HISTORY ETHNOGRAPHY NATURE WINE-MAKING SITE MAP
Selected and rare materials, excerpts and observations from ancient, medieval and contemporary authors, travelers and researchers about Cyprus.
 
 
 
 
uses Google technology and indexes only and selectively internet - libraries having books with free public access
 
  Previous Next  

SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
CYPRUS AS I SAW IT IN 1879
page 172

View PDF version of this page

this snug little port is about forty yards in \vidth, and the depth is most irregular, varying from dry silt close to the south end of the reefs up to twelve feet beneath the walls of the fortress. There were many small coasting-vessels and caiques which trade between the various ports of Syria and Asia Minor, all having sought shelter from the bad weather within the port ; and the picture presented during the strong gale was thoroughly illustrative of the natural advantages and the future requirements of the harbour. The long line of reefs which form the outer protection would, were they exposed in their whole length, represent an irregular incline from about twelve feet above the sea level at the southern end to three fathoms below water at the northern extremity. A wedge laid with its broad base to the south would represent the inclination of this long line of useful reef, which can be converted into a sea-wall by simply filling-in with blocks of concrete to a sufficient height above the extreme water-mark. Th e ancient jetty which connects the small islands that form the northern head of the reef is in itself an example of the necessity of such an extension throughout the line. A natural headland terminating in disconnected rocks upon the north boundary of the reef about half a mile above the fortress is a secure protection from the sea, but it admits the silt. This has completely filled in a considerable portion of the original harbour, and were this sea-communication destroyed by connecting the various reefs with the main headland, the evil would be at once prevented, and the inclosed area might be cleansed by dredging. This would not only add to the accommodation of the inner harbour by a considerable extension, but

View PDF version of this page


  Previous First Next