Lady Annie Brassey

The Brassey family visit Constantinople, Greece and Cyprus, although I should point out that not everyone was required to disembark from the yacht. In fact, Lord Thomas and Lady Annie often travelled inland (without their three daughters) preferring to leave them onboard the Sunbeam with their servants and some of the crew.

Today I’d like to present a summary of their ten-day Cypriot adventure. I have included quotes from the author. It’s a long read but I do hope you find it interesting.

THURSDAY, 7TH NOVEMBER 1878

The Sunbeam drops anchor just outside the ruined fort and harbour of Paphos. Leaving their children behind into the care of their servants, Lord and Lady Brassey go ashore to explore the ancient ruins of Ktima. “Very little of the ruins now remains above ground,” writes Lady Annie. “There are a few broken marble columns, sarcophagi, and slabs with inscriptions on them. The fields and roads are strewn with fragments of white marble capitals and acanthus-leaf ornaments.”

Lady Annie describes Ktima as a little Turkish village, surrounded by gardens of fruit. After visiting the prison, court of justice and the bazaar, she is taken to the camp of the 71st British Regiment. Once there, she is shocked to see that the camp in such poor condition and the officers crowded together in small tents where they all sleep on bare ground. Almost a third of the men are struck down with fever and appear quite pale and weak.

After visiting the camp, Lord Thomas and Lady Annie ride back to the shore where they wait at a seaside cafe for the boat to take them back to their yacht (Sunbeam) anchored about half a mile off shore. While they wait, Lady Annie has a long chat the owner of the cafe who is an Italian-speaking Greek named Peter. He explains that prices in Cyprus have gone up since the arrival of the English, but that living on the island is still generally cheap. A chicken will cost one shilling, a turkey is three shillings, a sheep ten shillings and a dozen eggs can be bought for fourpence.

FRIDAY, 8TH NOVEMBER 1878

The next morning the Brassey family set sail for Limassol passing Episkopi, Cape Zevgari and Cape de Gatto along the way. They disembark at Limassol around 10am and find the heat quite unbearable and oppressing, especially for November. It appears that a large part of the population has arrived at the port, eager to catch a glimpse of the distinguished English visitors. The mayor of Limassol is also there and escorts the new arrivals around the old town where they visit the khan, the market place and the Venetian/Turkish fort with its fine view over the surrounding countryside. Lady Annie describes Limassol as a fairly clean town, however notes that the fever is here too, afflicting both ‘European and native residents.’

Later that morning Lord Thomas and Lady Annie are invited to lunch with Commissioner Colonel Warren at Government House. Unfortunately, the Assistant Commissioner cannot join them as he is very ill with typhoid fever and appears to be dying. A doctor brought from Larnaca is in despair as he has no medicines to treat him.

After lunch, Lady Annie samples the local wine made famous by the Knights of St John and describes it as ‘extremely nasty with a marked flavour of tar.’

It’s somewhat disturbing to read that the mayor of Limassol gives Lady Annie three specimens of old glass as a gift. She later receives a number of old pots and earthenware vases from an English colonel. All these gifts were apparently found in a nearby tomb. Lady Annie does make a note, that the British have now outlawed the practice of tomb-robbing.

Back onboard the Sunbean, the Brassey family dine on the local Cypriot delicacy of preserved birds. Lady Annie is not impressed. “To my mind they are completely spoilt by being dipped, as soon as they are killed, feathers and all, into the strong vinegar made from the wine of the country.”

At 10pm, the Sunbeam arrives at Larnaca but the family remain on board for the night.

SATURDAY, 9TH NOVEMBER 1878

The next morning, Lord Thomas and Lady Annie receive a telegram from Sir Garnet Wolseley, inviting them to stay with him at the Monastery Camp near Nicosia. While waiting for their transport to arrive (mules, horses and ox-drawn carts), they decide to explore a little of Larnaca town. “I believe it has already considerably improved in appearance since the arrival of the English,” writes Lady Annie. “But it is still a miserable-looking place. There are half-a-dozen wretched little jetties and broken-down quays, repaired with stones from ancient Salamis. The sea itself washes up to the houses, and in many places, it is necessary to enter a house from a back street.”

