Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879

by Sir Samuel White Baker

We remained ten days in our Kyrenia camp, and we were both sorry to leave, as the neighbourhood is exceedingly beautiful and full of interest; there is certainly no portion of Cyprus that can equal it in the picturesque, or in the extreme richness of genuine forest-trees and foliage.

The town is small and most irregular: an old Turkish graveyard forms a boundary upon the outskirts opposite the fort, precisely similar in position to that of Famagousta. Within 300 paces of this point are the principal houses, mostly well built of stone and surrounded by high-walled gardens fruitful in oranges, lemons, almonds, apricots, figs, and the fruits commonly known throughout the island. The houses are generally one story above the ground-floor, with a wide balcony that forms an open face to the first-floor of five or six arches, which support the roof upon that side. This is a convenient plan for the climate, as it admits fresh air to all the rooms which open into the balcony; in fact it is an open landing to the staircase. A few date-palms ornament the gardens, the presence of these graceful trees being a sure sign of the preponderance of Turks in the population.

The fort of Kyrenia is a great curiosity, as it forms a portion of the harbour, being situated like the nose in a pair of spectacles, the basins being the eyes right and left. The actual defences are intact, although the inner accommodation for barracks, magazines, &c., &c., require great repairs and alteration. The walls are of solid squared masonry, the stones jointed with the usual imperishable cement, and rise to the great perpendicular height of upwards of seventy feet sheer from the bottom of the fosse. There is only one entrance, by a narrow bridge upon arches, across the extremely wide and deep ditch, terminating near the gateway by a drawbridge, which admits an entry in the face of the immense wall, with portcullis and iron-bound hinged gate. The ramparts overlooking the town and harbour on the west face are 147 yards in length, exclusive of the tower, and the embrasures of solid masonry measured at the angle are generally twenty-four feet in thickness. The fort is nearly square, and is flanked at each corner by a circular tower which would completely enfilade the ditch by several tiers of guns. This powerful fortress is washed by the sea upon two sides (the north and east), and the foundations upon the native rock are protected from the action of the waves by reefs and huge fragments of natural detached masses which characterise this portion of the coast. As I stood upon the parapet facing north I obtained an admirable view of the original harbours to my left and right, and although they could never have admitted large vessels, I was struck by the great importance of this sole place of refuge upon the northern coast of Cyprus, which in former times had suggested such a formidable arrangement for defence. The fort was constructed by the Venetians, but there are fallen masses of much older works that now lie at the foot of the sea-face, and add to the natural reefs in defending the foundations from the breaking water.

The style of this fortress suggests a date anterior to Famagousta, as it is devoid of cavaliers and depends for its defence upon the simple flanking fire of the four towers and the great height and thickness of the walls. It is supplied with fresh water by an aqueduct, and is provided with immense reservoirs of masonry to contain a sufficient quantity during a prolonged siege, when the outer aqueduct might be destroyed by the enemy. There are extensive subterranean caves and dungeons, but these have not yet been explored. Above this fine old specimen of Venetian fortifications, upon the high platform of the tower facing the harbour, was a flag-staff, upon which a small bundle of rags fluttered in the strong wind, as though they, had been arranged to frighten the jackdaws from building within the crevices of masonry. It appeared that this miserable remnant of tattered bunting had once represented a British Union Jack! and the colourless, poverty-stricken thing flapped and cracked as it tore itself into the finest threads of misery in the gale, too truly representing the result of our ambiguous position according to the terms of the Cyprian occupation. I felt ashamed that such an exhibition should meet the eye of any foreign ship upon entering the harbour of Kyrenia, and I was informed "that it was the only flag that was possessed by the authorities." As all the revenue of the island was handed over to the Porte excepting a bagatelle insufficient for the requirements of the country, the really overworked and energetic servants of the Crown were absolutely obliged to practise a most rigid economy, commencing with their own salaries, equally vexatious to themselves and unworthy of our high position.

The curious collection of old cannon had all been removed by the Turks, but one iron piece remained, which, being almost worthless as metal, had been left behind when the bronze guns had been shipped to Constantinople. This was a great curiosity, as it somewhat resembled a hand-bell about five feet in length; the bell which formed the mouth to receive the ball was only two feet in length, although the muzzle was sufficiently wide to admit the stone projectile of nineteen inches diameter. The portion which resembled the handle of a bell was the continuation which formed the narrow chamber for the powder; this was about three feet long and eight inches thick*. (*These measurements are from memory, excepting the diameter of muzzle, which I took on the spot.) There were no trunnions to this singular old gun, but it may have been lashed to some lever which could be raised or depressed, and it was evidently intended for firing into shipping from the fort walls, to command the harbour at a short range. It had been cast with concentric rings, which I examined carefully, as at first I imagined they had been wrought-iron shrunk on to the casting: this was not the case, but the extra thickness of metal at the rings added sufficient strength. The large stone shot, formed of a peculiarly hard metamorphous rock (a conglomerate of matter that had been fused by heat), were to be seen in various positions within the fortress. A few were on the parapet above the drawbridge, as though prepared for rolling over upon an assaulting party. I found this quality of rock upon the mountains within two miles of Kyrenia.

