Sections of St Hilarion castle destroyed in blaze 

A fire at the centuries old Saint Hilarion castle on Pentadaktylos mountain has destroyed the roof and floor of a hall used as a cafeteria but has spared other areas, Turkish Cypriot media reported on Thursday.

The blaze, which started at around 4.45pm on Wednesday, is thought to have been caused by lightning. According to reports, witnesses said they saw lightning strike three to four times in the area before the fire broke out.

Photos showed a gutted hall on the second floor of this section of the castle, which is situated in rugged terrain at an altitude of about 700 metres that hampered fire-fighting efforts.

The cafeteria has been closed for months due to Covid restrictions and had no electricity.

Turkish Cypriot authorities said no ancient artifacts had been affected and repairs would start as soon as the damage was assessed.

The section that burned on Wednesday was damaged, along with some other parts, in a huge fire on the mountain in 1995.

The castle, which dates to the 10th century, was the best-preserved ruin of three former strongholds on the Kyrenia mountains, the other two being Kantara and Buffavento.

The fortifications were started by the Byzantines as defence of the island against Arab pirates raiding the coast.