CYPRUS AND THE EUPHRATES VALLEY RAILWAY.
Again must Cyprus bear a prominent position in the eyes of the world.
For many years eminent statesmen, soldiers, and engineers have been
proclaiming the advisability of making Cyprus the point through which
that grand scheme, the Euphrates Valley Railway, soon we hope to be a
reality, would receive its principal sources of traffic, and forming it
into the terminal station of a line of railway and steamers destined to
chain us more firmly to our Indian possessions, and to open again the
long-deserted or neglected land that lies between it and the Persian
Gulf.
Major-General Sir F. Goldsmid, C.B., K.C.S.I., who has devoted a
considerable portion of his time to this scheme, has thrown such
valuable light upon the subject that we should be wanting in our duty
to our readers if we did not give some brief idea of the information
his valuable paper affords us.
The geographical position of Cyprus, now under British rule, makes
the island a fitting guardian of Upper Syria, Cœlo Syria, and almost
of Palestine, and in the hands of Great Britain is an invaluable
acquisition, and worth any amount of land which might be purchased on
the neighbouring Asiatic coast.
The distance to the several ports on the mainland is not great; indeed,
the island is said to be visible on a clear day from Seleucia. A
railway terminus for the Persian Gulf line might be reached in a very
few hours, and fair weather boats, calculated to carry over a thousand
passengers, troops or civilians, might be used at certain times at
inconsiderable cost.
Of Larnaka, as a port, very little information can be obtained; but
fifteen years ago it received 324 vessels of 54,340 tons, and sent out
321 vessels of 53,458 tons. In 1876 there were entered 457, and cleared
483 vessels of 92,926 and 91,690 tons respectively.
At Limasol, in 1863, 493 vessels were entered of 32,980 tons. The
present harbour of Famagusta has a superficial extent of nearly eighty
acres, to which a depth of five and a half fathoms might be readily
given; but there is only a space of about five acres which can be
relied upon for the actual reception of ships.
M. Collas, a French writer, experienced in Turkey and the Turks,
thinks that, with ordinary engineering skill, a harbour might be formed
here of more than 148 acres in extent. The opening of this harbour
would also give, in the opinion of M. Collas, an immense impetus to the
export of cotton, which might be grown up to the amount not far short
of 30,000 tons, a high figure of productiveness.
Having thus shown how Cyprus is capable, so far as harbours are
concerned, of fulfilling her position as the terminus of the Euphrates
Valley Railway, let us look to some of the various routes suggested for
this line. Five different schemes were selected as the most important
by the Committee which sat in 1872.
1st. A line starting from Alexandretta or Suedia, near the mouth of
the Orontes, passing through Aleppo to the Euphrates, at or near Jabah
Castle, and thence carried down the right bank of the river to Kuwait,
on the western side of the Persian Gulf.
2nd. A line starting from one of the same points, crossing the
Euphrates at Belio, passing down the left bank of the river, or
the right bank of the Tigris, to a point nearly opposite Baghdad,
recrossing the Euphrates, and proceeding to Kuwait.
3rd. A line starting as before, crossing the Euphrates at Bir, thence
going round to Orfah and Diarbekir, and following the right bank of the
Tigris as the last.
4th. A similar line, only following the left bank of the Tigris.
5th. A line starting from Tripoli, and proceeding across the desert by
way of Damascus and Palmyra to the Euphrates, whence it might follow
one of the preceding routes.
Which of these routes will eventually be adopted, is still the subject
of much discussion.
Mr. W. P. Andrew, F.R.G.S., who for thirty years has devoted much time
and attention to endeavouring to carry out this design, has furnished
us with an admirable report on this project. We will give a short
sketch in his own words:
“In the proposal to restore this ancient route—once the highway of the
world’s commerce and the track of the heroes of early history—by the
construction of a railway to connect the Mediterranean and the Persian
Gulf, we have at hand an invaluable and perfectly efficient means
at once of thwarting the designs of Russia, if they should assume a
hostile character, of marching hand in hand with her if her mission be
to carry civilisation to distant lands, and of competing with her in
the peaceful rivalry of commerce.
“On every ground, therefore, the proposed Euphrates Valley Railway is
an undertaking eminently deserving our attention, and the support and
encouragement of our Government.
“The countries which our future highway to India will traverse have
been, from remote antiquity, the most interesting in the world. On the
once fertile plains, watered by the Euphrates and Tigris, the greatest
and most glorious nations of antiquity arose, flourished, and were
overthrown.
“Twice in the world’s history, mankind commenced the race of
civilisation on the Mesopotamian rivers. Twice the human family
diverged from their banks to the east, the west, and the north. Arts
and sciences made the first feeble steps of their infancy, upon the
shores of these rivers.
“Very early in history we know that Babylon was a great manufacturing
city, famed for the costly fabric of its looms. At a more recent date
the Chaldean kings made it a gorgeous metropolis—the fairest and the
richest then on earth. Alexander of Macedon made it the port of the
Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf; and he proposed to render it the
central metropolis of his empire.
“The countries through which the Euphrates flows were formerly the
most productive in the world. Throughout these regions the fruits
of temperate and tropical climes, grew in bygone days in luxurious
profusion; luxury and abundance were universally diffused. The soil
everywhere teemed with vegetation; much of this has since passed away.
Ages of despotism and misrule have rendered unavailing the bounty of
nature; but the land is full of hidden riches. The natural elements of
its ancient grandeur still exist in the inexhaustible fertility of the
country, and in the chivalrous character and bearing of many of the
tribes; and the day cannot be far distant when it is destined to resume
its place amongst the fairest and most prosperous regions of the globe.
“The wondrous fertility of Mesopotamia was, in early times, carried
to its utmost limit by means of irrigation canals, with which the
country was everywhere intersected, and some of the largest of which
were navigable. These excited the wonder and interest of Alexander the
Great, who, after his return from the conquest of India, examined them
personally, steering the boat with his own hand. He employed a great
number of men to repair and cleanse these canals.
“Herodotus, speaking of Babylonia, says: ‘Of all the countries I know,
it is without question the best and the most fertile. It produces
neither figs, nor vines, nor olives; but in recompense the earth is
suitable for all sorts of grain, of which it yields always two hundred
per cent, and in years of extraordinary fertility as much as three
hundred per cent.’
“These regions need only again to be irrigated by the life-giving
waters pouring down ever cool and plentiful from Ararat—that great
landmark of primæval history, now the vast natural boundary-stone
of the Russian, Turkish, and Persian empires—to yield once more in
abundance almost everything that is necessary or agreeable to man. Many
acres now wasted, save when in early spring they are wildernesses of
flowers, may be covered with cotton, tending to the employment of the
million spindles of our land.
“It is not too much to say that no existing or projected railroad can
compare in point of interest and importance with that of the Euphrates
Valley. It will bring two quarters of the globe into juxtaposition, and
three continents, Europe, Asia, and Australia, into closer relation.
