An Hour Had Passed, But Still We Ascended; The Path Was As Usual Rugged,
And We Already Looked Down Upon The Sea And Valley At Least 2000 Feet
Beneath.
I had serious misgivings concerning the camels and their loads.
General di Cesnola had examined the whole of this country in his search
for antiquities, but the neighbourhood of the ancient Arsinoe, where
much had been expected, was almost unproductive.
The path still rose; until at length we arrived upon an extensive
plateau about 2400 feet above the sea. The soil was chocolate-colour,
and the surface was covered with large stones of the sedimentary
limestone that surrounds the coast, and which forms the flat-topped
hills of the Messaria. In many places the natives had built these into
walls around their fields, in order to clear the ground required for
cultivation. We passed several villages, all squalid and miserable,
although the rich soil exhibited green crops far superior to anything we
had met with in the lower country. Extensive gardens of mulberry
explained the silk-producing power of this neighbourhood, and almonds,
figs, apricots, &c., throve in great numbers and luxuriance. This
peculiarly fruitful plateau occupies an area of about eight miles from
north to south, and four from east to west. We halted at the large
Turkish village of Arodes, from which we looked down upon the sea and
the small rocky island opposite Cape Drepano, on the western coast,
almost beneath our feet. This portion of Cyprus is eminently adapted for
the cultivation of fruit-trees, as the climate and soil combine many
advantages. The elevation and peculiar geographical position attract
moisture, while the lower ground upon the east is parched with drought.
The evaporation from the sea below condenses upon the cooler heights
immediately above and creates refreshing mists and light rain, which
accounted for the superiority of the crops compared with any that I had
seen elsewhere. Shortly after halting at Arodes we experienced these
atmospherical changes. The thermometer at Polis had been 57 degrees at 7
A. M., and it was only 56 degrees at 3 P.M. at this altitude of 2400
feet. Although the sky had been clear, mists began to ascend from the
chasms and gullies along the abrupt face of the mountain which overhung
the sea; these curled upwards and thickened, until a dense fog rolled
along the surface from the west and condensed into a light shower of
rain. The Turkish inhabitants of the village were extremely civil, and
made no complaints of scarcity from drought, as they fully appreciated
the advantages of their locality. The hawthorn-trees were only just
budding into bloom, while those in the low country had shed their
flowers, and had already formed the berries. In future an extensive
growth of fruit may supply the market of Alexandria, but at present the
total absence of roads would render the transport of so perishable a
material upon the backs of mules impossible. I had sent back our three
riding mules to meet and to relieve the camels, and by this precaution
the baggage animals arrived at a convenient hour.
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