There Are Many Good And Roomy
Houses In The Town, Each Furnished With A Considerable Garden, But As
They Are Surrounded With High Walls, It Is Difficult To Form An Opinion
Of Their Actual Dimensions.
The house occupied by the Chief Commissioner
is large and well constructed, the staircase and landing airy and
capacious, with an entrance-hall open at the extreme end and well
arranged for the burning climate during summer.
All houses are paved
with slabs of gypsum, which abound in many parts of the island, and are
sold at a remarkably low price, as the blocks laminate, and are divided
into sheets of the required thickness with a minimum of labour.
The Turkish Pacha (Rifat) still remained at Lefkosia, as he was
responsible for the transfer of various movable property to
Constantinople. The interesting Venetian cannon of bronze that were
utterly valueless as modern weapons had been conveyed away both from
Lefkosia and Famagousta. One of these was a double octagon, or
sixteen-sided, and would have been a valuable specimen in the collection
at the Tower of London. Many of the curious old Venetian cannon had
recently been burst into fragments with dynamite, to save the trouble of
moving the heavy guns entire.
There can be little doubt that the prime object in selecting a central
position for the capital of Cyprus was a regard for safety from any
sudden attack; but upon any other grounds I cannot conceive a greater
absurdity. The capital should be Limasol, which will become the
Liverpool of Cyprus.
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