History

03 Jun 1801

The English traveller Edward Daniel Clarke visited Cyprus in 1801

 

The English traveller, Edward Daniel Clarke visited Cyprus in 1801:

About 6 o’clock in the evening of June the third, we made land, north-east and by east. It fell to my lot to give the first intelligence of its appearance, being aloft, upon the look-out, in the phuttock shrouds.  Cape Blanco, antiently Curias Promontory, then hove in view, and soon after the whole island was seen indistinctly looming amidst thick fogs. It appeared very high and mountainous. We had such light breezes and frequent calms, that we did not reach Salines Bay until 3 o’clock p.m on Saturday the sixth of June. We had coasted the whole island from its western extremity and so near to the shore, that we had a distinct survey of the features of the country. We saw the fortress and town of Baffa, antiently Paphos, backed by high mountains. The coast towards the West much resembles the southern part of Crimea; the villages and cultivated places being near the shore, and all behind craggy and mountainous…