This Wild Country, Far From All Roads, And Forming The Storm-Washed Extreme Limit Of The Island, Was Considerately Out

Of the way of news, and the monk was absolutely ignorant of everything that was taking place in the great

Outer world. He had heard that such mischievous things as newspapers existed, but he had never seen one, neither had that ubiquitous animal the newspaper-correspondent ever been met with in the evergreen jungles of Cape St. Andrea. His monastery was his world, and the poor inhabitants who occupied the few miserable huts within sight of his church were his vassals. Although the bell of the monastery tolled and tinkled at the required hours, he informed me that "nobody ever attended the service, as the people were always engaged in looking after their animals." During the conversation a sudden idea appeared to have flashed upon him, and starting from his seat, he went quickly to his mule, and making a dive into the large and well-filled saddle-bags, he extracted an enormous wine-bottle that contained about a gallon; this he triumphantly brought to us and insisted upon our acceptance. It was in vain that we declined the offering; the priest was obdurate, and he placed the bottle against the entrance of the tent, which, if any one should have unexpectedly arrived, would have presented a most convivial appearance.

Upon questioning the good monk respecting the destruction of forests upon his domain, he informed me that "during the Turkish administration he had been annually pillaged by hundreds of vessels which arrived from the neighbouring coasts of Asia Minor and of Egypt for the express purpose of cutting timber to be sold by weight as fire-wood at their various ports. He had protested in vain, there were no police, nor any means of resistance at Cape St. Andrea, therefore the numerous crews had defied him; and small presents from the owners of the vessels to the Pacha at headquarters were sufficient to ensure immunity." I asked him "why they wasted so much excellent fire-wood, and left the boughs to hamper the surface?" He replied, "that as the wood was sold by weight, the dealers preferred to cut the thick stems, as they packed closely on board the vessels, and, being green, they weighed heavy; therefore they rejected the smaller wood and left it to rot upon the ground." He declared "that on several occasions the crews had quarrelled, and that from pure spite they had set fire to the thick mass of dried boughs and lighter wood which had spread over the surface, and destroyed immense numbers of young trees." I had observed that large tracts had been burnt during the preceding year. He was delighted at the English occupation, as his property would now be protected, and in a few years the trees would attain a considerable size.

Having passed an interesting afternoon with the new ecclesiastical acquaintance, and tasted, immediately after his departure, the contents of his enormous bottle (which was as instantly presented, as a "great treat," to the servants), we lighted our big bonfires, and enjoyed the blaze like children, although the showers of red sparks threatened the destruction of the tent in the absence of Captain Shaw and the London Fire Brigade. After this temporary excitement in this utter-lack-of-incident-and-everyday-monotonous-island, the fires gradually subsided, and we all went to sleep. There is no necessity in Cyprus for sentries or night-watchers, the people are painfully good, and you are a great deal too secure when travelling. As to "revolvers!" I felt inclined to bury my pistols upon my first arrival, and to inscribe "Rest in peace" upon the tombstone. It would be just as absurd to attend church in London with revolvers in your belt as to appear with such a weapon in any part of Cyprus. Mine were carefully concealed in some mysterious corner of the gipsy-van; where they now lie hidden.

We had been two days at Cape St. Andrea, and it was necessary to right-about-face, as we could go no farther. The monk proposed to guide us to Rizo-Carpas, the capital of the Carpas district; therefore on 14th March we started.

This ride of fourteen miles was the most interesting we had made since our arrival in the island. After returning upon our old route for about nine miles, we struck off to the right (north) and ascended a steep gorge between precipitous wooded heights, where the light green foliage and the exceedingly bright red stems of numerous arbutus contrasted with the dense masses of dark greens which entirely clothed the surface. Upon arrival, about 600 feet above the sea we obtained a splendid view, as a table-topped hill of nearly equal height, with the usual steep cliff-like sides all covered with verdure, stood prominently in the foreground, and the deep valleys upon either side, abounding in rich caroub-trees and olives, led directly to the sea, about six miles distant and far below. We now crossed the watershed, and the view increased in beauty as it embraced a complete panorama, with the sea upon three sides, to the north, south, and east, with the mountains of Asia Minor in the far distance.

We arrived at Rizo-Carpas, which is situated in a gently-sloping vale about 450 feet above the sea-level, but surrounded upon all sides by superior heights, from which the coast of Caramania is distinctly visible during clear weather. The valley and slopes are highly cultivated with cereals, and plantations of mulberry-trees for the support of silkworms; numerous caroub-trees throughout the district give an agreeable and prosperous appearance. Although there is no actual town, native dwellings are dotted over the face of the country for some miles, ornamented by three churches, which present an air of civilisation and prosperity. The inhabitants were, as usual, very polite, and as Lady Baker and myself were sitting upon a rug beneath a tree which we had selected for the evening's halt, and waiting for the arrival of our camels, a crowd of women and children arrived with the ugliest and most witch-like old hag that I have ever seen.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 42 of 140
Words from 42146 to 43190 of 143016