View PDF version of this page

same uf Baffa, anciently called Paphos; when rising from the sea which gave her birth she touched land, that land was Cyprus; hence her naine Cypris. Chiti long held the rank of a Barony. There still remains part of some great ancient building, and near it a well, very old And very deep: there is water in it now. Its beauty gives one an idea of the grandenr of the edifice to which it belonged. The surroundings are pleasant, thickly planted with orange and lemon trees; but the land is uncultivated and overgrown. Anyone who took a little interest in the place and made his home there could easily create an earthly Paradise. The shade and scent of the trees allured us to stay and dine there. Then we rode back over a pleasant plain a league and a half to Lamica, passing the Salines or Saltpans. The collection was in hand, and we saw little water and several heaps of salt, daily won from the lake. Near the Salines is a mosque which the Turks state to be the grave of Mina, mother of their prophet Mahomet. The sepulchre is enclosed by three lingo stones, two of them upright, and the third resting on them above. The first two are thirteen palms broad, and at least as high again. But the stone is covered with lime, nnd can no longer be seen. Nothing else occurs worthy of note till we get to Lamica, of which we must say something. It is just an ordinary village with an old chnrch aud tower, and some remains of an ancient town. The European merchants, all of them Frenchmen, live there. Now and then yon might find a stranger among them : an Englishman came to settle during my stay. They have their stores near the Salines or Saltpans by the seaside, just where vessels anchor. There too is a small church dedicated to S. Lazarus. Tho saint's tomb is shown under-ground, but the sepulchre itself has been long since broken np by visitors who wished to carry away some relic. The monks on the spot say that after S. Lazarus was deliverod from the hands of the Jews he came to Cyprus, where he was made a bishop by the apostles who came there later, and that after the zealous labours of thirty years, he died and was buried here, but that his body was transported later to Constantinople and then to Marseille, where it is said still to rest. F could not make the tour of the island, nur visit every part of it, bnt I must not fail to set down what Cypriots aud others who have resided long iu it told me. Let antiquaries judge if their accounts agree or no with the teachings of geography. It is clear that if we consult the ancient geographers, as Strabo, Scylax, Ftolemams, touching the ancient cities of Cyprus we shall find that their names and number differ widely from those given by the present inhabitants. But we must allow for what often happens, that with the change in the language uf the people the names of cities and places change too, or at least receive a termination which is in itself a disguise, as fur instance, Sarignia, Baffa, Lapida, Chiti are the names borne to-day by the ancient cities of Coraunia, Paphos, Lapathus and Citimn. Cyprns, it is said, liad formerly thirteen walled cities, Nicosia, Famagusta, Agianappa, Lamica, Chiti, Leinisco, Bisschopia, Abdnna, Conglia, Baffa, Lefcara, Lapida and Sarignia. Two only remain, Nicosia and Famagusta, which we have described above. Agianappa, or S. Nappa, is near Cape della Greca : there is nothing to see bnt a church made in a grotto, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the surrounding country are caught every year a large number of the little birds called " Bee que figues," which are preserved in vinegar to send abroad. They are taken with bird-lime jnst as we catch small birds at home. Ijarnica is, as I have said, just a moderate-sized village. Chiti ton is only a mined village. Bisschopia is a fine level plain with many ancient ruins. It is watered by a river, and 240 EXCERPTA CYPRIA.

View PDF version of this page