We halted five miles from Lefkosia, where a new stone bridge was in process of construction and was nearly completed. We had already passed a long and extremely narrow Turkish bridge across the river about four miles in our rear. By pacing I made the new bridge twenty-nine feet, the same width as the road, and I could not help thinking that a much less expensive commencement would have been sufficient to meet the requirements of the country. In Cyprus the rainfall is generally slight and the earth is tenacious, and in dry weather exceedingly hard; if half the width of the road had been carefully metalled in the first instance, a great expense would have been saved at a time when the island was sadly in want of money; the natural surface of the firm soil would have been preferred by all vehicles except during rain, when they would have adopted the metalled parallel way. It is easy to criticise after the event, and there can be no doubt that upon our first occupation of the island a much greater traffic was expected, and the road between the two capitals was arranged accordingly. We halted for the night at the new stone bridge, which, as usual in Cyprus, spanned a channel perfectly devoid of water. On the following morning we marched to Lefkosia, and passing to the left of the walled town, we reached the newly-erected Government House, about a mile and a half distant, where we received a kind and hospitable welcome from the High Commissioner, Sir Garnet, and Lady Wolseley.
The position of the new Government House was well chosen. The character of the dreary plain of Messaria is the same throughout; flat table-topped hills of sedimentary calcareous limestone, abounding with fossil shells, represent the ancient sea-bottom, which has been upheaved. The surface of these table-heights is hard for a depth of about six feet, forming an upper stratum of rock which can be used for building; beneath this are marls and friable cretaceous stone, which during rains are washed away. The continual process of undermining by the decay of the lower strata has caused periodical disruption of the hard upper stratum, which has fallen off in huge blocks and rolled down the rough inclines that form the sides. As the water during heavy rains percolates through the crevices of the upper stratum, it dissolves the softer material beneath, and oozing through the steep inclination, carries large quantities in solution to the lower level and deposits this fertilising marl upon the plain below. In this manner the low ground of the rich but dreary Messaria has been formed through the decay and denudation of the higher levels, and the process will continue until the present table-topped hills shall be entirely washed away. The stone of the upper surface, which forms a hard crust to the friable strata beneath, is in many places merely the roof of caverns which have been hollowed out by the action of water as described.
The Government House was erected upon one of these flat-topped hills in a direct line about 1900 yards from the nearest portion of Lefkosia. It was a wooden construction forming three sides of a quadrangle. The quarters for the military staff were wooden huts, and the line of heights thus occupied could not fail to attract the eye of a soldier as a splendid strategical position, completely commanding Lefkosia and the surrounding country. From this point an admirable view was presented upon all sides. The river Pedias (the largest in Cyprus), when it possessed water, would flow for about 270 degrees of a circle around the base of the position, the sides of the hill rising abruptly from the stream. The dry shingly bed was about 120 yards in width, and although destitute of water at this point, sufficient was obtained some miles higher up the river to irrigate a portion of the magnificent plain which bordered either side. Sir Garnet Wolseley was endeavouring to put a new face on the treeless surface, and had already planted several acres of the Eucalyptus globulus and other varieties on the lower ground, while date-palms of full growth had been conveyed bodily to the natural terrace around the Government House and carefully transplanted into pits. This change was a considerable relief to the eye, and the trees, if well supplied with water, will in a few years create a grove where all was barrenness.
The view from each portion of the terrace is exceedingly interesting, as it commands a panorama for a distance of nearly thirty miles. On the north is the range of mountains, about twelve miles distant, which form the backbone of Cyprus, and run from east to west, attaining the height of 3400 feet. This is a peculiar geological feature in the island, as it is the only instance of compact (or jurassic) limestone. Through my powerful astronomical telescope I could plainly distinguish every rock, and the Castle of Buffavento upon the summit of the perpendicular crags afforded an interesting object, although invisible to the naked eye. The south and east presented a miserable aspect in the brown desert-like plain of Messaria, broken by the numerous flat-topped hills to which I have already alluded. On the west the important mountain-range which includes Troodos bounded the view by the snow-capped heights of the ancient Mount Olympus, between which several chains of lower hills formed a dark base of plutonic rocks, which contrasted with the painful glare of the immediate foreground. The highest points of this range are Troodos, 6590 feet, Adelphe, 5380 feet, Makhera, 4730 feet. These are the measurements as they appear upon the maps; but the recent survey by the Royal Engineers has reduced the height of Troodos by 250 feet. A green patch at the foot of the Carpas range denoted the position of Kythrea, about twelve miles distant east, watered by the extraordinary spring which has rendered it famous both in ancient and modern times; and almost at our feet, or a mile in a direct line, the fortified capital, Lefkosia, presented the usual picturesque appearance of a Turkish town. A combination of date-palms, green orange-gardens, minarets, mosques, houses quaint in their irregularity and colouring, and the grand old Venetian Cathedral, St. Sophia, towering above all other buildings, were enclosed within the high masonry walls and bastions, comprising a circuit of three statute miles.
