99. SABAS, SAINT

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In the southern foothills of the Pentadaktylos Mountains, west of Buffavento castle and less than 1 mile (1.5 km) north of Sychari (Kyrenia district), at 520m a.s.l. The church perhaps served as cemetery chapel for the monastery of Apsinthiotissa, 200m to its southwest.

Description: The now ruinous, perhaps originally vaulted single-aisled structure stands over four vaulted (funerary?) chambers. Only the south wall survives up to 2m above ground with brick used in its masonry [Tsiknopoulos (1959) 131; Papageorgiou (1965a) 91, Papageorgiou (1982a) 474, Papageorgiou (1985a) 334].

Dating: A late 11th / early 12th century date is likely, suggested by the masonry and the similarities with the nearby monastery structures of Apsinthiotissa.

Modern repairs: The debris was removed from the interior of the ruined shell in 1964, revealing fragments of fresco decoration on the surviving lower parts of the north and west walls [Papageorgiou (1965a) 91].