The total length of the cathedral is 172 feet 6.5
inches. Length of apse (included in above) 30 feet 9 inches; breadth of
apse 32 feet 3 inches; breadth of cathedral 74 feet 1 inch;
circumference of pillars 15 feet 3 inches, there being 12 pillars in
all.
On the outside walls are the marks of various cannon-shot which appear
to have been successfully resisted by the soft but tough sedimentary
limestone, which is of similar quality to that used in the construction
of the fortress. I observed that the impact of the shot has been
confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the blow, and that the
concussion has not been communicated to the adjoining stone, but has
expended itself in crumbling the opposing surface to the depth in which
it was eventually imbedded. It would be interesting to try some
experiments upon those walls of Famagousta (which may already require
repair or alteration) with modern heavy artillery, as should this stone
exhibit unusual powers of resistance it may become valuable. Nothing
would be easier than to fire a few rounds from a ship's battery to prove
the question.
The courtyard of an ancient Venetian palace now forms the British
parade-ground. This faces the cathedral entrance, and is ornamented by
piles of marble cannon-shot, which are upwards of ten inches in
diameter; these were the Venetian relics of the siege of 1571.
From Cape Greco to Cape Elaea, south to north, is about twenty-five
miles; these points form the bay, nine miles in extreme width. Although
open to the east and south-east, Famagousta is the only real harbour in
Cyprus that can be available for large vessels, and there can be no
doubt that a very moderate outlay would not only restore its ancient
importance, but would make those additions of modern times that are
required for a first-rate and impregnable coaling-station and arsenal.
It was blowing a fresh gale from the south-east when I was standing on
the ramparts facing the sea above the water-gate, and an admirable
example was displayed in the wave-breaking power of the long line of
sunken reefs which form a continuation of those natural breakwaters
above the surface that have formed the harbour. A tremendous surf
exhibited a creamy streak along the margin of comparatively still water
within the reefs for about a mile parallel with the shore, comprising an
area of about 700 yards' width at the extremity of the sunken rocks, and
500 from the existing breakwater exactly opposite the water-gate.
Within this secure haven several native vessels were snugly at anchor,
but ships of war would hardly venture among the varying shallows caused
by centuries of silt; such large vessels generally anchor in seventeen
fathoms about a mile from the shore, but they are completely exposed to
wind from east and south-east.
