Kyrenia's icon museum is appropriately located in the former Greek Orthodox church of Archangel Michael. The impressive church was built in 1860. Some 25 years later, the bell tower was added, Kyrenia's most prominent landmark since.

1991 saw the opening of the restored building as an icon museum. It displays a collection of 17th to 19th century oeuvres rescued from theft or destruction, as many abondoned churches were looted and plundered after the island's partition in 1974. The individual icons' places of orign are unknown today.

Besides the universal orthodox icon aesthetics, the many works document the fine craftsmanship and distinct taste of their creators. Among the artistically most acclaimed you will find a depiction of St. Luke, and a scene of John the Baptist's behaeding at the hands of Herod. The beauty of the church's building makes it an even more enchanting experience to contemplate the spirit of the silent survivors of Orthodox art in Northern Cyprus.

After the 1974 partition, thousands of icon and frescoes around Northern Cyprus were stolen and subsequently offered for sale to international collectors. When a Dutch art dealer informed on his former Turkish partner in 1997, a substantial number of art treasures could be secured and partly restored to their owners, among them the Last Judgement and the Tree of Jesse frescoes from the Antiphonitis church.