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.
 
 
 
 
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SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
CYPRUS AS I SAW IT IN 1879
page 251

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figs, apricots, &c , throve in great numbers and luxuriance. This peculiarly fruitful plateau occupies an area of about eight miles from north to south, and four from east to west. W e halted at the large Turkish village of Arodes, from which we looked down upon the sea and the small rocky island opposite Cape Drepano, on the western coast, almost beneath our feet. This portion of Cyprus is eminently adapted for the cultivation of fruit-trees, as the climate and soil combine many advantages. The elevation and peculiar geographical position attract moisture, while the lower ground upon the east is parched with drought. The evaporation from the sea below condenses upon the cooler heights immediately above and creates refreshing mists and light rain, which accounted for the superiority of the crops compared with any that I had seen elsewhere. Shortly after halting at Arodes we l experienced these atmospherical changes. The thermometer at Polis had been 570 at 7 A.M., and it was I only 560 at 3 P.M. at this altitude of 2400 feet. Although the sky had been clear, mists began to ascend from the chasms and gullies along the abrupt face of the mountain which overhung the sea ; these curled upwards and thickened, until a dense fog rolled along the surface from the west and condensed into al light shower of rain. The Turkish inhabitants of the • village were extremely civil, and made no complaints of scarcity from drought, as they fully appreciated the advantages of their locality. The hawthorn-trees were only just budding into bloom, while those in the low country had shed their flowers, and had already formed the berries. In future an extensive growth oft fruit may supply the market of Alexandria, but at present the total absence of roads would render the

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