Cyprus, As I Saw It In 1879 By Sir Samuel White Baker





















































 -  We
accordingly rode through the considerable town of Ktima amidst the
barking and snapping of innumerable dogs, who attacked our - Page 139
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We Accordingly Rode Through The Considerable Town Of Ktima Amidst The Barking And Snapping Of Innumerable Dogs, Who Attacked Our British Spaniels, Keeping Up A Running Fight Throughout The Way, Until We Emerged Upon Open Country Beyond The Outskirts.

We were now once more upon a flat table-top, about a hundred feet above the plain between us and the sea, a mile and a half distant.

The edge of the table-land formed a cliff, choked from its base with huge fallen blocks of sedimentary limestone, from the crevices of which trees grew in great profusion, reminding one of hanging coverts upon hill-sides in England. Descending a steep but well-trodden path between these cottage-like masses of disjointed rock, we arrived at the prettiest camping-ground that I had seen in Cyprus. This had formed the camp of the Indian troops when the occupation had taken place in July, 1878, and unfortunately in this charming spot they had suffered severely from fever.

The sea and the town and port of Baffo lay before us, but immediately in front of the rocky and tree-covered heights that we had descended were great numbers of park-like trees which I had never before met with. These were of large size, many exceeding fourteen feet in girth, with a beautiful foliage that threw a dense shade beneath. The name of this tree is Tremithia, and it bears a small fruit in clusters of berries which produce oil: this is used by the inhabitants for the same purposes as that obtained from olives. I had met with the bush in a wild state for the first time at Lapithus, and had been attracted by the aromatic scent of the young leaves, but I was not aware that it grew to the size of a forest-tree. Springs of pure water issued from the rocks in the cliff-side within a few yards of our position; these were caught in large reservoirs of masonry from twenty to thirty feet square and six feet deep, from the bottom of which the water could be liberated for the purposes of irrigation. We selected a position upon a terrace beneath a number of these splendid tremithias, which afforded a shade during all hours of the day. The little stream rippled just below, passing by the roots of the trees that sheltered us, and watered a rich and dark green plot of about two acres of--neither roses, nor violets, but something far better, which at once delighted our cook Christo--onions! According to his practical ideas the Garden of Eden would have been a mere wilderness in the absence of a bed of onions; but at length we had entered upon Paradise; this WAS a charming place! For some distance beyond this captivating plot the tremithias (which at a distance resembled fine-headed oaks) ornamented the surface and gave a park-like appearance to the country; but beyond them the plain was a gentle slope, highly cultivated towards the sea.

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