It will bind the vast population of Hindustan by an iron link with
the people of Europe. It will inevitably entail the colonisation
and civilisation of the great valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris,
the resuscitation in a modern shape of Babylon and Nineveh, and the
re-awakening of Ctesiphon and Bagdad of old.
“Where is there in the world any similar undertaking which can achieve
results of such magnitude, fraught with so many interests to various
nations? And who can foresee what ultimate effects may be produced by
improved means of communication in the condition of Hindoos, Chinese,
and other remote peoples?
“Although various routes have been suggested with a view of bringing
Great Britain, by means of railway communication, into closer
connection with India and her other dependencies in the East, and
of securing at the same time the immense political and strategic
desideratum of an alternative highway to our Eastern possessions, there
is none which combines in itself so many advantages as the ancient
route of the Euphrates; the route of the emperors Trajan and Julian,
in whose steps, in more recent times, the great Napoleon intended
to follow, when the Russian campaign turned his energies in another
direction. The special advantages which render this route superior to
all others are briefly these:
“It is the direct route to India. It is the shortest and the cheapest
both for constructing and working a railway; so free from engineering
difficulties, that it almost appears as though designed by the hand of
nature to be the highway of nations between the east and the west; the
most surely defensible by England—both of its termini being on the open
seas; and the most likely to prove remunerative.
“Both in an engineering and a political point of view, the Euphrates
route undoubtedly possesses great advantages over any of the others
which have been proposed.
“All the routes which have been suggested from places on the Black
Sea are open to the fatal objection that, while they would be of the
greatest service to Russia, they would be altogether beyond the control
of Great Britain, while the engineering difficulties with which they
are surrounded, are of themselves sufficient to exclude them from
practical consideration.
“This has been fully established by the evidence of the witnesses
examined by the Select Committee of the House of Commons, which lately
investigated the merits of the various proposals for connecting the
Mediterranean and the Black Seas with the Persian Gulf.
“In the course of the investigation by the Committee, it was
demonstrated that the proposed Euphrates Valley Railway is an eminently
feasible undertaking in an engineering sense; that the route of the
Euphrates and the Persian Gulf is decidedly preferable in respect of
climate to that by Egypt and the Red Sea; that as regards the safety
and facility of the navigation, the Persian Gulf also has by far the
advantage; that the proposed undertaking would be of great commercial
moment, and if not immediately profitable, at all events that it would
be so at a date not far distant; and, finally, that it would be of the
highest political and strategic importance to this country.
“A railway through Mesopotamia, as a route to India, would not at first
be productive of much income to a company from traffic, but in a few
years—certainly before the railway could be finished—the cultivation
of grain would increase a hundred-fold, and would go on increasing a
thousand fold, and would attain to a magnitude and extension quite
impossible to calculate, because bad harvests are almost unknown in
these parts, for there is always plenty of rain and a hot sun to ripen
the corn. Populous villages would spring up all along the line, as
there is abundance of sweet water everywhere. Cereals can be grown
there so cheaply, that no country the same distance from England—say
for instance Russia—could compete with it at all. And if Great
Britain finds it necessary to rely more on the importation of foreign
corn, where could a better field be found than the fertile plains of
Mesopotamia, which has all the advantages of climate, soil, and sun in
its favour?
“The establishment of steam communication by the Messageries Maritimes
on the route of the Red Sea to Calcutta and other Eastern ports,
shows the importance attached by the French to the extension of their
commercial relations with the East. A Russian line of steamers, also,
has lately been established, to run between Odessa and Bombay by the
Suez Canal route. Even those who see no danger in the policy of
annexation pursued by Russia, will admit that the Russian roads and
railways now being pushed towards Persia and Afghanistan, if designed
with pacific intentions, prove, at all events, the anxiety of the
Russian Government to compete with us for the trade of Central Asia,
the Punjaub, and Northern India.
“The substitution of Kurrachee for Bombay as the European port of India
would, even by the Red Sea route, give us an advantage of some five
hundred miles; but if the Euphrates route were once established, the
adoption of Kurrachee as the European port of India would necessarily
follow, and India would thus be brought upwards of a thousand miles
nearer to us than at present; while during the monsoon months, the
gain would be still greater, as the route between the Persian Gulf and
Kurrachee is not exposed to the severity of the monsoon, which, it is
well known, renders a divergence of some five hundred miles necessary
during a portion of the year on the voyage from Bombay to Aden.
“When the railway system of the Indus is completed, Kurrachee will be
in continuous railway communication with Calcutta and with the gates
of Central Asia at the Kyber and Bolan Passes, and it will thus become
the natural basis of operations in the event either of any internal
commotion in India, or of aggression on our north-western frontier.
“The grand object desired, is to connect England with the north-west
frontier of India by steam transit through the Euphrates and Indus
valleys. The latter will render movable to either the Kyber or the
Bolan—the two gates of India—the flower of the British army cantoned
in the Punjaub; and the Euphrates and Indus lines being connected by
means of steamers, we should be enabled to threaten the flank and
rear of any force advancing through Persia towards India. So that, by
this great scheme, the invasion of India would be placed beyond even
speculation, and it is evident that the great army of India of three
hundred thousand men being thus united to the army of England, the
mutual support they would render each other, would quadruple the power
and ascendancy of this country, and promote powerfully the progress,
the freedom, and the peace of the world.
“The Euphrates and Indus lines together would, moreover, secure for us
almost a monopoly of the trade with Central Asia, enabling us to meet
Russia, our great competitor in these distant fields of commercial
enterprise, on more than equal terms.
“But it is not on commercial considerations that I would urge the
claims of the Euphrates Valley Railway. It is on imperial grounds that
the scheme commends itself to our support.
“I believe that the establishment of the Euphrates route would add
incalculably to our prestige throughout Europe and the East, and would
do more to strengthen our hold on India than any other means that could
be devised.
“The Euphrates Valley Railway, as proposed from the Gulf of Scanderoon
to the Persian Gulf, has been specially designed with a view to its
ultimately forming part of a through line from Constantinople to the
head of the Persian Gulf; while it is capable also of being in due time
extended eastwards to Kurrachee, the port of India nearest to Europe.
“The line from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf has been
demonstrated to be eminently practicable and easy, while the other
portions of the route between Constantinople and India are not. While
capable of forming part of a through line, it would at the same time be
complete in itself, and independent of any disturbances in Europe—the
only portion, in fact, of a through line of railway which would be
always, and under all circumstances, at the absolute control of this
country.
“It would always be to this country the most important portion of
any through line; and, indeed, I believe a through line could not be
constructed, except at overwhelming cost, without the assistance of a
port in Northern Syria. It would, moreover, provide us with a complete
alternative route to India, and would thus at once secure to this
country advantages admitted to be of the highest national moment.
