There were
several similar lines observable at unequal distances nearly parallel
with each other: these were the natural limits of overlying strata in
the sedimentary rock, which, as the general surface had fallen through
decay, still preserved their character, and formed ledges. My guide
assured us that the entire cliff was honey-combed by internal
galleries, which had been constructed by the ancients as a place of
refuge that would contain several thousand persons, and that a well
existed in the interior, which from a great depth supplied the water. I
have never seen a notice of this work in any book upon Cyprus, and I
regret that I had no opportunity of making a close examination of the
artificial cave, which, from the accounts I received, remains in a
perfect state to the present moment.
It was a wild route to Gallibornu, through a succession of small valleys
separated by wooded heights, and bounded by hills, either bare in white
cliffs, or with steep slopes thickly covered with evergreens. We passed
a few miserable villages, one of which was solely inhabited by gipsies,
who came out to meet us clad in rags and extremely filthy, but the faces
of the women were good-looking. We crossed numerous watercourses in the
narrow bottoms between the hills; their steep banks were fringed with
bushes which formed likely spots for woodcocks, but my dogs found
nothing upon the route except a few partridges and francolin, although,
as usual, they hunted throughout the march.
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