I made close inquiries among the natives, and all agreed
that the past year, having been unusually wet, had been exceptionally
unhealthy, and the inhabitants had suffered almost to the same degree as
the Europeans. It was painfully clear that when the rainfall was
sufficiently plentiful to produce abundant harvests it at the same time
ensured a crop of fevers.
We remained ten days in our Kyrenia camp, and we were both sorry to
leave, as the neighbourhood is exceedingly beautiful and full of
interest; there is certainly no portion of Cyprus that can equal it in
the picturesque, or in the extreme richness of genuine forest-trees and
foliage.
The town is small and most irregular: an old Turkish graveyard forms a
boundary upon the outskirts opposite the fort, precisely similar in
position to that of Famagousta. Within 300 paces of this point are the
principal houses, mostly well built of stone and surrounded by
high-walled gardens fruitful in oranges, lemons, almonds, apricots,
figs, and the fruits commonly known throughout the island. The houses
are generally one story above the ground-floor, with a wide balcony that
forms an open face to the first-floor of five or six arches, which
support the roof upon that side. This is a convenient plan for the
climate, as it admits fresh air to all the rooms which open into the
balcony; in fact it is an open landing to the staircase.
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