The Dogs Searched
For Game Which They Did Not Find, While I Examined The General Features
Of The Country.
About three-quarters of a mile from the present town or
port are the remains of old Larnaca.
This is a mere village, but
possesses a large Greek church. The tomb of Lazarus, who is believed to
have settled in Cyprus to avoid persecution after his miraculous
resurrection from the grave, is to be seen in the church of St. George
within the principal town.
From this point an excellent view is obtained of the adjacent country. A
plain of most fertile soil extends along the sea-coast towards the east
for six miles, and in breadth about four miles. The present town of
Larnaca stands on the sea-board of this plain, which to the west of the
port continues for about four miles, thus giving an area of some ten
miles in length, forming almost a half circle of four miles in its
semi-diameter; the whole is circumscribed by hills of low but increasing
altitudes, all utterly barren. Through the plain are two unmistakable
evidences of river-action which at some remote period had washed down
from the higher ground the fertile deposit which has formed the alluvium
of the valley. Within this apparently level plain is a vestige of a once
higher level, the borders of which have been denuded by the continual
action of running water during the rushes from the mountains in the
rainy season. This water action has long ceased to exist. There can be
little doubt that in the ancient days of forest-covered mountains, the
rainfall of Cyprus was far greater than at present, and that important
torrents swept down from the hill-sides. We see evidences of this in the
rounded blocks, all water-worn, of syenite and gneiss, which are
intermingled with the bits of broken pottery in the vale, alike relics
of the past and proving the changes both in nature and in man since
Cyprus was in the zenith of prosperity.
A level plateau about eighteen feet above the lowest level of the plain
shows the original surface. The soil of the entire valley is calcareous,
and is eminently adapted for the cultivation of the vine and cereals. As
the rain has percolated through the ground, it has become so thoroughly
impregnated with sulphate of lime that it has deposited a series of
strata some six or seven feet below the surface, which form a flaky
subterranean pavement. The ancients selected this shallow soil of a
higher level for a burial-ground, and they burrowed beneath the stratum
of stony deposit to form their tombs. One of the chief occupations of
modern Cypriotes appears to be the despoiling of the dead; thus the
entire sides of the plateau-face for a distance of about two miles are
burrowed into thousands of holes to a depth of ten and twelve feet in
search of hidden treasures. If the same amount of labour had been
expended in the tillage of the surface, the result would have been far
more profitable. A small proportion of the land upon the outskirts of
the town was cultivated, some had been recently ploughed, while in other
plots the wheat had appeared above the surface. Water is generally found
at eight or nine feet below the level, but this is of an inferior
description, and the town and environs are well supplied by an aqueduct
which conveys the water from powerful springs about seven miles to the
west of Larnaca, near Arpera. This useful work was constructed according
to the will of a former pacha, who bequeathed the sum required, for a
public benefit.
Large flocks of sheep were grazing in various portions of the
uncultivated plain. At first sight they appeared to be only searching
for food among the stones and dust, but upon close examination I found a
peculiar fleshy herb something like the stone-crop which grows upon the
old walls and rocks of England. This plant was exceedingly salt, and the
sheep devoured it with avidity, and were in fair condition. The wool was
long, but of a coarse wiry texture, and much impaired by the adherence
of thistles and other prickly plants. The musical sound of distant bells
denoted the arrival of a long string of camels, laden with immense bales
of unpressed cotton on their way to the port of Larnaca. Each animal
carried two bales, and I observed that the saddles and pads were in
excellent order, the camels well fed, and strongly contrasting with the
cruel carelessness of the camel owners of Egypt, whose beasts are galled
into terrible sores from the want of padding in their packs. The cotton
had been cleaned upon the plantation, but it would be subjected to
hydraulic pressure and packed in the usual iron-bound bales for
shipment, upon arrival in the stores of Larnaca.
It was impossible to resist a feeling of depression upon strolling
around the environs of the town and regarding the barren aspect of the
distant country. Every inch of this fertile plain should be cultivated,
and numerous villages should be dotted upon the extensive surface.
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth" was a curse that
appeared to have adhered to Cyprus.
It was unnecessary to seek for the chief cause of unhealthiness; this
was at once apparent in the low swamps on the immediate outskirts of the
town. In ancient days the shallow harbour of Cittium existed on the east
side of modern Larnaca; whether from a silting of the port, or from the
gradual alteration in the level of the Mediterranean, the old harbour no
longer exists, but is converted into a miserable swamp, bordered by a
raised beach of shingles upon the seaboard. The earth has been swept
down by the rains, and the sand driven in by the sea, while man stood
idly by, allowing Nature to destroy a former industry.
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