“It is for these reasons that during the long period in which I have
devoted myself to the advocacy of the Euphrates route to India, I
have thought it expedient to urge upon our own Government and that of
Turkey, the special claims of that section only which would connect
the Mediterranean with the Persian Gulf.
“The objection that, although the Euphrates Valley Railway would
afford us the undoubted advantage of an alternative, a shorter, and a
more rapid means of communication with India, it would still leave a
considerable portion of the journey to be accomplished by sea, and that
consequently it would accelerate our communications with the East in
a minor degree only, is sufficiently disposed of by the circumstances
already pointed out; that a railway from a point on the Mediterranean,
at or near Scanderoon, to the head of the Persian Gulf, would naturally
form part of a through line of railway from Constantinople to India,
if at a future time it should be considered necessary or desirable to
construct the remaining sections.”
APPENDIX.
EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES.
Cyprus (χυπρος), called by the Turks Kibris, is a large island
in the Mediterranean, lying near the coasts of Syria and Asia Minor.
It is supposed to have an area of about 4500 square miles, but all the
different measurements given vary considerably. Its length is about 145
miles, from the extreme north-east point, Cape St. Andreas, to Cape
Arnauti, on the west coast. Its greatest breadth is about fifty miles
from north to south; but it narrows towards the east, where in some
parts it is not more than five miles wide, and, at the most extreme
east point, Cape Andreas, it is only about sixty-five miles distant
from Latakia, the nearest point of the Syrian coast. The nearest
land on the coast of Karamania, or Cilicia, Cape Zephyrium, is about
forty-two miles north by west of the point of land in Cyprus, which is
near the ancient Carpasia.
SURFACE.
There are two ranges of mountains in Cyprus, one extending along the
northern coast, and the other stretching across the southern part of
the island. The highest summit is the “Troados,” or “Olympus,” which
Löher measured, and found to be 6160 feet above the sea level. The
other principal peaks of this range are Mount Stavrovuni, or Sante
Croce, Mount Makhaeras, and Mount Adelphi; the heights of these are
uncertain. Equally uncertain are the elevations of the peaks of the
northern range, the chief of which is Mount Pentedaktylo, between
Kerinia and Makaria.
The most extensive plain is on the eastern part of the island, and is
watered by the river Pedias. In 1330, this river was so swollen by
heavy rain, that it inundated Nikosia, to the great destruction of life
and property. The other plains of any size are those of Lefkosia in the
centre, and Kerinia, to the west of the island.
RIVERS.
The Pedias, or Pedæus, the principal river, rises on the range of
Olympus, and waters the plains of Lefkosia and Messaria, and empties
itself into the sea, on the east coast, at the ancient port of Salamis
Constantia. The Morpha has its source among the same mountains as the
Pedias, waters the plain of Kerinia, and falls into the sea on the
north-west coast, about the centre of the Gulf of Morpha. There are
no other rivers of much importance; the principal are, the Ezusa, or
ancient Borgarus, the Diorizos, and the Khapotini, all of which take
their source in the neighbourhood of Mount Olympus, and fall into the
sea on the south-west coast; the Kurios, which empties itself into
the Gulf of Piskopi, on the south coast; the Garilis, rising in the
Makhaeras mountains and falling into the sea at Limasol, also on the
south coast; while the Pentaskhino, a small stream, enters the sea near
Dolos point, on the south-east coast.
CAPES.
Cape Kormaciti, the ancient Crommyon, at the extreme north-west; Cape
Andreas, the ancient Dinaretum, at the extreme north-east point of the
island; Cape Arnauti, or St. Epiphanio, the ancient Akamas, at the
most western point; Cape Gatto, and Cape Zevgari, the ancient Kurios,
are the furthest points on the south coast; Cape Greco, the ancient
Pedalion, lies at the south-eastern extremity. On the north coast
are Cape Plakoti; on the west, Capes Drepani, Kokino, Limmity, Baffo
(Papho); on the east coast, Cape Elaea, and on the south, Capes Pyla,
the ancient Throni, Bianca, and Citi.
GULFS AND BAYS.
Famagusta Bay, or Bay of Salamis, at the east; Gulf of Morpha, or
Pendagia, at the north-west; Gulf of Chrysochou, at the west; and at
the south, the Gulf of Piskopi, and bays of Larnaka and Akroteri.
HARBOURS AND ROADSTEADS.
Larnaka and Limasol possess good roadsteads.
The ancient harbours are destroyed and filled with sand.
TOWNS AND IMPORTANT PLACES.
The following were the towns of Cyprus (A.D. 25). On the north coast
of Cape Acamas, were Arsinoe, and Sali, with a harbour founded by
Phalerus and Acamas of Athens, then east of Cape Crommyon, Lapethus,
built by the Lacedemonians; next Agidus, Aphrodisium, and Carpasia;
east of the last, was a mountain and a cape called Olympus, with a
temple to Venus upon it, which women were forbidden to enter. Facing
the cape are two small islands, called Keides, or “the keys of Cyprus.”
Turning thence towards the south, was Salamis, at the mouth of the
Pedæus, one of the principal cities of the island, said to have been
built by Teucer, an emigrant from the island of Salamis.
Proceeding south was another Arsinoe, with a port; next came Leucolia,
near Cape Pedalium, a lofty table-land, called the Table of Venus;
west of Pedalium was Citium (the ancient Chittim), with a harbour that
could be closed. Citium was a large town, and the birthplace of Zeno
the Stoic (301 B.C.) From Citium to Berytas (Bairout) in Syria, the
distance was about 130 miles. West of Citium was Amathus, and inland
was Palœa Limisso. Sailing round by Cape Curias to the west, was the
town of Curium, with a port built by the Argivi. Here the coast turns
to the north-west, looking towards Rhodes, and on it were the towns of
Ireta, Boosura, and Old Paphos; then Cape Zephyrium; and next to it
another Arsinoe, with a port and temple, sacred grove, and New Paphos,
built by Agapenor, five miles by land from Old Paphos.
Most of the above towns, and others which Strabo has omitted, have long
since disappeared.
The present capital is Nikosia, the residence of the late Turkish
governor. It lies near the centre of the island, close to the site of
the ancient Letra, or Leucotra, on a plain surrounded with mountains.
The streets are narrow and dirty, and many of the grand old mansions
falling into decay. It is a truly Oriental city, and is very prettily
situated; the air is balmy, dry, and redolent of the odour of laurel
and myrtle. Every court-yard has its apple and pear-tree, and in
between these masses of rosemary, peeping from beneath the flourishing
fig. Its population does not exceed 16,000.
Lefkosia was the residence of the kings of the Lusignan dynasty, and
was then much larger than it is at present, the Venetians having
destroyed part of it in order to strengthen the remainder.
The church of St. Sophia, a fine Gothic building, is converted into a
mosque; the monuments it contains of the Lusignans are sadly mutilated.
There is also a fine bazaar, a khan, or enclosed court, surrounded
by apartments for travellers, and the palace of the governor, on the
portal of which is still seen the Venetian lion in stone; there are
also several other churches and mosques. The bastioned walls, erected
by the Venetians, are still standing.
