A few
date-palms ornament the gardens, the presence of these graceful trees
being a sure sign of the preponderance of Turks in the population.
The fort of Kyrenia is a great curiosity, as it forms a portion of the
harbour, being situated like the nose in a pair of spectacles, the
basins being the eyes right and left. The actual defences are intact,
although the inner accommodation for barracks, magazines, &c., &c.,
require great repairs and alteration. The walls are of solid squared
masonry, the stones jointed with the usual imperishable cement, and rise
to the great perpendicular height of upwards of seventy feet sheer from
the bottom of the fosse. There is only one entrance, by a narrow bridge
upon arches, across the extremely wide and deep ditch, terminating near
the gateway by a drawbridge, which admits an entry in the face of the
immense wall, with portcullis and iron-bound hinged gate. The ramparts
overlooking the town and harbour on the west face are 147 yards in
length, exclusive of the tower, and the embrasures of solid masonry
measured at the angle are generally twenty-four feet in thickness. The
fort is nearly square, and is flanked at each corner by a circular tower
which would completely enfilade the ditch by several tiers of guns. This
powerful fortress is washed by the sea upon two sides (the north and
east), and the foundations upon the native rock are protected from the
action of the waves by reefs and huge fragments of natural detached
masses which characterise this portion of the coast.
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