It Was In Vain To
Explain That The People Were A Nuisance If Too Near:
When driven to a
moderate distance, they would advance shyly, by degrees; two or three
children would come forward
And sit down a few paces in front of the
main body; after a few minutes several others would overstep this
frontier and sit down five or six yards in advance of the last comers,
and by this silent system of skirmishing we were always surrounded in
twenty minutes after the original crowd had been dispersed. I did not
mind them so long as they were not in personal contact, and were free
from recent small-pox; but some of the red-pitted faces were full of
warning.
There was nothing of interest to detain us at Polis, and we started
early upon the 19th April towards Baffo. The valley through which the
river Aspropotamo had deposited a layer of fertile alluvium divided the
mountain range, leaving the plutonic rocks to the east; and on the
western side we ascended a steep path over cretaceous limestone, broken
and disturbed at intervals by the protrusion of eruptive rocks. As we
increased our altitude we looked down upon a picturesque view of the bay
of Krysokhus, with two sails upon its blue waters beneath the dark
cliffs of the western shore. The ancient Marium or Arsinoe showed no
vestiges except in the modern village of Polis, which, from the
distance, looked better than the reality, as the foliage of numerous
trees shadowing the terrace-built houses upon either side the rich green
valley, backed by the lofty range of pine-covered mountains, completed a
lovely landscape.
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.
The route to Baffo or Ktima, which is now the principal town, lay across
the plateau for about five miles to the verge which formed the
table-land, from which margin we looked down upon the deep vale below,
bounded by the sea at a few miles distance.
We dismounted and walked down the long and steep pass, the mules being
led behind. The entire face of the perpendicular cliffs was cretaceous
limestone, but the scaly slopes of a hill upon our left, about a mile
and a half distant, formed a loose heap of shale, which had slipped,
either during earthquakes or heavy rains, in great masses to the bottom.
After a long and tedious descent we reached the base of the pass, and
halted in a broad river-bed full of rocks and stones of all sizes, which
had been rounded by the torrent of the rainy season. There was no water
except in small pools that had been scraped in the sand for the benefit
of the travelling animals. Having watered our mules and remounted, we
ascended the steep banks of the stream and continued towards the sea,
feeling a sensible difference in the temperature since we had descended
from the heights.
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