Like Limassol and Paphos, the fever is evident all over Larnaca. When the Brasseys visit an esteemed establishment named ‘Truefitt’, they discover that all the hairdressers have gone home with the fever. “It is quite depressing,” writes Lady Annie, “to go into any of the shops or houses, or to speak to anyone residing here; to hear their terrible stories about the fever that has prevailed among them.”

Around 3pm, a number of horses, pack mules and carts arrive to take the Brasseys to Nicosia. They travel over sunburnt plains and between stony hills. “Not a trace of cultivation is visible except in the gardens of huts found in two or three wretched little villages or in a few forsaken vineyards and cornfields.”

The road to Nicosia is in a bad state making the travelling slow. It takes the Brassey expedition around ninety minutes to travel a distance of eight miles. In a small desolate area near Dali, they stop to exchange horses and enjoyed refreshments at a place called ‘The Dewdrop Inn’. The Inn is actually a tent erected by three enterprising Englishmen (a blacksmith, plumber and glazier), to supply the thirsty traveller with beer, lemonade and other refreshments.

Back on the road to Nicosia, Lady Annie observes workers from the Eastern Telegraph Company replacing old wooden poles with iron posts. Everywhere she looks, she can see numerous trains of heavily-laden camels and bullock-carts.

By the time Lord Thomas and Lady Annie reach Nicosia, it is almost nightfall and the gates are closed. They begin hammering their fists on the gate and shouting until finally, an old Turk appears with a lantern and the keys to let them in. They arrive at the Monastery Camp around 7pm and feast with Sir Garnet Wolseley, Colonel Brackenbury, Colonel Greaves and several others. Later, there retire to their huts, while soldiers of the Royal Engineers in their bright red uniforms stand guard.

SUNDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 1878

Today, the Brasseys spend the day investigating the old town. A large number of Greek women, having heard of their arrival, walk a rather long way to see them. They sit quietly and respectfully under the olive-trees as the Brassey expedition pass by accompanied by several zaptiehs, interpreters and other guides. Later that morning, Lord Thomas and Lady Annie enjoy tea with Colonel Biddulph, the Commissioner of Nicosia.

Lady Annie is disappointed by the town of Nicosia. “The streets are narrow, dirty and deserted except for the dogs howling in the moonlight. All around there appears to be a confused mass of Turkish, Greek, and Venetian palaces, mud houses, minarets, churches and mosques. Apart from some fine buildings such as the old cathedral of St. Sophia (now a mosque) and the church of St. Nicholas which is being used as a granary, the whole place has an air of desolation, ruin and dirt.”

Later that day, the Brasseys visit the Archbishop of Cyprus who Lady Annie describes as ‘a fine-looking old man, about seventy years of age, with piercing black eyes, a long grey beard, and a polite but dignified manner.’ After being shown the church they are invited to the Archbishop’s apartments for Turkish coffee, sweetmeats and cold water.

MONDAY, 11TH NOVEMBER 1878

The next day, the Brasseys decide to go on a day trip to the village of Kythrea. As they cross the bridge over the river Pedaeus, Lady Annie notices the carcases of numerous animals at the bottom of a steep cliff. She is told that the animals have either died or were killed in the main town and are dumped here by the locals. A pack of hungry half-starved dogs bark ferociously at the visitors approach Kythrea.

“For about two hours we saw no signs of fertility,” Lady Annie writes, “but then we began to pass through vineyards, cotton-fields, and pomegranate, olive, and orange-tree plantations. We finally reach the house of a rich Armenian, whose brother is one of the interpreters at the camp. His wife and daughters come out to receive us and we walk along a long passage full of girls picking cotton. Above the house are two floors stored with sesame, grain of various kinds, cotton, melons, gourds, etc. Oh, the delight of reclining on a Turkish divan, in a cool stone-built house, after that long ride in the burning heat! Truly the sun of Cyprus is as a raging lion, even in this month of November. What then must it be like in the height of summer? The officers all agree in saying that they have never felt anything like it, even in the hottest parts of India or the tropics. The lady of the house served us sweetmeats, cold water, coffee, and lemonade and after a little rest we gratefully received the lunch delivered to us by Sir Garnet’s servants.”

