"قبرص." [و‎‎٢‎٥] (١٨٤/٤٩)

TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND ANTIQUITIES.
43
are lying about in all directions ; the few inhabited houses are of
stone, small, rectangular, and flat-roofed. There is a barrack in
which the garrison is quartered, also a hospital, and on the north
side of the town are bomb-proof magazines and cannon-foundries.
It is considered that the town might be rebuilt with the stone
which it contains, and from the ruins of Salamis.
The place is now very unhealthy, owing to the marshes in the
neighbourhood and the defective drainage, and fevers are very pre
valent. Consul Lang says that when he was in Cyprus, estimates
were made for cleansing the town, and draining the marshes and
stagnant pools in the covered pits which were made by the Turks
in 1571; also for introducing good fresh water into the town through
iron pipes: but, owing to the impecuniosity of the Government, and
the instability of the Governors, the plans were never put into
execution. It has been stated by competent authorities that with
a moderate expenditure, Famagusta might again become what it
was in the time of the Venetians—an agreeable, healthy town,
capable of containing 30,000 inhabitants.
The vicinity of Famagusta is fertile and in part cultivated;
fruit, vegetables, grain, cotton, and madders, are grown in the
neighbourhood ; but the present population is not nearly sufficient
to make the most of the advantages afforded by nature.
Close outside the city, and to the southward, is the small town
of Varoschia, divided into Upper and Lower Varoschia, the popula
tion of which is over 2,000 ; the inhabitants are chiefly Christians,
who are not permitted to reside within the walls of Famagusta,
of which place Varoschia may be considered a suburb. This little
town was founded by the Christian population expelled from
Famagusta at the time of its capture by the Ottoman army; it
is very thriving, and as neither accommodation or provisions can
be obtained in Famagusta itself, travellers always come to
Varoschia for lodging. Some of the houses are built of stone,
and are as good as any in Larnaca or Nicosia; the town has also a
fine Greek church, with a new belfry, which is a fair specimen of
the local modern architecture; there is a good bazaar, and several
manufactures of pottery. Fruitful groves of orange and lemon
trees abound; there are also extensive gardens generally studded
with mulberry trees, which are planted for the cultivation of the
silk-worm, and the general appearance of Varoschia presents a
marked contrast to the gloomy quarters of Famagusta occupied by
the Turks.
Famagusta is strongly fortified; the walls which surround the
city are nearly in the form of a parallelogram, and measure about
4,000 yards in perimeter. They are built of stone with great
solidity and strength, their thickness is 17 feet, and they are pro
vided with extensive bomb-proof magazines, storehouses, and
foundries. Although now dismantled, the ramparts are still in
a very fair state of preservation, and it is believed that they could
easily be adapted to modern requirements, pending the construc
tion of such other works of a more important character as might be
deemed necessary at any future date, should Famagusta become the
port of Cyprus. Beneath the ramparts on the land side is a ditch
Present un-
healthiness of
the town.
Suburb of
Varoschia.
Fortifications
of Famagusta.