LIFE IN CYPRUS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10105, 17 March 1911, Page 3

LIFE IN CYPRUS.

A lady who spent a year in the island of Cyprus contributes some impressions of her stay to The Queen : We made a point of going to ail the ceremonies we could, she says. A christening in the Greek Church is a most strange ceremony. There is one god-parent, whose office is no sinecure; he or she has to give the child a complete outfit—los every Christmas and 5s at. Easter till fourteen years of age, provide it with boots, and, finally, start him or her in a trade. At the christening the babe has all its clothes taken off, and is then dipped into the water, oiled all over, three snippets of hair cut off, then dressed in its new clothes, and finally confirmed. The party then form a procession back to the house, and the mother re'ceives them at the door and gives the baby a present. A marriage ceremony is even more strange. After the bride and bridegroom are married they are each crowned with white wreaths of artificial flowers with long streamers of ribbon, and driven round the table in the middle of the room b.v their groomsnlen and maids. At the particular wedding we.attended the bridegroom wept copiously, and his best man had to help him to " drv those tears." The guests throw rice and cotton. The wedding ceremonies continue for three days. Some English friends kindly invited me to visit them in Nicosia, the capital, in May. I started one morning at 7.30, in a carriage with three ponies, to drive fifty-seven miles. We halted at midday for three hours, and my driver slept soundly under the carriage. When it was nearly time to start again, I approached and called him, with no success, but the innkeeper, seeing what was wanted, boldly went and kicked him, and in about half an hour wo continued our weary journey. It was dark when we got to our destination, and I was only fit to tumble into bed. While I was in Nicosia we saw a special performance of the dancing dervishes; the curious music is mostly played on reeds. After the dancing the sheik entertained us, and gave us delicious preserved fruit and coffee. —e sat and watched us eat, and then, by means •of an interpreter, we thanked him, shook hands, and departed. From Nicosia my friends took me for an expedition to Famagosta. We travelled on the railway by motor trolley, and instead o/ taking three hours to do the journey we took one hour and twenty minutes. We stayed at a resthouse, and were sumptuously fed at the excellent club next door. The following day, before returning to Nicosia, we went for a sailing picnic to Sal amis. In June nearly all the English residents migrate to Troodos- While we were there- we made several riding expeditions to old monasteries. We spent two days at one of tho most famous, Kiko. We went entertained most kindly and hospitably. We took our camp furniture and servants; rooms and food were supplied us. The abbot, a wonderful old man, dined with us; he conversed in French on every possible subject; including women's suffrage I At Kiko they have a tame mouflon. Mouflon have become very rare, and the penalty for shooting them nowadays is £6'. We were warned that Kiko had other inhabitants besides the monks, so had gone well provided with Keating. Riding in Cyprus is a great joy, whether it be on a pony, mule, or donkey; of course, the pony is infinitely the best, but a mule can afford one a very exciting time—especially _ on a native saddle—for the first time, or even the second or third. Ido not think it was till the third time that 1 fell off; being quite unhurt, my desire was to mount again, but there was tho difficulty, the stirrups not being fixed in any way, but balancing one against the other. However, with the aid of a chair from a hut near I managed it. On that particular occasion we were on our way to a picnic at a village called Phini, where they make red pottery chatties for carrying water. After lunch we all repaired to a house in the village and tried- our hands at making pottery, for the most part with no great success. Before leaving Troodos we rode down to Perapodhi to see the vintage—not a particularly edifying sight—the people with bare feet treading out the grapes, singing as they walk round and round.

The servants in Cyprus rejoice in wonderful names: Michali (or, as the English soldier calls it, "my Charley "), Jhani, Sagradi, Hiahlam-bhi, Mustapha, Mahammed, Erco, Coeti, Christo Themostocles, Theodero, Phaceali, Selim, Nickola. They are often tiresome, but very like children, and with a great ambition to be thought like Englishmen. One of our servants gave us notice because he refused to wear a black tie; in the end he came with a beaming smile and said, "I bo leave you, missus, I wear black tie all day, but when I go out I wear coloured tie, same like Englishmen!" "We found many varieties of flowers in Cyprus. In the early part of the year the asphodel abounds, also anemones and ranunculus, broom, sistus, and in March the mimoso trees are in full bloom. Growing wild, we had thousands of field marigolds and cyclamens. Tn May the oleanders were out, and the river-bed where they flourish is a mass of most glorious pink colour. Nowhere have I ever seen such wonderful thistles or so many varieties as in Cyprus. Tn the hills there are very few flowers, but plenty of bracken. When we-came down to the plains again in November we found the most charming little wild hyacinths and a small, very sweet-smelling narcissus. "We spent Christmas in Cyprus, and had a beautiful sunny day. Everyone looked cheery, and the custom is to shake hands with each other; even the telegraph clerk, who came up with a telegram, insisted on shaking hands with us all. Tho Greek Christmas Day is January 6, a very sad day for us, for it was the day we left one of the most charming of islands—Cyprus,