—Long. 32° 20′ to 34° 35′ E; lat. 34° 33′ to 35° 41′ N. Our administrative connection with this island, and the circumstance that it has of late been strongly recommended as a fairly stimulating winter health resort for delicate people, and especially for cases of chest diseases and others, make it desirable to include an account of it within our list.
The following are the principal climatic data:—
| Nikosia, on Central Plain. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months | Mean Maximum Temperature | Mean Minimum Temperature | Relative Humidity | Rainfall | Number of Rainy Days | |||
| F. | C. | F. | C. | % | Ins. | Mm. | ||
| January | 73·4 | 23·0 | 32·3 | 0·2 | 84 | 4·0 | 101 | 11·8 |
| February | 70·7 | 21·5 | 31·8 | 0·1 | 84 | 3·70 | 94 | 11·8 |
| March | 76·5 | 24·7 | 36·4 | 2·4 | 81 | 1·23 | 31 | 7·4 |
| April | 84·5 | 29·2 | 38·8 | 3·8 | 78 | 1·14 | 29 | 4·5 |
| May | 90·4 | 32·4 | 46·2 | 7·9 | 74 | 0·63 | 16 | 4·3 |
| June | 100·0 | 37·8 | 52·4 | 11·3 | 67 | 0·39 | 10 | 1·4 |
| July | 100·7 | 38·3 | 55·5 | 13·1 | 68 | 0·13 | 3 | 0·3 |
| August | 103·0 | 39·4 | 57·2 | 14·0 | 66 | 0·8 | 20 | 0·5 |
| September | 100·5 | 38·1 | 54·4 | 12·3 | 73 | 0·04 | 1 | 0·6 |
| October | 93·5 | 34·2 | 47·7 | 8·7 | 76 | 0·36 | 9 | 2·3 |
| November | 84·5 | 29·0 | 39·3 | 4·1 | 82 | 1·97 | 50 | 6·5 |
| December | 77·5 | 25·3 | 34·0 | 1·1 | 85 | 2·31 | 59 | 7·8 |
The climate is somewhat cooler in summer on the coast, and the rainfall slightly higher, but with a smaller number of rainy days.
The island is mountainous; a great mass of hills occupying the greater part of the southern half, and reaching an elevation of over 6,400 feet at Mount Troödos, where a summer sanatorium has been established. A lower range of hills fringes the entire northern shore, and between the two is a central plain, on the highest part of which, at an elevation of about 500 feet, is situated the capital, Nikosia. These hills shelter the central plain from the bitter winds of the Taurus range in Asia Minor during winter, but, on the other hand, cut off the cooling sea-breezes in summer. For eight months in the year the rainfall is inappreciable, and the summer appearance of the plains arid in the extreme, but the advent of the winter rains in October changes the scene to one of the greatest fertility. The hill country, on the other hand, is generally well-clothed with pine-forests, and enjoys, during the summer, a very pleasant climate. At Nikosia the mean temperature of the year is 67·2°, the extreme maximum being 108°, and the minimum 28°, showing the large range of 80°.
At the hill station on Mount Troödos, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, the excessive heat of the plains is entirely avoided. The season there opens in June and closes in October, the temperature never exceeding 85° F. in 1901. The following table shows the great gain in coolness:—
| Mean Temperatures, Fahrenheit. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Nikosia | Troödos | Difference |
| June | 77·2° | 61·7° | 15·5° |
| July | 83·7° | 71·7° | 12·0° |
| August | 83·3° | 68·2° | 15·1° |
| September | 78·8° | 61·6° | 17·2° |
During the greater part of the year the wind is usually from the north-west, but during the coldest part of the winter is usually from the east. It will be noticed that the general characters of the climate are rather those of a Continental than of an insular situation. The air is almost always highly charged with electricity, and there is comparatively little malaria or other specially tropical diseases.
Egypt.
—The climate of this country is, even from the all-the-year-round point of view, one of the finest in the world, and hence its well-deserved popularity as a winter health resort. Apart from the “Khamseen,” which those used to Indian hot weather might esteem a change for the better, its one drawback is what may be termed the co-efficient of rapacity of its hotel-keepers; as for the casual visitor, it is certainly an expensive country.