The Greek Archbishop of Nikosia is metropolitan of the whole island.
Cesnola, informs us, that, after sundown, no person is allowed to leave
or enter the town without special permission from the governor-general.
When such a case occurs, the soldiers are put under arms, and the
drawbridge is lowered, with as much ceremony as if we were still in
mediæval times. The seraglio, where the late Turkish governor resided,
is described by the same authority, as a large quadrangular building,
two stories high, and in sad want of repair; it has a large court-yard,
enclosed by walls twenty-five feet high.
The principal manufactures of the town are carpets, cotton prints,
and morocco leather. The workmen of Nikosia pretend that they have
a particular manner of dressing the leather, which they keep a
profound secret; anyhow, the leather is said to be better dressed,
more brilliant in colour, and more durable than that which is made in
Turkey. There is also a little trade in raw cotton and wine.
Larnaka, or Larnika, on the site of old Citium, near the south coast,
is the most thriving, bustling place, in the island, being the
residence of the European consuls and factors, and the chief seat
of trade. The port of Larnaka is at Salines, about a mile and half
distant; a Greek bishop resides there, and there are also some Latin
churches in the town. The houses are chiefly built of clay and only
one story high, on account of the earthquakes, to which the island is
subject. The interiors of the houses are comfortable; the apartments
are paved with white marble, and almost every house has a garden.
This is the chief sea-port in the island, and has a fair anchorage
for vessels in the roadstead. Near Larnaka is the well-known inland
lake, whence in ancient days, the Phœnicians obtained the best salt.
During the rainy season, this is swollen with water; in May and June it
gradually evaporates, and under the fiery sun, and burning heat of July
and August, the water almost boils off, and leaves behind a thick cake
of nearly pure salt. This once yielded a yearly income of three hundred
thousand ducats. This town is connected by telegraph with Latakia, on
the Syrian coast, the wires passing through Nikosia.
Famagusta, on the south-east coast, a few miles south of old
Salamis, and not far from the ancient Tamassus, occupies the site
of Ammochostos, one of the ten royal cities, which paid tribute
to Esarhaddon, and possesses the only harbour between Salamis and
Leuculla, and was probably the city called Arsinœ under the Ptolemies.
“The city of Famagusta,” says Cesnola, “built by the Christians eight
hundred years ago, from the ruins of Salamis, and destroyed by the
Turks in 1571, after the terrible siege in which the Venetian soldiers
so heroically defended their position, once counted its beautiful
churches by hundreds and its palatial residences by thousands. Once it
had been one of the principal commercial cities of the Levant, with a
harbour, in which rode large fleets, but which now, through neglect,
has become filled with sand, and is able only to float ships of light
draught. It was just outside the mouth of this closed harbour, that
the vessels containing the Venetian families and their most precious
personal and household effects were sunk by the faithless Mustapha
Pacha, after he had killed the Venetian generals.”
“As you approach the massive walls of the city, which are nearly
seventeen feet thick, and of solid stone, all taken from the ruins of
Salamis, you see how impossible it was to take such a city except by
famine or treachery. The walls stand now as impregnable and intact as
when raised by the Lusignans.
“The old bronze guns of the Republic of Venice are still on the
bastions, in their original place, looking formidably towards the sea,
and the plain of Salamis, but spiked and out of service since 1571.
There are a half dozen rusty iron guns of Turkish manufacture, pretty
much in the same condition.
“The ruins of Famagusta are not grand and imposing, yet they are most
beautiful and touching. It is impossible to see the still existing
walls of many of its fine mediæval churches, with frescoes plainly
visible in the interiors—here a rectory, there evidences of elegant
homes—without a feeling of intense sadness. Only two out of the three
hundred churches, which are said to have existed in Famagusta, were
left standing. The principal one, formerly the cathedral and now
used as a mosque, is paved with mortuary marble slabs engraved with
the names and arms of Italian noblemen, once buried beneath them,
whose bones were exhumed, and thrown into the sea, by order of the
fanatical and ferocious Mustapha Pacha, the day after he captured the
city. The other church, used as a granary and a stable by the Turks,
contains also a few tombstones, now all worn out by the horses’ hoofs.
There I discovered an inscription, recording the day on which, by the
abdication of Katharine Cornaro, the Venetians became the rulers of
Cyprus.
“Within the city walls resides the caimakan[15] of the province of
Carpass, with the Cadi of Famagusta, and the usual mejilis. There is
also a military governor of the fortress, and a company of artillery.
This governor resides with his troops in a small fort overlooking the
sea, and flanked by a large round tower called by the natives ‘Torre
del Moro’ (Tower of the Moor). Tradition asserts that in this tower
were the head-quarters of the Venetian Lord-Lieutenant of Cyprus,
Cristoforo Moro, during the years 1506 to 1508. In the latter year,
on the 22nd of October, Cristoforo Moro was recalled from Cyprus, and
returned to Venice; and from documents which I have been allowed to
peruse, it would appear that this man was married four times, and that
his private life was not very exemplary. This Cristoforo Moro was the
‘Othello’ of Shakespeare.
“The fortress of Famagusta contained some of the worst criminals of
the Turkish Empire. Many of them are condemned for life, others are
sentenced to from fifteen to twenty-five years’ imprisonment, and all
are heavily shackled.”
The harbour of Famagusta would be excellent, if it were cleared of
the filth with which it is blocked up; but at present it can only
accommodate a few small vessels.
Limasol, on the south coast, is the most European town in the island,
and has a good harbour; but the old parts of the town are a heap of
ruins. It is still of considerable importance, and is the chief place
of export for the wines of the country, which are much in demand in the
Levant. The surrounding country is rich in fruit trees, of which the
carob-tree is the most conspicuous.
Near the town formerly stood the Commandery of the Knights Templars
(Commandery of Kolossi), extending from Mount Olympus to Baffo and
Limasol.
Baffo, or New Paphos, was under the Romans the principal town in the
western part of the island, and is famous in ancient poetry as the
favourite residence of Aphrodite or Venus, and here was her most
celebrated temple.
During the reign of the Emperor Augustus, this town was destroyed by an
earthquake, and was afterwards rebuilt.
Here St. Paul converted Sergius Paulus, the Roman deputy-governor,
besides many others, preaching in the Jewish synagogues, of which there
were several.
Here Elymas, the sorcerer, was struck blind for endeavouring to
frustrate St. Paul’s attempts to Christianise the people.
The Church of St. Paul is the only Venetian building now standing.
Baffo has a small but unsafe port, and is the see of a Greek bishop.
