No town in Cyprus exhibited the results of a British occupation to the same extent as Limasol. The chief commissioner, Colonel Warren, R.A., was an officer of great energy and ability, and he had grappled vigorously with every difficulty and cleansed the Augean stables thoroughly. The town is about a mile and a half in length, and faces the sea in a position somewhat similar to that of Larnaca. The quay is washed by the waves, which in stormy weather dash against the houses, at which times it is impossible to land from boats, and crews must remain on board their vessels safely anchored in the roadstead. Although not so extensive as Larnaca, Limasol is more compact, and the houses and gardens are superior. Owing to the active authority of the chief commissioner, the streets were scrupulously clean, and all the refuse of the town was conveyed to a safe distance. A public market had been recently arranged, covered with corrugated galvanised iron, in which the departments for meat, vegetables, &c., were kept separate, and the appearance and organisation resembled a market-place in England. The various open places within the town, instead of being receptacles for filth, as is usual throughout the East, had been carefully planted with young trees, most of which were exhibiting their first spring shoots and leaves. The quay which faced the sea, although exposed to the undermining action of the waves, had been repaired and was in fair condition; from this a tolerable pier projected, upon which piles of goods were being disembarked from the steamer that had just arrived from Larnaca. Two small tugs ran upon alternate days, thus affording facilities for passengers and goods between Limasol and Larnaca, which was a great convenience recently established to avoid the difficulty of the roadless land journey. H.M.S. Torch was in the roadstead, together with about twenty vessels of various flags and tonnage. Some of these were loading wine for Trieste, and it was interesting to watch the system adopted to save the difficulty of embarking the heavy casks in lighters, in the absence of cranes or winches. The barrels when full were slightly inferior in weight to their displacement of sea-water; they accordingly floated almost level with the surface, and were formed into a chain of two casks abreast and about fifty yards in length. Thus arranged, they were towed by boats until alongside the vessel, when they were easily hoisted up on board. As boats could not lie against the perpendicular wall of the quay except during a perfect calm, there was considerable trouble in carrying on the commerce of the port according to modern requirements; but the inventions of necessity had simplified many difficulties at the expense of increased manual labour. Boats lay a few yards off the shore, and were loaded by men who walked shoulder- deep with the packages upon their heads. I saw lighters discharging planks and baulks of timber, by shooting them into the sea with sufficient force to follow the direction given towards the shore, while the receivers stood in the water to capture them upon arrival.
The shops and stores along the quay-face closely resemble those of Larnaca, but there was more activity among the people. The streets of the bazaar were thronged with mules and donkeys bringing the produce of the interior to the shipping centre, and the crush of animals had been carefully modified by the arrangements instituted by Colonel Warren, who had established a large walled court, or stable-yard, into which all empty mules and asses were driven, instead of being allowed to block the thoroughfare; each beast paid some trifle for this accommodation, which added to the fund for municipal improvements.
The public offices were very inferior, that of the chief commissioner himself being a small white-washed room, which exhibited an utter disregard of personal comfort in the interests of government economy. There is a curious old fort within the town which has been altered and added to until it has become an absurdity; this would be utterly useless as a defence, and the Turkish guns having been removed, it is now converted into a prison; beneath the ground there are dungeons which are no longer used.
The roadstead of Limasol is formed by the projection of the Akrotiri peninsula, which affords protection from the west and south-west, but it is directly exposed from the east to the south. The anchorage is safe, with good holding-ground in ten fathoms. The peculiar shaped peninsula of Akrotiri is about seven miles wide, and the lake in its centre, when full, has a width of about four miles; but during the exhaustive heat of summer it evaporates to the dimensions of a mere pool, and leaves its deserted bed encrusted with a deposit of salt. This lake has no connection with the sea, and its maximum depth is under three feet; the salt is formed upon the same principle as that of the Lake of Larnaca, and certainly not by the percolation of sea-water through the sand, as the Limasol lake is considerably above the sea-level. There is a lighthouse at Cape Gatta, which can be seen at a distance of fifteen miles, as from its elevated position the lamp is 190 feet above the sea. From this point to Limasol the beach is low and sandy, and has always been accepted as the most favourable point for a disembarkation of troops. With historical facts before us there is small excuse for the blunder committed in landing our army of occupation, during the extreme heat of July, at Larnaca instead of Limasol. At the former port there is not a tree to throw a shade, and the miserable aspect of the surrounding country must have had a most depressing effect upon the nervous system of officers and men, while at Limasol the country is agreeable and the shady caroubs exist almost to the sea-shore, in numbers that would have sheltered an army of three times the force represented. I cannot conceive of more deliberate cruelty inflicted upon all grades than an unnecessary exposure to the burning summer sun of Cyprus in bell-tents, when shady trees existed in so convenient a locality as Limasol. If the root of the offence could be traced it would probably be discovered that the advice had been given by some persons interested in the possession of property at Larnaca, where rents of houses rose from nil to a fabulous amount upon the disembarkation of the troops. Altogether this military enterprise of occupation was effected with the usual British confusion and lack of arrangement.
