapithos — (Greek: Λάπηθος; Turkish: Lapta) is a town of Kyrenia District on the northern coast of Cyprus, which was a kingdom in ancienty. According to Strabo, the settlement was founded by Spartans. In Assyrian inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one… …   Wikipedia

  • Kyrenia mountain range — The Kyrenia mountain range is a long, narrow chain of mountains that runs approximately Unit km|160| 1 along the north coast of the island of Cyprus. The mountains are primarily limestone, with some marble. The highest mountain, Selvili Tepe… …   Wikipedia

  • Mesaoria — es una ancha llanura que se ubica en el centro de la isla de Chipre. Geografía La llanura de Mesaoria está rodeada por el este y el oeste por el mar Mediterráneo, por el sur por los montes Troodos y por el norte por los montes Pentadáctylos o… …   Wikipedia Español

  • History of Nicosia — The history of Nicosia, the current capital of Cyprus, begins at the geological birth of Cyprus and continues into the present. The Birth of NicosiaThe myth of the birth of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, emerging through the foam of the sea waves,… …   Wikipedia

  • Grigoris Afxentiou — Infobox Military Person name=Grigoris Afxentiou lived=February 22, 1928 – March 3, 1957 caption=Bronze statue of Grigoris Afxentiou nickname=Zedhros placeofbirth=Lysi, Famagusta District placeofdeath=Machairas, Nicosia District allegiance=Cyprus… …   Wikipedia

  • Kyriakos Matsis — (Κυριάκος Μάτσης) (1926 1958) was a Greek Cypriot guerrilla member of EOKA. He was Yiannakis Matsis brother who is Member of the European Parliament for Cyprus Early life Matsis was born in Palechori, Cyprus. He received his secondary education… …   Wikipedia

  • 5B — Chypre Pour les articles homonymes, voir Chypre (homonymie).  Cet article a pour sujet l île selon des considérations géographiques. Pour les différentes entités établies sur cette île, voir Chypre (pays), Chypre du Nord et Akrotiri et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • 5b — Chypre Pour les articles homonymes, voir Chypre (homonymie).  Cet article a pour sujet l île selon des considérations géographiques. Pour les différentes entités établies sur cette île, voir Chypre (pays), Chypre du Nord et Akrotiri et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Berangere de Navarre — Bérangère de Navarre Pour les articles homonymes, voir Bérengère. Bérengère de Navarre (1163 1230), première née du roi Sanche VI de Navarre dit « le Sage » (Sancho El Sabio), fut l épouse de Richard Cœur de Lion. Fichier:BERENGERE… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”