Kerinia, Cerini, or Ghirneh, on the north coast, has a harbour,
from which a limited trade is carried on with the opposite coast of
Karamania. Its ruins would seem to indicate that it was formerly a
fine town. It is fortified, and the second stronghold of the island,
and like Lapethus (the original capital of the district of Kerinia),
is traced to the Dorian colonists, under Praxander and Cepheus. This
formed one of the royal cities of the island. “I passed near this
town,” says Cesnola, “several times during my northern excursions,
but never had the curiosity to enter it. The village itself, with the
exception of the citadel, is a small dirty place, almost exclusively
inhabited by Mussulmans, who, with the garrison, enjoy a very bad
reputation—second only to that of their co-religionists at New Paphos.
The ancient site of Kerinia is a little to the west of the present
town, and more inland. For a considerable distance along the western
shore, there are to be seen here and there large caverns excavated in
the rock; some, though not all, seem to have been tombs. South-east of
the town, about an hour’s ride from it, and midway up the mountains,
stands an imposing mediæval ruin called ‘Lapais.’ It was an abbey,
built by King Hugo the Third, and belonged to the Latin Church, but was
destroyed by the Turks when they captured the fortress of Kerinia. It
is a fact worth noticing, that all the churches belonging to the Latins
were destroyed by the Turks when they took possession of the island. In
this I have no doubt they were gladly assisted, or at least encouraged,
by the Greeks, who detested the Franks even more than the Turks. This
abbey occupied one of the most picturesque and lovely spots of the
whole island; a large hall is still standing, one hundred feet long,
thirty-two feet wide, and about forty feet high, which was probably
the refectory of the French abbots; beneath it is another apartment
of like dimensions, divided into two chambers, the vault of which is
supported by massive columns.”
“In the court-yard, piled the one upon the other, are two large marble
sarcophagi of late Roman work, one of which has garlands of flowers,
nude figures, and large bulls’ heads in bold relief. Both bear evidence
of having been used for a long time as troughs. Upon the lintel, over
the door of the great hall, are engraved three shields; one represents
the Jerusalem cross, another the royal arms of the Lusignans, and
the third a lion rampant. The Gothic chapel of the abbey has been
partly repaired with sun-dried bricks and plaster, and is now used by
the Greeks, living in the neighbourhood, as their place of worship;
portions of the court-yard serve as their cemetery. On two high peaks
in this range of mountains stood two feudal or royal castles, one
called St. Hilarion, and the other Buffavento, which served as state
prisons and places of refuge to some of the Latin kings of Cyprus. They
were both dismantled by order of the Venetian Admiral Prioli.”
CLIMATE.
The climate is generally healthy excepting on some parts of the coast,
but this is entirely due to the neglected state of the country; if the
much-needed drainage was properly carried out the most satisfactory
result would ensue. As in most Eastern countries, the rain falls at
stated periods, commencing about the middle of October and continuing
until the end of April. After June slight showers fall from time to
time, but have little power to modify the heat, which is, however,
tempered occasionally by a cool wind. In September the great heat sets
in, but does not continue for any length of time. At Larnaka, the mean
temperature in February is about 52 deg., and in August 81 deg. The
winters are milder, and the summers cooler than on the coast of Syria
opposite.
The average rainfall is about fourteen inches in the year. Of late
years, droughts have been of frequent occurrence, owing, no doubt, to
the destruction of the woods and forests.
The north coast is liable to hot winds from the north-east, from the
desert of Arabia in the south-east, and in the south and south-west
from Egypt and Lybia.
Speaking of one of these winds, Dr. Clarke says, “We found it so
scorching that the skin instantly peeled from our lips; a tendency
to sneeze was excited, accompanied by great pains in the eyes, and
chapping of the hands and face. The mercury, exposed to its full
current, rose 6 deg. Fahrenheit in two minutes—from 80 deg. to 86 deg.”
Dr. Unger says, that it is so hot in summer as to make occupation
irksome, and so cold in winter that the absence of spring and autumn
makes the transition, from one extreme to the other, very sudden. The
climate is, of course, cooler in the more mountainous portion of the
west, than in the flat eastern side, where the temperature in the
height of summer amounts to 90 deg. in the shade; during the winter,
in the lower parts of the land, it seldom falls to freezing point.
During October, November, and December the rain falls, and entirely
ceases during the summer, when there is generally a blue sky over the
island. The drier the summer, the damper the winter; and sometimes it
then rains for forty days together. At such periods the thirsty land
recovers itself. On the other hand, there are winters when no rain
falls, and drought is severely felt during the summer. In the time of
Constantine, we are told that no rain fell on the island for thirty-six
years.
By the middle of May the harvest is over, and wherever the eye rests
the grass is withered and parched. The temperature now reaches 80
deg. in the shade, and sometimes, in the middle of the day is even
higher; the atmosphere grows thick, and a veil seems to fall over all
surrounding objects; all rivers are dry; the dew ceases in June or
July, and the hot winds, make the air more oppressive; finally come
hosts of annoying insects, from which one may seek in vain to escape.
At this season, all work is done in the evening and at night.
POPULATION.
The number of inhabitants is very uncertain. It is variously estimated
between 100,000 and 250,000 souls, of whom 40,000 to 60,000 are
Mohammedans, including the Linopambagi or “men of linen and cotton,”
as they are called in derision, who outwardly conforming to the tenets
of Mohammed, are in reality Christians. The majority of the people
belong to the Greek Church, and the remainder are either Armenians or
Maronites, whose peculiar religion we will endeavour to describe. These
number about 2800.
The Maronites are a tribe of people inhabiting the western declivity
of Mount Lebanon, and figure in history as a sect of Christians. By
adopting the Monothelitic doctrine soon after it had been condemned,
in A. D. 680, by the Council of Constantinople, they came to be
distinguished as a distinct religious party, and having as their
first bishop, a certain monk, John Maro, they were called Maronites.
Maro assumed the title of “Patriarch of Antioch,” and asserted the
ecclesiastical independence of the tribe.
This sect defended their freedom first against the Greeks, and
afterwards against the Saracens. At length, in 1182, they renounced the
opinions of the Monothelites, and were re-admitted within the pale of
the Romish Church; the terms of reconciliation being that the religious
tenets, moral precepts, and ancient rites of the country should
remain unaltered. The Maronites adopted no Popish opinion, except the
supremacy of the Roman Pontiff. By this slight tie they still continue
united to the Church of Rome. In return for their imperfect allegiance,
the Pope is obliged to defray the expenses of their public worship
and to maintain a college at Rome for the education of their priests.
He has the power of sanctioning the appointment of their patriarch,
after he has been selected by their bishops. This dignitary has his
head-quarters in the monastery of Lebanon, and holds the title of
Patriarch of Antioch, and by adopting the name of Peter, claims to be
the successor of that apostle. Like the bishops who compose his synod,
he is bound to remain in perpetual celibacy, a law, however, which the
rest of the clergy do not observe. The Maronite monks are of the order
of St. Anthony, and live in monasteries scattered among the mountain
solitudes.
Slavery exists, but owing to the increasing poverty of the Turks, the
number of slaves is very much diminished.
CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS.
