When The Camels Arrived Merry Was Very Bad, And His Skin Beneath The Hair Had Turned Black; He Lapped Water With Difficulty, As His Tongue And Mouth Were Swollen To A Great Size And Were Also Black.

As the dog could not eat I poured a quantity of olive-oil down his throat.

The large village of Evdimu was about a mile above us, and was distinguishable from the heights. A new and important church was in process of construction, upon which some Italian workmen were employed, and an air of prosperity in this neighbourhood contrasted favourably with most portions of the island. The cock-birds of francolins were crowing in all directions, and when rambling with Wise, my now solitary dog, vainly searching for a hare, I found several pairs of red-legged partridges, which of course at this season I respected.

The march on the following day was a continuation of the same beautiful country, until we at length reached the table-top of a stupendous cliff perpendicular to the sea, which washed its base. The path was in many places only a few feet from the edge, and afforded a magnificent view. The table-land upon which we rode was covered with evergreen shrubs and young pines, and the same rich landscape that we had admired on the previous day extended towards the mountains of the interior. The road had been as rough as could be imagined, and we now descended the last steep incline from the heights, which led into the plain below. The salt lake, which adds an important amount to the revenue of Cyprus, lay beneath us upon the right, in the heart of the peninsula of Akrotiri; immediately below were the ruins of ancient Curium, but to us invisible. . . .

We arrived at the town of Episkopi. Captain Savile thus describes it:--

"A pleasantly situated village, standing on the Episkopi or Lycos river, and very abundantly supplied with water. The houses are surrounded with fruitful gardens, and there are fields of grain and cotton in the vicinity. The inhabitants have however very small holdings, and are, as a rule, miserably poor. In former days Episkopi was a rich city, and contained in the Venetian times large manufactories; of its ancient greatness now remain the ruins of an aqueduct, immense storehouses or vaults, and several ruined Greek churches. The spurs from Mount Troodos extend nearly down to the shore, and the road follows the coast-line, traversing a very beautiful country; the ground in spring is covered with flowers and aromatic herbs, and the ravines are filled with a luxuriant growth of cypresses, wild-olives, and flowering shrubs."

There was nothing to induce a delay in Episkopi, but an addition may be made to the above description in stating that the river which has fertilised the spot and made it famous originates in the Troodos range. Later on, during the summer months, I often rested at the faintly dripping source of its first mountain affluent near the top of Troodos, which by degrees acquires strength from the Olympus drainage to form an important stream.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 147 of 274
Words from 76284 to 76802 of 143016