The manufactures of Cyprus are chiefly coarse printed cottons for furniture, which are of lively chintz patterns, and remarkably cheap. The principal articles imported at this time into Cyprus were German looking-glasses, queen’s and other earthenware, sugar, syrups and liqueurs, cloth, Lyons’ stuffs, Manchester goods, glass, &c.
The Greek spoken at Cyprus is as corrupt as that in any part of the Turkish empire. An attempt to enumerate the words that have been introduced into it from other tongues would be to select almost all the expressions of eating, drinking, visiting, and business, common to the Turkish, Arabic, Italian, and French languages. An example of each will suffice.
Arabic.—Τι χαβαρι εχει; what news is there? from kaber, news.
Italian.—Καμνειν μιαν βισιταν], to pay a visit: from visita.
French.—Το εκαμεν εξακταμεντε, we have done it exactly: from exactement.
Turkish.—Γοκσα; or not? from yok.
Ditto.—Ρεζιλες, disputes.
The ῤ is aspirated in pronunciation at Cyprus, which is not done, I believe, elsewhere in the Greek islands.
Living at Cyprus was extremely cheap: but the term means nothing, when applied as relative to England; for all countries almost are cheap in comparison with it, and hence to Englishmen a great advantage is afforded wherever they travel. Compared with the adjacent districts of Syria and Caramania, living in Cyprus was cheap even then.
Cyprus still felt the effects of an insurrection which had convulsed the island some time before. To understand the causes of it, it is necessary to premise, that the Greeks enjoyed so much influence in Cyprus, as to be able often to displace a governor who had become obnoxious to them; not by an act of authority (for they had none in the eye of the law), but by representations to the Porte, backed by money. At the head of the Greek party was the archbishop. The one who held the crosier before the reigning archbishop was so infirm, that he employed, in all transactions with the government, his dragoman, named Hadji Georgaki, a man of great talents, which he perverted to the purposes of intrigue. To such a height had this man’s power grown, that he was supposed, by his machinations, to have removed more than one motsellem, or governor; and it was thought that no one could hold that dignity long, who had not previously entered into a friendly understanding with him.