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Karsiyaka (formerly known as Vasilya) is an old dispersed village spread out along the Mediterranean coast and the foothills of Lapta Mountain range, 18 km west of Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus. Karsiyaka is a pretty village surrounded by lemon and olive groves. Villa holidays in Karsiyaka offer a truly tranquil atmosphere.
In the old Turkish district (also known as the upper neighborhood), on a slope overlooking the village is the old Turkish Mosque which is a structure with a rectangular shape extending northwest-southeast direction. At the beginning of 1964, after Turks abandoned the village, the mosque was destroyed by the Greeks, and remained as ruin and unusable for many years. The mosque was restored in 2000, and a very high minaret was added on the northwest of the building.
Situated 2 km southeast of the village is the Sinai Monastery on the slopes of Five Finger Mountains. The actual name of the monastery was Vasilyan Agia Paraskevi. The reason they called it Sinai or St. Katherine was that the monastery was a private property of bishop of Saint Catherine Monastery located in Mount Sinai in Egypt. Karsiyaka was a settlement attached to this monastery. St. Catherine of Sinai owned 4 private properties in Cyprus, and the largest of these were the Sinai Monastery in Krsiyaka, and the other monastic properties in Cyprus belonged to Virgin Mary of Eleousa in Karpas Peninsula. From 4 of these monasteries, only the one in Karsiyaka was functional with one monk and a couple of servants until 1974. In 1878, after the introduction of British rule of the island, the Lord H.H. Kitchener made numerous topographical studies, and according to his study, the church and monastery buildings were in a collapsed condition. After 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, the last monk left the monastery and the monastery completely lost its function. Today, the monastery buildings are rundown and dilapidated.
Situated 1 km on the way to Karsiyaka – Kozan, Agia Marina is a small chapel next door to Agia Marina Monastery which is used as a residence today. There is very little information about the history of the monastery.
Although Panagia Monastery and the chapel were within the borders of the village of Karsiyaka, they were attached to the Agios Theodhoros Monastery in Lapta. Panagia Kriniotissa is located on a truck road between Lapta and Kozan (Larnaka tis Lapithou) in the cypress forest at a very high level from the sea.
Agios Constantine was the main church of the Karsiyaka village. It is located in the village square of upper Karsiyaka. The church was used as a mosque until the restoration of the mosque in the village in 2000. No changes were made to its structure when it was used as a mosque. Only an ablution fountain was built to the northwest of the church. Exact date of construction is unknown.
