Identifier: myexperiencesofc00stew (find matches)
Title: My experiences of Cyprus; being an account of the people, mediæval cities and castles, antiquities and history of the island of Cyprus: to which is added a chapter on the present economic and political problems which affect the island as a dependency of the British empire
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Stewart, Basil, 1880-
Subjects: Cyprus -- Description and travel Great Britain -- Colonies Cyprus
Publisher: London : G. Routledge New York, E.P. Dutton
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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63 My Experiences of the Island of Cyprus. into piles, and used as borders to flower-beds,etc. There is a saying, Where the Turksets his foot, there will the grass not grow,but here in Famagusta this is reversed, andeverywhere grass, and in some scatteredplaces barley, grows amongst its streets andempty walls. Several of the smaller churches were turnedinto baths for the comfort of the Turk, who,wherever he goes, must have his Turkishbath. In earlier days, when the Musselmenwere more numerous in the island than theyare now, whole woods were destroyed mainlyto supply fuel for their baths. It is said that duringf the height of itsprosperity, Famagusta counted as many asthree hundred and sixty-five churches withinits walls. This, I consider, must be a greatexaggeration, as there could not possibly beroom for that number within the area enclosedby the walls, whose perimeter is only about2^ miles, to say nothing of its civil andmilitary buildings. At the present day there are the remains64
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Famagusta and Salamis. of about thirty churches still above ground,of which the principal ones are : St. Nicolas,SS. Peter and Paul, St. George of the Greeks,St. Anne, St. Catherine, Church of theNestorians, St. Francis, Carmelite Churchof St. Mary, the Armenian Church, andabout eight others whose names I havebeen unable to find out or which have notbeen identified. Allow an equal number whose foundationsstill exist, and which have not yet been dugup for export, and, I think, most of theavailable building plots in Famagustahave been accounted for. Certainly many ofthem are no bigger than a chantry chapelin any of our cathedrals, but allowing forthat, I think two hundred was about thegreatest number of churches that couldpossibly have existed in Famagusta at anyone time. Nearly all the churches still standing showremains of the frescoes with which they wereadorned, and some of them are wonderfullyperfect to this day, exposed as they have 65 E My Experiences of the Island of Cyprus. bee

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