Cyprus: Historical and Descriptive

by Franz von Löher

Baffo, or New Paphos, was under the Romans the principal town in the western part of the island, and is famous in ancient poetry as the favourite residence of Aphrodite or Venus, and here was her most celebrated temple.

During the reign of the Emperor Augustus, this town was destroyed by an earthquake, and was afterwards rebuilt.

Here St. Paul converted Sergius Paulus, the Roman deputy-governor, besides many others, preaching in the Jewish synagogues, of which there were several.

Here Elymas, the sorcerer, was struck blind for endeavouring to frustrate St. Paul’s attempts to Christianise the people.

The Church of St. Paul is the only Venetian building now standing. Baffo has a small but unsafe port, and is the see of a Greek bishop. Kerinia, Cerini, or Ghirneh, on the north coast, has a harbour, from which a limited trade is carried on with the opposite coast of Karamania. Its ruins would seem to indicate that it was formerly a fine town. It is fortified, and the second stronghold of the island, and like Lapethus (the original capital of the district of Kerinia), is traced to the Dorian colonists, under Praxander and Cepheus. This formed one of the royal cities of the island. “I passed near this town,” says Cesnola, “several times during my northern excursions, but never had the curiosity to enter it. The village itself, with the exception of the citadel, is a small dirty place, almost exclusively inhabited by Mussulmans, who, with the garrison, enjoy a very bad reputation—second only to that of their co-religionists at New Paphos. The ancient site of Kerinia is a little to the west of the present town, and more inland. For a considerable distance along the western shore, there are to be seen here and there large caverns excavated in the rock; some, though not all, seem to have been tombs. South-east of the town, about an hour’s ride from it, and midway up the mountains, stands an imposing mediæval ruin called ‘Lapais.’ It was an abbey, built by King Hugo the Third, and belonged to the Latin Church, but was destroyed by the Turks when they captured the fortress of Kerinia. It is a fact worth noticing, that all the churches belonging to the Latins were destroyed by the Turks when they took possession of the island. In this I have no doubt they were gladly assisted, or at least encouraged, by the Greeks, who detested the Franks even more than the Turks. This abbey occupied one of the most picturesque and lovely spots of the whole island; a large hall is still standing, one hundred feet long, thirty-two feet wide, and about forty feet high, which was probably the refectory of the French abbots; beneath it is another apartment of like dimensions, divided into two chambers, the vault of which is supported by massive columns.”

“In the court-yard, piled the one upon the other, are two large marble sarcophagi of late Roman work, one of which has garlands of flowers, nude figures, and large bulls’ heads in bold relief. Both bear evidence of having been used for a long time as troughs. Upon the lintel, over the door of the great hall, are engraved three shields; one represents the Jerusalem cross, another the royal arms of the Lusignans, and the third a lion rampant. The Gothic chapel of the abbey has been partly repaired with sun-dried bricks and plaster, and is now used by the Greeks, living in the neighbourhood, as their place of worship; portions of the court-yard serve as their cemetery. On two high peaks in this range of mountains stood two feudal or royal castles, one called St. Hilarion, and the other Buffavento, which served as state prisons and places of refuge to some of the Latin kings of Cyprus. They were both dismantled by order of the Venetian Admiral Prioli.”

Climate.

The climate is generally healthy excepting on some parts of the coast, but this is entirely due to the neglected state of the country; if the much-needed drainage was properly carried out the most satisfactory result would ensue. As in most Eastern countries, the rain falls at stated periods, commencing about the middle of October and continuing until the end of April. After June slight showers fall from time to time, but have little power to modify the heat, which is, however, tempered occasionally by a cool wind. In September the great heat sets in, but does not continue for any length of time. At Larnaka, the mean temperature in February is about 52 deg., and in August 81 deg. The winters are milder, and the summers cooler than on the coast of Syria opposite.

The average rainfall is about fourteen inches in the year. Of late years, droughts have been of frequent occurrence, owing, no doubt, to the destruction of the woods and forests.

The north coast is liable to hot winds from the north-east, from the desert of Arabia in the south-east, and in the south and south-west from Egypt and Lybia.