The position of Lefkosia has been badly chosen, as it lies in the flat, and must always have been exposed to a plunging fire from an enemy posted upon the heights. It was fortified in the time of Constantine the Great, but in 1570 the Venetians demolished the old works and constructed the present elaborate fortifications. Although the walls are in several places crumbling into ruins, they are still imposing in appearance, and present a clean front of masonry flanked by eleven bastions, and entered by three gates, those of Baffo, Famagousta, and Kyrenia. The original ditch can be traced in various places, but the counterscarp and glacis have been destroyed; therefore the soil has washed in during the rainy seasons, and to an unpractised eye has obliterated all traces of the former important work. On the other hand, the disappearance of the glacis renders the height of the walls still more imposing, as they rise for thirty or forty feet abruptly from the level base, and at a distance maintain the appearance of good condition.
It is difficult to imagine the reason which induced the Venetians to reproduce Lefkosia after they had demolished the original fortifications; but it is probable that they had already erected the cathedral before the expected Turkish invasion rendered the improved defences necessary. Although in the early days of artillery shell-fire was unknown, both the Turks and Venetians possessed guns of heavy calibre far exceeding any that were used in Great Britain until recent years. The marble shot which are still to be seen in Famagousta are the same which served in the defence of that fortress in 1571. These are nearly eleven inches in diameter, while in the fort of Kyrenia the stone shot are still existing, nineteen inches in diameter, composed of an exceedingly hard and heavy metamorphic rock. The long bronze guns which threw the smaller stone shot of from six to eleven inches, would command a far more extensive range than the interval of the heights which dominate Lefkosia; and even should battering have been ineffective at that distance against walls of masonry, the plunging fire would have destroyed the town and rendered it untenable.
Traces are still visible of the Turkish approaches when the town was successfully carried by storm on the 9th of September, 1570, after a siege of only forty-five days. The short duration of the attack compared to the length of time required in the siege of Famagousta, which at length succumbed to famine, and not to direct assaults, is a proof of the faulty strategical position of the fortress of Lefkosia.
Most Turkish towns are supplied with water by aqueducts from a considerable distance, which would naturally be cut by an enemy as the first operation. The water is brought to Lefkosia from the hills at some miles' distance, and is of excellent quality; but the wells of the town must be contaminated by sewage, as there is no means of effective drainage upon the dead level of the town, unless the original ditch is turned into a pestilential cesspool. The filth of centuries must have been imbibed by the soil, and during the process of infiltration must in successive rainy seasons have found its way to the wells. In case of invasion, Lefkosia could never have resisted a prolonged siege, as in the absence of the aqueduct a garrison would quickly have succumbed to disease when dependent for a water-supply upon the wells alone. When the Turks captured the city by assault, the population far exceeded that of the present time (16,000), and the greater portion were massacred during several days of sack and pillage. Some thousands of girls and boys were transported to Constantinople. Richard I. of England occupied Lefkosia without resistance, after his victory over Isaac Comnenus.
Although experienced in the illusion of Turkish towns, I was more than disappointed when I visited the interior of Lefkosia. The new Chief Commissioner, Colonel Biddulph, R.A., C.B., had already improved certain streets, and the eye was immediately attracted to points which bore the unmistakable stamp of a British occupation; but nothing can be effected in the arrangement of such a town without an unlimited purse and a despotic power. It is almost as hopeless as London in the incongruity of architecture, and the individual indulgence of independent taste, which absolutely dismays a stranger. The beautiful Gothic cathedral of the Venetians has been converted into a mosque by the conquerors, and two exceedingly lofty and thin minarets have added an absurd embellishment, resembling two gigantic candles capped by extinguishers, as though the altar-tapers had been taken for the models. The neighbouring church of St. Nicholas has been converted into a granary. In all Turkish towns the bazaars are the most interesting portion, as they illustrate the commercial and agricultural industries of the country. Those of Lefkosia formed a labyrinth of the usual narrow streets, and resembled each other so closely that it was difficult to find the way. The preparation of leather from the first process of tanning is exhibited on an extensive scale, which does not add to the natural sweetness of the air. Native manufactures for which the town is celebrated, that are more agreeable, may be purchased at a moderate price in the shape of silk stuffs; and a variety of mule-harness, pack-saddles, and the capacious double bags of hair and wool that, slung across the animal, are almost indispensable to the traveller. There were a few shops devoted to European articles which were hardly adapted to the country, and were expensive in a ridiculous degree. The narrow streets were muddy from the recent rain, and the temperature was at 55 degrees, but the inhabitants were sitting at the various cafes in the open air smoking and drinking their steaming coffee as though in summer. From natural politeness they invariably rose as we passed by, and at one place I was immediately furnished with a string that I might measure a large vine-stem which during summer must afford a dense shade. I found the main stem of this unusual specimen was twenty-two inches in circumference.
The only agreeable walk in Lefkosia is the circuit of the ramparts, as the high elevation admits of fresh air and an extensive view. From this we looked down upon numerous gardens well irrigated by the surplus water of the aqueduct, and the remarkably healthy orange and lemon trees were crowded with their loads of ripe fruit. 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.