There were evidently two harbours, which included the small bay upon either side of the present fort; that upon the west was the most important, as the depth of water is greater, and it shows evident signs of having received peculiar attention. The remains of the ancient moles still exist, and afford considerable protection; but the sea has broken through in several places and washed away the upper tiers of stones. These moles were carefully constructed by laying the masonry upon a foundation of hydraulic cement, which connected the various natural rocks; the layer of cement still exists, while the squared blocks of the original surface may be seen at the bottom, where they have been deposited by the waves. Like all defensive works in historical countries, those of Kyrenia have undergone continual changes and modifications, as from time to time alterations may have been suggested by successful attacks. In a ruined tower which, completely isolated within the sea, commanded the entrance of the harbour on the west, I observed that an ancient column of white marble from some old building has been used as a key to prevent the large squared stones from yielding to the constant vibration caused by the breaking waves. Each tier of stones has been cut at the central edge to form a half-circle where the edges of the adjoining blocks were connected; those have been similarly shaped to produce a complete circle when faced together. The squared stones in the lower and upper tiers have been perforated in a circle, so that when several courses of masonry were completed, the hole represented a shaft of about twelve inches diameter, sunk from top to bottom; the marble column has been inserted from the top, and has tied each course effectively together; the havoc occasioned in this tower of solid squared blocks is the work of man; the stones have until recently been removed for the purposes of building.

Kyrenia could never have been a perfectly safe harbour in all weathers, as the entrance is open to the north. There is a slight turn to the east, which might have protected a few small vessels during a northerly gale, but this portion is now silted up, and it should be cleared by dredging. The houses rise above the harbour from the water's edge to the cliffs, forming a horseshoe shape. Mr. Holbeach had just completed a small quay of masonry, and a very moderate outlay would restore the ancient mole and render Kyrenia an important port for the trading vessels of Syria and Asia Minor. When a good carriage-road shall be completed to the capital, Lefkosia, only sixteen miles distant, the value of Kyrenia as a commercial harbour will be much enhanced. There are also important towns with a considerable population within eight or nine miles of Kyrenia on the west: Carava and Lapithas would offer markets for a great extension of trade, and Morphu would be brought within the same commercial circle. There is a peculiar advantage throughout the ports of Cyprus in the presence of stone quarries upon the spot where the material is required; this is specially marked at Kyrenia, where the solid rock, with its tombs, cave-dwellings, and ancient quarries, is on the actual borders of the sea, within a few yards of the existing harbour. There would be no great difficulty in converting these quarries into a dock, should a demand for stone be sufficient to repay the outlay for cutting the supply, according to the example already exhibited and left to us by the ancients.

The quarries of Kyrenia form the chief curiosity of the locality. The rock is the sedimentary limestone mixed with a proportion of sand that is the characteristic geological feature around the coast of Cyprus; but in these quarries the stone is perfectly solid and free from fissures, which enables the mason to obtain blocks of any size. From prehistoric times the rock of Kyrenia, which rises about forty feet above the sea-level, has been worked out upon the most careful method; every block has been cut from the parent mass by measurement, and no broken edges have been permitted to destroy the symmetry of the adjoining stone. The work was commenced from the top, or surface of the rock, and a smooth cliff face has been produced as the first operation; upon completion the surface has been lined out parallel with the perpendicular face, and the blocks have been carefully chiselled and removed by wedges driven horizontally from beneath. In this manner the rock has been worked until it resembled a flight of steps, which remain in many places perfect to the present hour. The entire fortress and town have been constructed from these quarries, and there can be no doubt that when Kyrenia was originally founded by the Dorian colonists under Cepheus and Praxander the stones were obtained from the existing site. There is a considerable difference in the quality of the rock, which has been remarked by the original builders, as a passage has been cut through the first cliff face nearest to the town, and the desired level for wheeled conveyances having been obtained, the workmen have discovered a superior stone as they proceeded into the bowels of the quarry. They have accordingly neglected much of the nearer portion, and have excavated a large square, always pushing forward towards the west, which is now terminated by a worked perpendicular face and a series of steps incomplete, precisely as it remained when the last chisel relinquished the labour.

This quality of rock in all parts of Cyprus is cavernous, and the natural caves have suggested to the ancients an artificial extension both for dwellings and for cemeteries. The rock is easily worked by the mason's pick, and near the town I observed an old fort-ditch which had been originally excavated for the double object of quarrying building stone at the same time that it served the purpose of defence. There would be no great difficulty in connecting the ancient quarry with the harbour by cutting a canal through the soft rock and extending the depth of the ancient excavations. It is well known to all quarrymen that the stone should be placed in a building according to the position in which it lay when forming the original rock. Within the fortress of Kyrenia there are many examples of neglect, where the masons have either inverted or placed the stones sideways, in which case the action of the weather has completely honey-combed and reduced the material to an appearance of decayed coral. I observed instances of similar neglect with the same results in portions of the fortress of Famagousta.

The tombs are easily distinguished from the cave-dwellings with which the rocks are perforated, as they are merely chambers of a few feet square sufficient for the reception of a limited number of bodies; the dwellings have been carefully chiselled, and arranged with a bench cut from the solid rock around the apartment.