Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879Baker, Samuel White, Sir
History
Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879
Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Cyprus -- Description and travel
It is a melancholy neighbourhood. A few graves that had been robbed were
open, forming pitfalls for the unwary; other yawning holes had
discovered ancient tombs by the soakage of a recent heavy shower, which
had washed in the roof and exposed the cavity. We passed a small mosque
where there is the tomb of a saint many feet below the level of the
surface, and we shortly came in view of the salt lake about a mile and
three-quarters from the town of Larnaca. We halted about two miles from
the town upon the high ground to admire the aqueduct which crosses the
valley from the village of Cheflik Pacha. This is a very important work.
The masonry is about thirty-six feet above the lowest portion of the
valley, which it spans in thirty-two arches, covering a distance of
about four hundred and twenty yards from height to height. The water
flows in an open canal of cement along the surface, but upon the ground
level it is protected by a covering of stone and lime, until it reaches
the town of Larnaca. A stream of fresh water flows through the valley
beneath the arches of the aqueduct, at a right angle, and is
artificially separated from the salt lake below by means of a dyke of
earth which conducts it direct to the sea. This was rendered necessary
by the floods of the rainy seasons, which carried so large a volume of
fresh water into the lake as to resist the power of evaporation during
the summer months. The salt lakes of Larnaca are several miles in
extent, and are computed by the late British consul, Mr. Watkins, to
possess a productive power of 20,000,000 okes (2 3/4 lbs.) per annum. M.
Gaudry, in his clever work upon Cyprus, attributes the formation of salt
to the fact of the sea-water percolating through the sand, and thus
filling the lake;--this theory is disputed, and I incline to the native
belief, "that the salt lies within the soil, and is taken into solution
by the water, which deposits the same amount upon the dry surface when
exhausted by evaporation." In support of this opinion, I adduce a proof
in the fact of the small freshwater stream which flows from the higher
ground through the arches of the aqueduct, depositing salt as its
surface contracts during the dry season.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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