Herr von Löher describes the bulk of the population as devoid all
energy, of sluggish temperament, and obstinately addicted to ancient
customs. They are powerful, hospitable, and exceedingly amiable in
their domestic relations. The women are very good housewives and very
active. The girls are full of life, especially on festive occasions,
are fond of gaudy colours, and dress very fantastically.
Elementary schools are established in all the larger villages, and
others of superior class in the three principal towns of the island.
The Greek bishops and many of the popes have been educated in these
latter, or at Athens, and are generally men of culture; but most of the
village priests and monks are as ignorant as the peasants amongst whom
their lives are past.
Greek is the language used throughout Cyprus, and has even found its
way into many of the Turkish houses.
AGRICULTURE.
The cultivation of the country appears to be in a very primitive
condition, and owing to the lightness and fertility of the soil but
slight labour is required in producing the necessary crops. The
cultivable surface of the island is estimated at 2,500,000 acres, of
which not more than 130,000 acres are under tillage. The annual average
yield of corn is said not to exceed 120,000 quarters, and we are told
that the disposal of the whole has been a monopoly between the Turkish
mulasallin and the Greek archbishop, who either export or retail it at
an arbitrary price. The vegetation resembles that of the other islands
of the Mediterranean. There is no meadow land, but a great deal of
waste, which is either quite bare, or only covered with heather and
aromatic plants.
NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.
The principal productions are cotton, hemp, silk, corn, opium, tobacco,
turpentine, liquorice, madder, several dye-woods, gum-tragacinth, and
colocynth. Fruits of all kind, in particular grapes, oranges, lemons,
pomegranates, olives, walnuts, figs, mulberries, apricots, &c.; the
carob-tree (_Ceratonia siliqua_) abounds in some districts. There were
once extensive plantations of sugar-cane. Large quantities of fine
vegetables are grown. Cyprus was celebrated for roses; hyacinths,
anemones, ranunculuses, narcissus, poppies, &c., grow wild. Trees and
shrubs of all kinds grow luxuriantly, including pines, firs, cypresses,
ashes, oaks, beeches, elms, myrtles, evergreens, oleanders, &c.
One of the most important plants of the island is the Ferula Græca; of
the stalks of which the Cypriotes form a great part of their household
furniture, and the pith is used instead of tinder for conveying fire
from one place to another.
MANUFACTURES.
Wines of three kinds are made, namely, Commanderia, Muscadine, and
Mavro. Cotton, silk, and woollen goods of various qualities are
manufactured on a small scale. Olive oil, pitch, resin, cheese,
raisins, and pottery (for home consumption) are also made. Nikosia is
noted for its Morocco leather. The peasantry distil rose, orange, and
lavender waters, myrtle and laudanum oil.
MINERALS AND PRECIOUS STONES.
Cyprus is rich in metals and minerals, including copper, silver,
malachite, lead, and quicksilver. There are also quarries of asbestos,
talc, sulphur, red jasper, agate, rock crystal, and marble. Soda
is also found. The salt works, near Larnaka, produce a revenue of
20,000_l._ per annum. Gold is occasionally met with in the streams.
Diamonds, emeralds, opals, amethysts, and other precious stones are
sometimes found.
NATURAL HISTORY.
The principal animals in the island are oxen, sheep, and goats, which
thrive well and are abundant. The most common of the wild animals are
the fox, hare, and wild-cat. The hare feeds on fragrant herbs, which
impart a most agreeable flavour to its flesh. All the birds that winter
in Africa are to be found in Cyprus. Beccaficos and ortolans are very
common and remarkably plump. Water-fowl are very numerous; game, such
as partridges, quails, woodcock, and snipe, very plentiful.
Serpents of various species are commonly met with; these are stated to
be, we believe erroneously, poisonous.
Dr. Clarke states that tarantulas, having black bodies covered with
hair and bright yellow eyes, are not uncommon. A large venomous spider
is sometimes seen, called by Sonnini, the Galcode of the Levant; its
body, which is about an inch long, is a bright yellow, and covered
with long hairs; this creature runs with extraordinary swiftness; its
bite rarely produces death, but causes acute pain. The extent to which
Cyprus was formerly devastated by locusts has been spoken of in another
chapter. Bees are kept in great numbers in many parts of the island. Of
these Dr. Clarke gives the following interesting account:
Speaking of the village of Attién, he says, “In these little cottages
we found very large establishments for bees, but all the honey thus
made is demanded by the governor; so that an apiary is only considered
as the cause of an additional tax. The manner, however, in which the
honey is collected is curious, and worthy of imitation, and it merits
a particular description: the contrivance is simple, and was doubtless
suggested by the more ancient custom still existing in the Crimea, of
harbouring bees in cylindrical hives made from the bark of trees. They
build up a wall formed entirely of earthen cylinders, each about three
feet in length, placed one above the other horizontally, and closed at
their extremities with mortar. This wall is then covered with a shed,
and upwards of one hundred hives may thus be maintained within a very
small compass.”
REVENUE.
Herr Löher found it difficult to obtain trustworthy information
respecting the revenue of the island. The best estimate obtainable
calculated it at about sixteen and a half millions of piastres.
Half a million of this, being derived from a consideration paid by
Christians for exemption from military service, would have to be
immediately surrendered by a Christian Government. Three, at least, of
the remaining imposts, yielding an estimated return of two millions of
piastres, are so execrable in principle that they ought to be abandoned
with the least possible delay. These are the capitation tax on sheep,
and the export duties on wine and silk. It is satisfactory to learn, on
the other hand, that the annual cost of administration is not supposed
to exceed at present from two to three millions of piastres, the
balance of the revenue being confiscated by certain high functionaries
now discharged; and that the apparent receipts do not represent the
amount actually collected from the population, seeing that they have
to pay half as much again in bribes. These abuses will henceforth
cease; the customs revenue will be largely augmented by importations on
account of the occupying force, and from the stimulus given to commerce
in general; and it may even be possible, by prudent diplomacy, to make
the _vacouf_, or Mohammedan ecclesiastical property, contribute its
fair share towards the expenses of the State.
SKETCH OF GENERAL HISTORY.
According to Josephus, Cyprus was first colonised by Cittim, a grandson
of Japhet, who settled in the island, and founded Chittim, in emulation
of his brother Tarshish, who had built the town of Tarsus, on the
opposite coast of Cilicia. The Phœnicians, it is supposed, invaded
Cyprus at a very early date, and retained possession of the whole, or
a portion of the island, until the reign of Solomon. Greek colonists
also settled on the coast. Herodotus states that Amasis, King of Egypt,
invaded Cyprus, and took Citium (Herod., ii. 162). The island then
submitted to the Persians, and afterwards surrendered to Alexander the
Great, on whose death it fell, with Egypt, to the share of Ptolemy
Soter, “the son of Lagus.” Having overcome Cyrene, which had revolted,
Ptolemy (b.c. 313) crossed over to Cyprus to punish the kings of the
various little states upon that island for having joined Antigonus, one
of Alexander’s generals. Demetrius, son of Antigonus, conquered the
fleet of Ptolemy near the island of Cyprus, took 1600 men prisoners and
sunk 200 ships.
