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In the centre of  Dipkarpaz, if you leave the road that takes you to along the southern coast of the Karpaz to Apostolos Andreas Monastery,  and take the northern coast road instead,  you will end up at Ayios Philon.

The church here, was built in the 10th Century, on top of a much earlier, possibly 5th Century, basilica, and is virtually all that remains of the ancient Phoenician port of Karpasia. Founded by King Pygmalion of Cyprus, it was a flourishing trading port, half way between Salamis and Anatolia. It was, however, abandoned in 802, after Arab raiders burnt and sacked it and its inhabitants moved inland, founding Dipkarpaz. (This is a fate seen time and time again when we look at the coastal villages of the time.)
The 5th century basilica at Ayios Philon
The 5th Century Basilica

Traces of the old harbour wall can still be seen off shore, but the majority of the village is now under sand dunes to the west of the church.

The church is named after St Philo, who converted the people of the area to Christianity, and had been ordained by St Epiphanios in the 4th Century. (St Epiphanios'  Basilica is to be seen at Salamis) It is a typically domed Byzantine church, with a three-part apse and a courtyard surrounded by columns. There is a cistern and baptising room, as well as numerous mosaics all around from the earlier structure.

Ayios Philon is a pleasant place to pause your exploration of the Karpaz. From here you can continue to the Aphendrika, or turn back to Dipkarpaz to continue to Apostolos Andreas Monastery. Or have a snack overlooking the old harbour while you think about it.

The Monastery of St. Barnabas is at the opposite side of the Salamis-Famagusta road, by the Royal Tombs. You can easily tell it by its two fairly large domes. It was built to commemorate the foremost saint of Cyprus, whose life was so intertwined with the spread of the Christian message in the years immediately following the death of Christ.

The cloister of the monastery has recently been restored and at present serves as the archaeological museum. This section houses an exquisite collection of ancient pottery displayed chronologically, representing the changes in morphology and decoration of pottery in Cyprus from the Neolithic to the Roman times. The rest of the collection covers bronze and marble art objects.

Barnabas was born in Salamis, and joined the apostle Paul to spread the Gospel through Cyprus and Asia Minor. However, the two men split up over the objection to Barnabas's cousin Mark coming along too. In AD 75, the Jewish community in Salamis objected to his missionary work, and had Barnabas stoned to death. Mark rescued his cousin's body and buried it at a secret location.

In the fifth century, the Church of Antioch tried to rule it over the church already established on Cyprus. The Cyprus church defended itself by claiming that since it was founded by a saint, it was equal in rank to the Church of Antioch, founded by Saint Paul. Problem was, there was no proof of this, until St Barnabas appeared in a vision to the Archbishop in AD477 and directed him to Barnabas' tomb.

The Archbishop found the tomb exactly where the vision had indicated, complete with a skeleton clutching a copy of the Gospel of St Matthew, and so the Cyprus church was awarded special privileges. The monastery was established on the site of the saints’ tomb in the fifth century, with funds provided by the Byzantine emperor. However, the church was destroyed by Arab raiders in the seventh century, but it was rebuilt. The present church and cloisters at the monastery of St Barnabas, North Cyprus date from 1756, and parts of the building reuse columns from the ancient site at Salamis.

The tomb of St Barnabas discovered by the Archbishop is still on site, a catacomb cut down into the rock consisting of two chambers. Walk into the modern mausoleum built over the top, and down the steps into the two small chambers, originally designed to hold six dead bodies apiece.

Besides its beautiful traditional architecture, the St Barnabas Icon and Archeological Museum houses a rich collection of painted and gilt icons mostly dating from the 18th century and archaeological antiques from the Neolithic to the Roman times, that were excavated from Salamis, Engomi and other ancient settlements. And if you are interested, it would be worthwhile to visit.