"قبرص." [ظ‎‎٢‎٧] (١٨٤/٥٤)

48
CYPlttJP.
Surrounding
country.
Ktima.
Climate.
Defences.
Situation.
Description.
History.
IIui bour.
Fortifications.
for endeavouring to frustrate St. Paul’s attempts to christianize
the people.
The small and unsafe port is fully described in Chapter V.
The ground round, and above, Baffo, slopes gently down to the
sea; it is picturesque, and is extremely fertile; mulberry trees
abound, and the silk produced in the neighbourhood is the finest
in the island. Olive trees here attain great perfection, a good deal
of tobacco has also been grown, and is considered to be of excel
lent quality; a little care and attention bestowed upon the land in
this neighbourhood would doubtless be very remunerative.
About one mile north is the large village of Ktima, which
forms the Greek quarter; it contains about 1,500 inhabitants and
has quite eclipsed Baffo itself as a place of residence. The houses
are small, they are built of rough unhewn stone, and each one is
provided with a garden. Loher describes this place as “ a little
town standing upon raised stone dykes.”
The climate of the environs of Baffo is generally stated to be
somewhat unhealthy, for in addition to the ordinary mild fevers
which are common at certain seasons, other fevers of a more per
nicious kind not unfrequently prevail.
The port is commanded by a small and insignificant castle,
which was built by the Turks, but has been allowed to fall into a
state of ruin.
CERINEA.
Cerinea, or Kerynia, is a small town situated on the north coast
of the island, about 14 miles by road from Nicosia, and at the
foot of the steep slopes of the mountains which here border the
shore, and stands in the midst of a beautiful and productive country.
Cerinea is but a small place, and its population is said not to
exceed 800 persons ; it has been described as a cluster of old, tall, and
massive houses built almost touching the sea, with a fortress, a
ruined palace, a mosque, and the mere fragments of a mole and light
house. There are however, indications that it was once a large
and fine town, the outskirts abound with ancient tombs, and where-
ever excavations have been made valuable antiquities have been
discovered ; its origin has been traced to the Dorian colonists under
Praxander and Cepheus, and it was the capital of one of the nine
petty kingdoms into which the island was once divided.
In 1765, we find that the inhabitants of Cerinea under the
leadership of Halil Aga, took a very prominent share in the revolt
against the poll-tax of 14 piastres which was levied by the
governor, Hafiz Mahommed Effendi.
The harbour is described in Chapter Y; it is small, and unsafe
during north winds, but is the usual port for vessels trading
between Cyprus and the opposite coast of Caramania.
At one time a strong wall surrounded the town, but the greater
part of this has now fallen down, and has partially filled the
harbour with its ruins; on the east side stands the castle of Cerinea,
a fortress erected, it is said, by the Venetians; it is well built,
square in shape, and flanked at each corner by a circular tower.