Now that the fate of empires was to be settled by naval battles, the
friendship of Cyprus became very important to the neighbouring states.
The large and safe harbours gave to this island a great value in the
naval warfare between Phœnicia and Asia Minor. Alexander had given it
as his opinion that the command of the Mediterranean went with the
island of Cyprus, and called it the key to Egypt. Under the Ptolemies
Cyprus continued sometimes united to Egypt and sometimes governed by
a separate prince of that dynasty. The last of these princes, brother
to Ptolemy Auletes, King of Egypt, incurred the enmity of P. Clodius
Pulcher, a Roman of illustrious family, who being taken prisoner by
Cilician pirates, sent to the King of Cyprus for money to pay his
ransom; the king sent an insufficient sum, and Clodius having recovered
his liberty obtained a decree, as soon as he became tribune, for
making Cyprus a Roman province. Marcus Cato, against whom he had a
bitter enmity, was sent to take possession of the new territory, and
achieved this difficult undertaking with unexpected success. The king,
in despair at the attempt upon his kingdom, committed suicide. Cato
at once seized upon the treasury and sent a large booty home. Cyprus
thus became a Roman province, and on the division of that empire was
allotted to the Byzantines, and long formed one of the brightest jewels
of the imperial crown. At length, after many successive changes, it
again became a separate principality, under a branch of the house of
Comnena, from which it was finally wrested by the adventurous hand of
Richard Cœur de Lion, who sold it to the Knights Templars. The new
government proved so oppressive that the people were driven to open
revolt, and Richard, having resumed the sovereignty, placed the crown,
in 1192, upon the head of Guy de Lusignan, ex-king of Jerusalem.
John the Third, of Lusignan, died in 1458, leaving the kingdom to
Charlotte, his only legitimate child, who married her cousin Louis,
Count of Geneva, second son of the Duke of Savoy and of Anna of Cyprus.
She was solemnly crowned at Likosia in 1460, but was soon afterwards
expelled by her natural brother James, assisted by the Mamelukes of
Egypt. James married Katharine Cornaro, the daughter of a Venetian
merchant, who brought him a dowry of 100,000 golden ducats. On this
occasion the Venetian Senate adopted Katharine Cornaro as daughter of
St. Mark, and the marriage was celebrated in 1471. In 1473 James died,
and his wife, soon after, was delivered of a son, of whom the Republic
of Venice assumed the guardianship, and the Venetian troops were sent
to garrison the towns of the island. The child dying whilst an infant,
the Senate persuaded Katharine, in 1489, to abdicate the sovereignty in
favour of the Republic, and to retire to Asolo, near Treviso, where she
passed the rest of her days in a princely style on a liberal pension.
Meantime, Charlotte Lusignan had retired to Rome, where she died in
1487, bequeathing her claims to Charles, Duke of Savoy, in consequence
of which the sovereigns of that dynasty assume to this day the title of
“Kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus.”
The Venetians kept possession of Cyprus till 1470, when Selim the
Second sent a powerful force to invade the island. The Turks took
Likosia by storm and massacred about 20,000 people. From that time
until now the Turks have remained in possession of Cyprus.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] General Cesnola gives a most interesting description of Cyprian
antiquities in a work published in 1877.
[2] The white mulberry-tree does not thrive in Cyprus.
[3] Emperor of Germany.
[4] Unger und Kotschy. “Die Inseln Cypern.” Wien, 1865.
[5] The defier of storms.
[6] Envoy.
[7] Mussulman priests.
[8] We are indebted to General Cesnola’s valuable work on the
antiquities of Cyprus for a principal part of the above facts
respecting the ruins of the Temple of Venus. Reference to his high
authority was indispensable, and we have thought it best to give in a
great measure his own words, instead of laying his account before the
public in a garbled form.—M. A. J.
[9] A delicious species of nectarine.
[10] The Oriental or common well.
[11] That portion of Larnaka which lies along the sea-shore is called
the “Marina,” while Larnaka proper is about three-quarters of a mile
inland.
[12] In this play the King of Cyprus is described as reclining on a
couch with doves flying over his head, and fanning him with their
wings. Attendants were represented as standing around in order to keep
the birds at a respectful distance from the prince. We mention this
fact, as we have seen it recently stated that what was simply intended
as a caricature was an actual custom in Cyprus.
[13] This wind has been erroneously called “limbat” from, we presume, a
confusion of a French article with its noun, “l’imbat.”
[14] The cauliflower was introduced to Europe from Cyprus.
[15] Governor.
INDEX.
Aditum, 178.
Adonis, 215.
Akazi, 80.
Alexander the Great, 102.
Amalrick, 35.
Amathus, 98, 101, 193, 210.
Amber, 193.
Andrew. Mr. W. P., 272.
Antiquities, 4, 23, 30, 105, 144, 169, 174, 206, 214.
Aphrodite, 100, 147.
Aphroditissa, 105.
Apollo Hylades, 181.
Apostles, 29.
Arabs, 16, 108.
Armenians, 15.
Arsinoe, 175.
Asbestos, 193.
Astarte, 98.
Athienu, 9.
Baffo, 68, 167.
Baths, ancient, 171, 172.
Beef, 201.
Bees, 54.
Bellapais, 56.
Berenice, 175.
Bragadino, 11.
Bribery, 210.
Buffavento, 47, 54.
Byblos, 215.
Byzantines, 14, 106.
Caaba, 147.
Calico, 18.
Caloyers, 219.
Camels, 10.
Capo delle Gatte, 218.
Carob-tree, 194, 198.
Carvings, 2, 132.
Cathedral of St. Sophia, 26.
Cats, 219.
Charlotte Lusignan, 37.
Character of people, 155.
Churches, 5, 26, 81, 115, 137, 176, 205, 212, 230.
Chysorogiatissa, 117, 130.
Chytros, 101.
Clarke, Dr., 23.
Clemacides, 158.
Clergy, 27, 88, 139, 174, 223, 229.
Coal, 193.
Cold, 161.
Commerce, 26, 220, 270.
Consulates, 2, 70, 205, 207.
Copper mines, 193.
Costumes, 23.
Cotton, 194, 198.
Cultivation, 17, 56, 110, 194.
Curias, 218.
Customs, 25, 85, 89.
Cyrus, 101.
Dali, 13, 151.
Dancing girls, 226.
Diorizos River, 130.
Donkeys, 149.
Doves, 147.
Egyptians, 101, 103.
Embroidery, 199.
Enagoras, 102.
Episcopi, 131, 179, 212.
Eucalyptus, 126.
Evrychu, 83.
Excavations, 170.
Exports, 16.
