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  

CLAUDE DELAVAL COBHAM
Exerpta Cypria
page 438

View PDF version of this page

a more civilized spot than he must often expect to find in Turkey. Larnaca, the second city of the island, contains about 1000 houses, and the Marina consists of about 700 more. Though the streets by the depth of mud which they present evidently show themselves to be Turkish, yet one meets in them carts drawn by oxen of a much better construction and workmanship than I have hitherto seen in the Ottoman dominions; and every family in tolerable circumstances keeps a calesh, like our one-horse chaise when the covering is up, but not quite so high, drawn by a single horse, which they bring from Tuscany. The country is so fiat, that they can go with these as far as the capital, Nicosia, though as the roads are bad, aud the Cypriote race of horses small and not strong, this journey, between seven and eight hours, requires one change of the horse. In the morning I went with Signor V. to visit the Spanish consul, a man respectable for having resisted all the temptations and threats held ont to Inni to declare himself a partisan of Joseph Buonaparte; and who baring in the earlier part of his life been in London, still speaks tolerable English. Though he lived only a few doors off, it required a pretty long walk to reach him, for the houses in Larnaca are so far asunder, that in spite of the fewness of their number, it is a three miles' walk round the city. We did not find him at home, but we saw his wife, a fat daine, who being near fifty, last year brought him a son. One would think there was something prolifiek in the air of Cyprus, for the Russian and English consuls are in the same circumstances, though the Greek women are generally old at thirty and thirty-five. After dinner 1 went with the consul in his carrozza; again in consular state, to visit M. Peristiani, the Russian consul, who was also Swedish (a precaution that saved him from the necessity of tlying during the last Russian Avar), who lives on the Marina. On onr way I observed among the marshes through which we passed many pools of water of some depth, which being close to the sea I thonght were filled from it; bnt Signor Y. told me that they were all rain-water, ami being of considerable extent were formerly joined, and formed a small port for boats, to which was cut a communication with the sea, now choked. How poisonous must their exhalations be in summer, and in a soil that would so well pay the labour, how easy would it be to drain them under any other government than that of the Turks. We found the Russian consul at home, in a good house, crammed with the arms of Russia ; he received us in a very large apartment well furnished, and introduced us to his wife, a comely matron of no common size. Τ had seen M. Peristiani two years ago, when he visited. Constantinople on consular business. In the room was an old deaf Greek priest, who kissed me very affectionately, and who I was told was the Αρχιμανδρίτης (Archimandrite), second in clerical authority to the Archbishop of the island, who is in fact the governor, baring by ancient privilege great power, and keeping the public treasure, which it is his business to supply. By the bye, his financial talents will now be exercised, for a letter is to-day arrived, by an express Tatar, from the Porte to the Mnsellim, peremptorily demanding 50,000 piastres as the contribution of Cyprus for repairing the fortifications of Constantinople ; and the Tatar says that messengers are going over all the country to collect troops, so that M. P. is afraid of a Russian war; but Τ should rather suppose that it is designed against the Wahabis, who it is reported (falsely) lately defeated the Pasha of Egypt with great slaughter. This Tatar brought an account of the suppression of the late tumult among the janizaries, at which the Mnsellim (who is a creature of the Captain Pasha, aud must fall with him), was so delighted that he invested the Tatar with Caftan (robe of honour). After stopping an hour with Signor P. we returned home. The west wind blew tremendously all day, and at night brought the croaking of the frogs in the marshes, always excessively loud, to my window, with such incessant noise, that it required the exertion of all my great talents of sleeping to save me from being disturbed by them. EXCERPTA CYPRIA.

View PDF version of this page


  Previous First Next