Lady Annie is delighted with her visit to Kythrea. She is pleased to see the numerous fruit trees and flowering shrubs and notes that nearly every wall is covered with maidenhair fern, with fronds measuring five feet long. She also notes how the current of the stream is used by the villagers to turn their mills, which are made with the most primitive construction, but seem to be in good working order.

It was nearly dark by the time they return to Nicosia. Along the way, they meet a silk merchant who is eager to show off his fine collection of Cypriot hand-made silks. The silks are approximately three-quarters of a yard in width and sell for about three shillings a yard. Lady Annie thinks the prettiest silks are the ones that are undyed, and therefore retain the natural colour of the cocoon. She buys a few specimens including a pretty chemise, trimmed with lace that was hand-made by the daughter of one of the richest men in Nicosia.

TUESDAY, 12TH NOVEMBER 1878

The following day, Lord Thomas and Lady Annie bid farewell to Sir Garnet Wolseley and leave Nicosia (with a zaptieh) to visit the camp at Mathiatis. “It was a hot and dreary ride,” writes Lady Annie, “and our zaptieh did not know the way very well; but at last we saw the white tents in the distance, under the shade of a few carob-trees. This was the camp of the Royal Engineers. My husband stopped to have a chat with them. They looked miserably ill and told Tom that they were suffering from fever. It is difficult to understand why fever should be so prevalent in Cyprus. Some of the doctors say that there is water all over the island very near the surface of the soil and is easy to obtain by sinking wells. Others say that the prevalence of disease, especially among the native inhabitants is owing to the fact that almost every well is dug within ten feet of a Turkish or Greek cemetery. Others claim that the disintegration of the granite and sandstone is the cause of the fever.”

After a short rest, the Brassey expedition ride down to Dali, where the whole population seems to be employed on the construction of new roads. The men earn one shilling a day, the women ninepence, and even the little children get fivepence a day for filling baskets with stones and bringing them down from the hillside. “When we reached Dali, neither zaptieh nor carriage could be found, and we were beginning to despair; for a Turkish village with windowless mud houses, doors tightly shut, and very few inhabitants, whose language is incomprehensible, is not at all a pleasant place in which to search for anything, especially when the shades of night are falling fast, and one is already tolerably tired.”

It was close to dusk by the time the muleteers arrived to transport the Brassey family from Dali to Larnaca. “The muleteers, who almost all live in the village of Athienou, are obliging and honest, but unpunctual and slow.”

Back in Larnaca, the Brasseys go to visit Colonel White who shows them a great deal of items that are stored in his office building including large slabs of talc, yellow ochre, lead, gold, copper and a room full of vases and glassware which had been dug up by General Cesnola’s brother Alessandro. Unfortunately, Alessandro had already succeeded in smuggling off the island a great quantity of Cypriot antiquities before he was eventually stopped by the English officials.

WEDNESDAY 13TH NOVEMBER 1878

At 10am the next morning, the ‘Sunbeam’ sets off for Famagusta, arriving around 2pm. Lady Annie discovers that the town had been built, rebuilt, and fortified by Lusignans, Genoese, and Venetians using stones from ancient Salamis.

She writes. “The inner harbour is full of small wooden fishing boats and on the shore we can see a long team of camels, laden with pomegranates in sacks. Some Turks wearing ragged outfits show us the way to the Latin cathedral of St. Nicholas. In the midst of the dust and ruins of Famagusta, there are a few miserable mud huts, which are home to around three hundred people. Apparently, Famagusta was once home to three hundred thousand individuals. Now there are three churches where once there were two hundred.”

Later, at Government House, Lady Annie discovers that most of the servants are all down with fever including a once celebrated Syrian highwayman named ‘Kattirdji-Janni’ who was once known as the Robin Hood of the Levant. As the story goes, Kattirdji-Janni once worked for a wealthy Turk near Smyrna; but after eloping with his master’s daughter, he fled to the mountains, where he began a life of robbing the rich to give to the poor. It is said that he even provided dowries to as many as two thousand Greek girls. After many years on the run, he eventually gave himself up to the Turkish authorities and was imprisoned in a small cell in Constantinople, where he was chained to the wall for seven years before being exiled to Cyprus.