The commissariat of course broke down, although special pains had been taken to supply the troops with luxuries that to a simple mind are inconceivable; thus COPPER WARMING-PANS in great numbers were sent out! As the thermometer was above 100 degrees Fahr., these fiery furnaces were hardly appreciated. It is a reflection upon the want of resource exhibited by the authorities that these peculiar utensils were not sent out as regimental stew-pans, as there was a dearth of cooking-pots, and the warming-pans might have added materially to the comforts of the insides, instead of the outsides of the men, by reducing the gutta-percha-like texture of Cyprian bullocks into a savoury stew. Another comfort thoughtfully supplied by some more than usually insane authority, who no doubt had passed a severe competitive examination, was exhibited in countless coal-boxes of cast-iron! These curious devices were about three feet six inches long by two feet and a half deep, and the same in width. To my ideas they were only suitable for gigantic foot-pans or hip-baths, or as an aquarium for a young seal; but their real object was to contain coal for the supply of the various tents! What is to become of our country, exclaims the British taxpayer, if this frightful waste is to continue? What traveller or explorer ever carried with him a copper warming-pan and a gigantic coal-box, weighing nearly two hundred pounds? And these useless abominations are to hamper the operations of our troops, and to wear out our sailors in the labour of the disembarkment of such disgraceful lumber! Should we unhappily in some future political annexation send a military force to Spitzbergen, we shall probably omit the warming-pans and fuel, but supply a shipload of refrigerators and "Family Ice Machines."
A number of these cast-iron coal-boxes had been converted into cisterns by Sir Garnet Wolseley, which surrounded the wooden Government House at Lefkosia, and were kept full of water in case of fire. So practical a general would have been the first to condemn the palpable absurdity of coal-boxes, even had coals been required; surely they could have been laid upon the bare ground by the tent side, instead of causing the inconvenience, labour, and ridicule of importing such outrageous nonsense.
When the famous military invasions of Cyprus took place in historical times there were certainly neither warming-pans nor coal-boxes, either with Richard Coeur de Lion of England in 1191, or with the Turks under Lala Mustafa in 1570.
Both these experienced warriors selected Limasol for the point of disembarkation, and landed their troops and horses upon the sandy beach in Akrotiri Bay. Richard I. was on his way to the third crusade; but his fleet having been dispersed by a storm, several vessels had been driven on the south coast of Cyprus, where, instead of receiving the hospitality usually exhibited to shipwrecked mariners, his people were robbed and thrown into prison at Limasol by the king, Isaac Comnenus. One of the principal vessels of the fleet which conveyed Berengaria, daughter of the King of Navarre, who was the betrothed of Richard and was accompanied by his sister the Queen Dowager of Sicily, took shelter in Akrotiri Bay and anchored. It appears that the wily Isaac Comnenus endeavoured to persuade the ladies to land, in the hope of effecting their capture, and probably extorting a heavy ransom; but suspicion being aroused, the ship set sail and was shortly met by Richard's own vessel.
Upon hearing that his shipwrecked crews had been detained and imprisoned Richard immediately steered for Limasol, and, with his well-known impetuosity of character, lost no time in disembarking his troops, and shortly brought the Greek army to action under Isaac Comnenus and utterly defeated them. The Latin inhabitants of Limasol had already thrown open their gates, and Richard, after his victory, returned laden with spoils, including the imperial standard, which was eventually hung in St. Edmund's Chapel, Suffolk.
This first battle took place at Kolossi, near to Limasol. After the flush of victory an additional warlike impulse was given to his forces by the arrival of the chivalrous Guy de Lusignan, ex-king of Jerusalem, accompanied by the Princes of Antioch and Tripoli. The marriage of Richard with Berengaria took place at Limasol; she was there crowned Queen of England by the Bishops of York and Evreux. Richard, who did not prolong his honeymoon when an opportunity of fighting was at hand, immediately collected his forces, and, together with Guy de Lusignan, marched for the interior, where Isaac Comnenus had re-organised his army. Guy de Lusignan with a division of the troops marched upon Famagousta, which surrendered without resistance, while Richard attacked the Greek army under Isaac Comnenus in the plain of Messaria. Owing to the disparity of force the battle was for some time doubtful, and at length the two leaders engaged in personal encounter, resulting in the capture of Isaac Comnenus and the total discomfiture of his army. The city of Lefkosia at once threw open its gates to the victorious Richard.