Famagusta, 11, 32, 39, 72, 212, 260.
Farm-house, 222.
Felingher, Marshal, 240, 256.
Fevers, 162.
Fini, 114.
Fish, 209.
Flatterers, 158.
Flowers, 153, 180, 196.
Forests, 16, 121.
Fortresses, 11, 56, 184, 213, 246.
Frederick the Second, Emperor of Germany, 235, 242.
Game, 9, 79, 199, 225.
Gardens, 16, 22, 171.
Germans, 109, 206, 208, 234, 240.
Giergil Oghlu, 72.
Goats, 203.
Gold, 193.
Goldsmid, Sir F., 269.
Governors, 20, 30, 62, 66, 68, 125, 128, 256.
Grecian settlers, 3.
Greek Church, 228.
Greeks, 99, 217.
Hafiz Mahommed Effendi, 66.
Halil Aga, 67.
Harbours, 173, 219.
Heat, 82, 118, 131, 161, 211.
Henry Sixth, Emperor of Germany, 35.
Hildesheim, Bishop, 36.
Horticulture, 16, 22.
Hunting, 31.
Ibelin, 237, 245, 260.
Ibrahim Bey, 71.
Idalion, 13, 98, 105.
Imbat, 165.
Inundations, 192.
Insurrections, 65, 67.
Izil Osman Aga, 63.
James the Second, 37.
Jews, 105.
John of Cæsarea, 265.
John de Ibelin, 45.
Justinian, Emperor, 15.
Kantara, 52.
Karubieh, 220.
Katherine Cornaro, 37.
Kattirdje Janni, 134.
Kerynia, 52, 67, 101, 247.
Kikku, 131.
Kimon, 102.
King of Cyprus and Jerusalem, 38.
Kior Mahommed Pacha, 72.
Kiti, 3, 98, 101, 212.
Knights Templars, 17, 34, 121, 187, 239, 243, 248.
Kolossin, 184.
Konou, 176.
Kotschy, Dr., 53.
Ktima, 138, 167.
Kuklia, 130, 138, 167, 176.
Kurion, 101, 182.
Labourers, 223.
Lagathos, 212.
Larnaka, 1, 9, 212.
Language, 3, 25.
Larks, 9.
Lapithos, 101.
Lebanon, 94.
Levkosia, 21.
Lepers, 19, 52.
L’Imbat, 165.
Limasol, 35, 202, 207, 212, 218.
Lion Mount, 47.
Literature, 16.
Locusts, 127, 129, 187.
Lycopotamos, 130.
Lycos, 182.
Manufactures, 103, 156.
Manure, 197.
Maria of Molino, 51.
Marshes, 8, 56, 204.
Matazos, 220.
Mattei, M., 129.
Mehemet Ali, 122.
Meleky Bey, 74.
Messaria, 10, 37, 56.
Meteoric stones, 148.
Middle Ages, 33.
Mineral wealth, 98, 101, 191, 193.
Monasteries, 51, 78, 112, 117, 203.
Monks, 2, 15, 50, 115, 132, 136.
Mosaics, 141.
Morfu, 13, 212.
Mountains, 10, 49, 59, 83, 90, 117, 131, 191, 224.
Mules, 149.
Mustapha, Seraskier, 11.
Natural products, 101, 194.
New Paphos, 101, 138.
Nikosia, 21, 29, 40, 62, 77, 260.
Nobility, 31, 207.
Oils (distilled), 198, 199.
Old Paphos, 138.
Olive trees, 195, 198.
Olympus, Mount, 10, 58, 77, 83, 90.
Oracles, 142.
Panagia (village), 131.
Paphos, 98, 103.
Paphos (son of Pygmalion), 216.
Paradise, 54.
Partridge, 10.
Pedios, 13, 48.
People, 60, 81, 84, 115, 145, 151, 155, 177, 225.
Perforated stones, 141.
Persians, 102.
Phaneromene Panagia, 7.
Philip of Macedon, 102.
Phœnicians, 2, 7, 74, 215.
Pictures, 116, 131.
Pirates, 107, 145, 182.
Plains of Cyprus, 77.
Plants, 118.
Population, 208.
Precious stones, 193.
Prisons, 30, 133.
Ptolemies, 103, 175, 216.
Pygmalion, 216.
Queen Alice, 237, 260, 264.
Queen’s Castle, 54.
Queen’s Cave, 144.
Rain, 152, 164, 203.
Regents, 244, 252.
Resin, 123.
Revenue, 195, 209, 239, 244, 261.
Richard Cœur de Lion, 33, 109, 218, 228.
Rivers, 13, 48, 130.
Robes of priests, 193.
Robbers, 133.
Rogio, 132.
Romans, 103.
Sacred road, 176.
Sacred stones, 105, 143, 147, 178.
Saints, 106.
St. Andronika, 60.
St. George, 227.
St. Hilarion, 52.
St. Helena, 224.
St. Katherine, 28.
St. Lazarus, 5.
St. Nicholas, 26.
St. Paul, 170.
St. Sophia, 26.
Salamis, 100.
Salt lake, 7.
Salt, 193, 209.
San Chrisostomo, 47.
Sarcophagi, 2.
Satrachos River, 13.
Schools, 5, 207.
Shepherds, 119, 137, 209.
Shipbuilding, 98, 101, 103, 121, 195.
Silk, 15, 18, 193, 199, 209.
Silver, 193.
Simony, 158.
Snakes, 180, 200.
Snow, 93.
Soil, 191, 221.
Soli, 101, 193.
Soliman Effendi, 68.
Statutes, 42.
Sugar, 7, 201.
Superstitions, 7, 113, 115.
Sultan, 108.
Summer residence, 152.
Syrians, 3, 15, 18, 98, 100.
Table rocks, 13.
Tamassus, 193.
Taxes, 42, 62, 69, 84, 105, 209.
Temple of Venus, 13, 145.
Temperature, 161.
Temples, 15, 145, 181.
Timber, 16, 88, 101, 117, 122, 171, 197.
Tombs, 3, 6, 145, 168, 174.
Tribute, 196.
Troaditissa, 92, 112.
Trojan War, 99.
Turks, 8, 38, 98.
Tyre, 102.
Unger, De, 53, 95.
Vandalism, 214.
Vases, 214, 218.
Vassalage, 42.
Vegetables, 200.
Velvet, 18.
Venetians, 30, 37, 39, 111, 193.
Venus, 13, 105, 138, 139, 147, 158, 175, 215.
Vespasian, 142.
Wanton mischief, 124.
Watch towers, 145, 182, 184.
Wealth, 31.
Weaving, 18.
Wind, 166, 199.
Wine, 17, 40, 115, 189, 194, 225.
Women, 23, 48, 136, 145, 156, 178, 182, 204, 207, 232.
Woods, 166, 199.
Zaptiehs, 79, 113, 177, 214.
THE END.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, DUKE STREET, LINCOLN’S-INN-FIELDS