By 6pm, Lord Thomas and Lady Annie were back on board the Sunbeam and reunited with their three daughters. Lady Annie writes that the short visit to Famagusta had depressed her more than any other place she had visited.

THURSDAY, 14TH NOVEMBER 1878

By 10am the next day the Brasseys arrive at Kyrenia and are escorted to shore by Mr Holbech of the 60th Rifles Regiment. Unfortunately, fever has hit the British camp there and once again, the officers are confined to their tents. “Even in this delightful setting an average of three men are struck down with fever every other day and carried away on a stretcher.”

After a brief visit to Mr. Holbech’s residence at Government House, (once an old Turkish mansion) Lady Annie decides to visit the local market to do some shopping. She is surprised by how cheap everything is. She buys enough vegetables (spinach, artichokes, capsicums, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, etc.) to feed forty people at a cost of only two shillings. She also buys a nice fat sheep for 13 shillings.

After a hearty lunch the Brasseys ride to the convent of Bella Pais. “Our Engineers had been busy repairing the floors and putting windows and shutters into some of the best rooms to turn the convent into a hospital however the fever-ridden souls that are brought here become worse. It would appear that even at a height of 3,000 feet above the sea the fever can still assert its way.”

The sun was setting by the time the Brasseys leave Bella Pais. Their descent back to Kyrenia is somewhat dangerous, as the path is rocky and the branches of the carob-trees hung low. Fortunately, their zaptieh knows the way well and they reached the port town just after 6pm.

With regards to the mules, donkeys and horses provided to the Brasseys as their transport, Lady Annie had this to say. “Ponies in Cyprus are both cheap and hardy, surefooted and clever, but rather skittish, and always fighting with one another. I have never seen such quarrelsome little beasts. Each animal can cost between 7 and 12 shillings.”

FRIDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 1878

The next day the Brasseys set off early for Karavostasi, arriving around 9am. As soon as they catch sight of the interpreter and mules (which were sent down from Nicosia), the Brasseys go ashore.

After an hour’s ride inland, they met Sir Garnet Wolseley and his staff on the road to Morphou. They all dismount and sit in the shade to drink claret and soda-water and talk about Cyprus. Sir Garnet tells the Brasseys that it’s a myth that Cyprus is covered in thick forests, full of game. In his opinion, there are a few fine trees, but they are few and far between and as for the game, there is hardly any left on the island apart from a few partridges and wild hares in the mountains. Even the descendants of all the horses, ponies, bulls and cows that once roamed the island at the time of the Venetians are extinct.

After resting for a while, Sir Garnet and the Brasseys part ways. The Brasseys continue to journey up the mountains towards Kykkos. They pass through the village of Kampos where they observe some locals making ‘mastic,’ a much-prized liqueur. Soon, a large crowd assembles to catch a glimpse of the English visitors. At one point, the wife of the village head man, steps forward and sprinkles the guest with rose-water. The mules have a chance to rest and are led to a spot where they can drink the cold, crystal clear water that is gushing out of the rock.

Continuing towards Kykkos, the Brasseys stop briefly at the village of Tsakistra where they are once again greeted by a large crowd and sprinkled with rosewater. Lady Annie pays particular attention to the local women on the island. “Venus certainly has not left behind her much of her beauty as a legacy to her favourite isle. The women have almost all good eyes and features, but bad complexions, teeth, and figures. Those in the towns never stir out of doors and look white and delicate; those living in the country are burnt brown as berries by constant exposure to the sun while working in the fields. They all have an untidy gait, and look as if they were tumbling to pieces. Their clothes are generally dirty and of dingy colours, so that the effect is not even picturesque.”

By the time the Brasseys leave Tsakistra it is almost dusk but thankfully the mules know to navigate the path in the dark and are able to find their way to the convent of Kykkos.

