It rained more or less every day during our stay at Gallibornu, and thunder rolled heavily in the neighbourhood; but in the narrow valley between lofty hills the sky view was so limited that it was impossible to judge of the impending weather. The earth was too slippery for camels, which I had engaged with an excellent Turk, who for some years had been a zaphtieh, therefore it was necessary to wait patiently until the surface should become dry. I amused myself with wandering over the hills with my dogs, examining the rocks, and shooting sufficient game for our own use. I could generally bag enough for my lad to carry home conveniently over this rugged country, and a hare or two in addition to partridges were more appreciated when stewed than when carried up the precipitous hills. I never tasted any game so delicious as the Cyprian hares; they are not quite so red or curly as the European species, but the flesh is exceedingly rich, and possesses a peculiarly gamey flavour, owing to the aromatic food upon which they live. It is difficult to obtain a shot in the thick coverts of mastic bush, and without dogs I do not think I should have shot one, as they were generally in dense thickets upon the mountain sides, through which beaters could have hardly moved.
The high cliffs above us formed an excellent example of an old sea-bottom, showing—the various strata of sedimentary deposits at different periods. I made a collection of fossil shells, which were in great numbers but in limited variety, and chiefly bivalves.
Although the village of Gallibornu was more important in size than many we had passed, there was a total lack of supplies. It was impossible to purchase bread, and we were obliged to send messengers to considerable distances to procure flour, which we subsequently employed a woman to bake. The people generally were very poor throughout the country, and the cultivated area appeared insufficient for the support of the population. Every yard of land was ploughed, but the entire valley of Gallibornu was fallowed, and did not possess one blade of corn, as the soil required rest after the yield of the previous season. None of these people have an idea respecting a succession of crops in scientific rotation, therefore a loss is sustained by the impoverishment of the ground, which must occasionally lie inactive to recover its fertility. There is absolutely no provision whatever for the cattle in the shape of root-crops or hay, but they trust entirely to the bruised barley-straw and such seeds as the cotton and lentil. At this season the Carpas district possessed an important advantage in the variety of wild vegetables which afforded nourishment for man and beast; the valleys teemed with wild artichokes and with a variety of thistles, whose succulent stems were a favourite food for both oxen and camels.
The leaf-stems of the artichokes were peeled and eaten raw by the inhabitants, but as these people are accustomed to consume all kinds of uncooked vegetables and unripe fruits few civilised persons would indulge in the Cypriote tastes. We found the artichoke stems uneatable in a raw state, but remarkably good when peeled and stewed, with a sauce of yolk of egg beaten up with oil, salt, pepper, and lemon-juice; they were then quite equal to sea-kale. There is a general neglect in the cultivation of vegetables which I cannot understand, as agriculture is the Cypriote's vocation; it can hardly be called laziness, as they are most industrious in their fields, and expend an immense amount of labour in erecting stone walls to retain a small amount of soil wherever the water-wash from a higher elevation brings with it a deposit. The insignificant terraces thus formed by earth caught in its descent while in solution appear disproportioned to the labour of their construction, and the laborious system would suggest an extreme scarcity of land suitable for agricultural operations. I believe this to be the case, and that a serious mistake has been made in assuming that the Crown possesses large areas of land that may eventually become of great value. There are government lands, doubtless, of considerable extent, but I question their agricultural importance, and whenever the ordnance-map of the island shall be completed a wild confusion will be discovered in the discrepancy of title-deeds with the amount of land in possession of the owners. I have, whilst shooting in the wild tracts of scrub-covered hills and mountains, frequently emerged upon clearings of considerable extent, where the natives have captured a fertile plot and cleared it for cultivation, far away from the eyes of all authorities.
I believe that squatting has been carried on for many years, as during the Turkish administration a trifling annual present would have closed the eyes of the never-too-zealous official who by such an oversight could annually improve his pay. Land suitable for cultivation cannot possibly be in excess of the demand, when plots of only a few yards square are carefully formed by the erection of stone walls to retain the torrent-collected soil.
We were pestered with beggars throughout this district, and even the blind saw their opportunity; their number was distressing, and they could not account in any way for the prevalence of ophthalmia. Some endeavoured to explain the cause by referring it to the bright reflection from the sea, to which they were so frequently exposed; I assured them that sailors were seldom blind, and they proved the rule. Dirty habits, dwellings unwashed, heaps of filth lying around their houses and rotting in their streets, all of which during the hot dry summer is converted into poisonous dust, and, driven by the wind, fills the eyes, which are seldom cleansed—these are the natural causes which result in ophthalmia.
The new camels were ready, and with six of these animals we left Gallibornu and felt relieved to have parted with the carts, as for several marches they had caused great delay and inconvenience. Although Theodori had deceived me by agreeing to conduct us direct to Cape St. Andrea I did not like to discharge the thick-headed but innocent Georgi, therefore I offered to pay them a certain sum which they themselves named, per day, for the keep of their oxen, provided they should return with their empty carts to Lithrankomi (one march) and await my return there; after which, we would resume the original contract, and their oxen would once more draw the vans from their station at Kuklia.
This was an extra expense, as the camels were now engaged in lieu of carts, notwithstanding that I should have to pay for the oxen; on the other hand, these animals were beautiful specimens of their kind, and were thoroughly accustomed to the gipsy-van, therefore it was advisable to retain them. The two owners were delighted with the arrangement, and we started for Cape St. Andrea, while they were to return to Lithrankomi.
The country was now thoroughly enjoyable; the recent daily showers had freshened all vegetation, and the earth was a carpet of wild flowers, including scarlet ranunculus, poppies, a very pretty dwarf yellow cistus resembling bunches of primroses, cyclamen, narcissus, anemones—purple, white, and a peculiarly bright yellow variety.
The route from Gallibornu was extremely wild and picturesque, combining hills, glens, and occasional short glimpses of the sea between the gorges which cleft the precipitous range upon our right. The rounded and sparkling tops of gypsum hills were common for the first few miles; emerging from these, we threaded a ravine, and arrived upon the sea beach, and continued for a considerable distance upon the margin of the shore; the animals scrambling over fallen rocks and alternately struggling through the deep sand and banks of sea-weed piled by a recent gale. We now entered upon the first pure sandstone that I had seen; this was a coffee-brown, and formed the substratum of the usual sedimentary limestone which capped the surface of the hill-tops. The appearance was peculiar, as the cliffs of brown sandstone were crusted for a depth of about eight or ten feet by the white rock abounding with fossil shells, while the substratum of hard sand was perfectly devoid of all traces of organic matter. The upheaval of a sea-bottom was clearly demonstrated. As the sandstone had decayed, vast fragments of the surface rock had broken down when undermined and had fallen to the base of the steep inclines, from the interstices of which a dense growth of evergreens produced an agreeable harmony of colouring, combining various shades of green with brown cliffs and white masses of disjointed limestone. The deep blue of the sea was a beautiful addition to this wild scenery, and after threading our way sometimes between narrow gorges, at other places along sequestered glens which exhibited young crops of cereals and cultivated olive-trees, we at length arrived at a halting-place upon the seashore, where a well of excellent water about ten feet from the surface had been sunk upon the sea-beach within fifty yards of the waves.