The summit of St. Hilarion is 3340 feet above the sea, from which, in a
direct line, it is not three miles distant. The cliffs are quite
perpendicular in some places for several hundred feet, and the greatest
care has been taken to perch the towers and walls upon the extreme
verge. Although from the base of the mountains at Kyrenia the castle
appears to occupy an impregnable position, it can be easily approached
by one of those rough paths in the rear which can be scrambled over by
the Cyprian mules. I am afraid that my willing animal grumbled somewhat
at my weight, as it was obliged to halt for breath seven or eight times
before we reached a secluded little dell among the mountain tops, from
which the path ascended by steep zigzags, directly through the entrance
of the old fortification. This narrow dell, hidden among the surrounding
crags about 2800 feet above the sea, was entirely cropped with barley,
and the people who owned the plot resided in a cave that had been
arranged for a habitation for themselves and animals.
On the ridge before we descended into this vale the view was
magnificent, as two lofty crags formed a natural frame for the picture
within. Between these rugged peaks of silvery grey limestone, tinted by
ferruginous rocks with various shades of red and brown, we looked down a
precipice beneath our feet upon the blue sea, the snow-capped mountains
of Caramania in the distance, and the rich border of our own shores
covered with green trees, gardens, fields, and clustering villages: in
the centre of which was the fort and harbour of Kyrenia.
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