“We were all glad when we saw the hospitable lights of the convent shining through the trees. At first we entered through the back door, much to the horror of the subordinate priests, who came out and showed us the way to the proper entrance. Here more priests met us and led us across the courtyard, up staircases and along passages to a little room with a beautifully carved cedar-wood ceiling. The head priest, accompanied by his attendants, paid us a visit here and said that as we had not arrived before sunset they had quite given us up and a proper dinner could not be served. As it was past 6pm we were served the usual uneatable sweetmeats, water and coffee and then bread, grapes, cheese, mastic and Cyprus wine. About twelve monks waited on us, watching with great earnestness for the slightest indication of our wishes, though they did not know a word of our language, nor we one of theirs.”

Lady Annie shared a small bedroom with her daughter Mabelle which had a vaulted ceiling and walls that were four feet thick. The windows were grated and there was a silver lamp suspended from the roof. The furniture consisted of two large divans covered with Turkey rugs, and eight chairs which were arranged in two rows against the wall. “When we expressed a wish to wash our hands, one monk appeared with a tin wash-hand basin, another with soap, a third with a towel, while a fourth held a candle. It was with great difficulty that I persuaded them to leave the things for us to perform our ablutions. They politely insisted on holding the basin till we had dipped our faces and hands in it, and then merely waited outside the door till we had completed our toilette.”

SATURDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 1878

The next morning the Brasseys arose very early and decided to go for a walk in the mountains. On their way out however, they were met by the Archimandrite, who had come up from Nicosia to see them despite suffering from the fever. He told them that he was full of regret that he wasn’t there to welcome them when they arrived on account that the rules of his order forbid him from venturing outdoors out after sunset. He told them that he would have preferred to have met them part of the way down the mountain, taken them into a church to be blessed and rung the bells at the convent in their honour as they entered. Lady Annie wasn’t sure if she would have liked all that attention.

After a short walk, the Brasseys returned to the convent at 8a.m. to breakfast, after which the Archimandrite arrived to show them the church. “It is a fine building,” writes Lady Annie, “containing an altar screen ornamented with Byzantine pictures, some handsome books and candlesticks, and the same funny little gilt lantern-like pulpit, with its shifting ladder. There is a portrait of the Virgin Mary, said to be by St. Luke. They showed us his signature, which is all anyone is allowed to see, except on one particular day in the year, when thousands of people flock to his shrine.”

From the church, the Brasseys were taken to the Archimandrite’s private apartments were they were served sweetmeats, cold water and coffee. “He seemed very ill,(he is nearly eighty), and could hardly stand,” she writes, “but he insisted on showing us round the place, leaning on his staff, or supported by two of his attendant priests. He took us to the library, which contains some choice editions of the old Fathers and of the classics, and afterwards passed through many passages and quaint cloisters. We were shown the piece of wood which used to be struck as a summons to prayer when bells were prohibited by the Ottoman Turks, and the piece of bronze which was afterwards allowed as a substitute as a special mark of favour. Finally, the splendid bells from Moscow, presented by a Russian family, were rung, in order that we might hear their several tones.”

The return journey to the sea-shore at Karavostasi was completed more quickly and agreeable as the temperature was much cooler and therefore less exhausting. As the Brasseys descended the last hill leading to the shore, they caught sight of ‘Sunbeam’ lying at anchor and the boat being put off from her to fetch them as darkness was fast approaching.

In a few hours, the Brasseys were back onboard the Sunbeam, the steam engines roared to life and the anchor was hoisted. In her journal that night, Lady Annie writes. “We parted at 8 p.m. and bade farewell to Cyprus, where the last ten days have been so, agreeably spent. Personally, I am much better for my visit to Cyprus. In fact, I never felt really any improvement in my health till I landed here and began to ride about.”

According to Lady Annie, 1878 was an exceptionally harsh year for Cyprus due to the drought and the fever. The rain that was due in early October, did not arrive. There have been worse years of course when no rain has fallen. To avoid starvation, the inhabitants were shipped off in large numbers to the Turkish mainland where they were kept alive by eating biscuits supplied by the Government.”

In her final journal entry regarding Cyprus, Lady Annie writes. “Let us hope that brighter prospects are opening up for Cyprus; that, under our beneficent rule, oppression may be removed, the burdens of taxation lightened, and justice more evenly administered. Let us hope too that she may become healthier and happier under her latest, and — as they ought to prove — her best masters, than she has ever been before.”