The quarries of Kyrenia form the chief curiosity of the locality. The
rock is the sedimentary limestone mixed with a proportion of sand that
is the characteristic geological feature around the coast of Cyprus; but
in these quarries the stone is perfectly solid and free from fissures,
which enables the mason to obtain blocks of any size. From prehistoric
times the rock of Kyrenia, which rises about forty feet above the
sea-level, has been worked out upon the most careful method; every block
has been cut from the parent mass by measurement, and no broken edges
have been permitted to destroy the symmetry of the adjoining stone. The
work was commenced from the top, or surface of the rock, and a smooth
cliff face has been produced as the first operation; upon completion the
surface has been lined out parallel with the perpendicular face, and the
blocks have been carefully chiselled and removed by wedges driven
horizontally from beneath. In this manner the rock has been worked until
it resembled a flight of steps, which remain in many places perfect to
the present hour. The entire fortress and town have been constructed
from these quarries, and there can be no doubt that when Kyrenia was
originally founded by the Dorian colonists under Cepheus and Praxander
the stones were obtained from the existing site. There is a considerable
difference in the quality of the rock, which has been remarked by the
original builders, as a passage has been cut through the first cliff
face nearest to the town, and the desired level for wheeled conveyances
having been obtained, the workmen have discovered a superior stone as
they proceeded into the bowels of the quarry.
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