Founded probably in the tenth century BC by the early settles,Girne became one of the major city kingdoms.Beacuse of it position on the northern shore, at approximately halfway from west to east, it became a natural point to develop a harbour and is only a short distance from Turkey, a journey easily covered by sailing craft of ancient times. There is little recorded history of the town’s early development and nothing of any note until Byzantine rule when the town was fortified against the Arab raids of the seventh century. The Lusignans developed the town and strengthened the castle whics they used as a royal residence as well as a military fort.So strongly did they re-fortify it, that when the Genoese overran the ysland in 1373/74 the castle effectively withstood the siege. The Venetians strengthened the castle in 1544, placing the new huge walls and towers outside the old castle perimeter and adding two strong landward bastions and one seaward to protect the harbour entrance. Despite these efforts against attack, when the Ottomans struck in 1570 they encountered no resistance. Girne, already apprised of the massacre that had taken place in Nicosia, felt that the might of the Ottoman army was not to be thwarted and capitulated without firing a single shot. Under the Ottomans the town was simply a minor port and the population, through lack of enterprise and employment, dwindled. When the British took over as governors of the ysland, they found the town with its quiet sleepy atmosphere appealing, and begand to develop it slowly as an ideal place for gentle recreation. They also made use of the excellent facilities of the castle and developed a prison and police academy within it. The Dome Hotel was built to accommondate visitors and for many years was the only hotel in Girne. When it opened in 1939 the single storey building was surmounted by a dome, hence the name. However as the town became more popular and the need for hotel accomodation increased, the dome was removed to allow the addition of more rooms on the first floor. The name remained the same and thoug the following decades the Dome has become large. There is now a casino to cater for the gamblers and most recently the building of a freshwater swimming pool.