By
careful management, after one or two narrow escapes from capsising, we
succeeded in landing the Noah's Ark safely by its fellow, amidst the
cheers of the good-natured crowd.
The delay had been great, and the evening was drawing near: we were
about seven miles from the upper portion of Kythrea, where we had
proposed to camp, and the route was partly across country, to avoid
layers of natural rock which in successive ridges made it impossible for
the vans to keep the track. Several deep watercourses intervened, which
required the spade and pickaxe, and it was quite dark when we were
obliged to halt about a mile from Kythrea.
On the following morning Mr. Kitchener, Lieutenant of the Royal
Engineers, called at our camp, and was kind enough to pilot us to the
celebrated springs about three miles above the village. This able and
energetic officer was engaged, together with Mr. Hippersly of the same
corps, in making the trigonometrical survey of the island, and they were
quartered in a comfortable house on the outskirts of the town. With this
excellent guide, who could explain every inch of the surrounding
country, we started upon a most interesting ride. The entire
neighbourhood was green with abundant crops of cereals, some of which at
this early season were eighteen inches high. The effect of irrigation
could be traced for several miles into the plain and along the base of
the mountain range, until by degrees the green became more faint, and
gradually but surely merged into the dead brown which denoted
barrenness, where the water-power was expended by absorption.
It was impossible to form any idea of the extent of Kythrea from the
outside view. A succession of large villages with fields highly
cultivated covered the surface at the base of the mountains, but the
true Kythrea was partially concealed by the curious ravine through which
the water of the springs is conducted by aqueducts until it reaches the
lower ground. For a distance of three miles this ravine is occupied by
houses and gardens, all of which are supplied by the stream, which turns
thirty-two water-mills in its course. The water-wheels in Cyprus are
horizontal turbines, and I have only met with one over-shot wheel in the
island; this is on the estate of M. Mattei at Kuklia.
The range of mountains exactly above the village exhibits a peculiar
example of the effect of water-wash for about two hundred feet from the
base. From the heights at Government House, twelve miles distant, I had
observed through the telescope a curious succession of conical heaps
resembling volcanic mounds of hardened mud; these rose one above the
other along the base of the hills like miniature mountain-ranges.
