Kyrenia Mountains

Not to be confused with Taygetus.
"Beşparmak" redirects here. For the mountain range in Turkey, see Beşparmak Mountains.
Topographic map with the Kyrenia/Pentadactylos range labelled

The Kyrenia Mountains (Greek: Κερύνειο Όρος; Turkish: Girne Dağları) is a long, narrow mountain range that runs for approximately 160 km (100 mi) along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of hard crystalline limestone, with some marble.[1] Its highest peak is Mount Selvili, at 1,024 m (3,360 ft).[2] Pentadaktylos (also spelt Pentadactylos; Greek: Πενταδάκτυλος; Turkish: Beşparmak) is another name for the Kyrenia Mountains,[3] though Britannica refers to Pentadaktylos as the "western portion" of the latter,[4] or the part west of Melounta.[2] Pentadaktylos (lit. "five-fingered") is so-named after one of its most distinguishing features, a peak that resembles five fingers.[3]

The Kyrenian mountains are named after the Kyrenian mountains in Achaia, Greece, which are well known from mythology because of the connection with one of the 12 labours of Hercules, the capture of the Kerynitis deer that lived there. This sacred deer of Artemis with golden horns and bronze legs ran so fast that no one could reach it. Hercules, however, after pursuing it for a whole year, managed to catch it and transport it alive to Mycenae.

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

The only other mountain range in Cyprus is the Troodos Mountains.

  1. ^ Gritzner, Charles F., ed. (2010). All of Earth. Millennium House. p. 318.
  2. ^ a b "Kyrenia Mountains". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. ^ a b Spilling, Michael (1999). Cyprus. Marshall Cavendish. p. 9.
  4. ^ Tesch, Noah, ed. (2013). The Britannica Guide to Countries of the European Union: Cyprus, Greece, and Malta. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 2.