A
Sudden Shower Compelled Us To Take Refuge Beneath A Caroub-Tree Whose
Dense Foliage Saved Us From A Thorough Soaking.
The ground having become
slippery, we returned upon our narrow and soapy route with some caution,
but the careful animals who were well accustomed to these dangerous
paths carried us safely to our camp.
It is extraordinary that the water-power of Cyprus has of late years
been so neglected by the authorities, as the island must from ancient
times have mainly depended upon its springs in the absence of dependable
seasons. Kythrea is an example of the importance that was attached to a
stream of running water, as the town was established by the Athenians,
and in former ages an aqueduct of masonry extended for twenty-five miles
to Salamis; in the neighbourhood of which ruins of the old work are
still existing. If the seasons of Cyprus have undergone a change since
the forests have been destroyed, I can see no reason for the innumerable
vestiges of ancient water-works throughout the country. Wherever an
important spring existed, there was a settlement of corresponding extent
and value, which suggests that the rainfall was even then as uncertain
as at the present day. Every spring became a centre of attraction. The
ruins of the ancient Kythrea have been partially excavated by the
indefatigable General di Cesnola, but with unimportant results, as the
ground is under artificial irrigation, and is in the highest
cultivation, therefore it cannot be disturbed.
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