TURKEY IN ASIA. 23 



iiabited by Christians, Its wine, especially that which grows at the 

 bottom of the celebrated Mount Olympus, is the most palatable and 

 the richest of all produced in the Greek islands. Nicosia is the capi- 

 tal, in the midst of ths country, and the see of a Greek archbishop? 

 indeed, most part of the inhabitants of the island are Greeks. Fama- 

 gusta, the ancient capital, has a good harbour ; and the natural pro- 

 duce of the island is so rich, that many European nations find their 

 account in keeping consuls residing upon it ; but the oppressions of 

 the Turks have depopulated and impoverished it to an extreme de- 

 gree, so that the revenue they get from it does not exceed 1250/. a 

 year. The island produces great quantities of grapes, from which 

 excellent wine is made ; and also cotton of a very fine quality is here 

 cultivated, and oil, silk, and turpentine. Its female inhabitants do 

 not degenerate from their ancestors as devotees to Venus ; and 

 Paphos, that ancient seat of pleasure and corruption, is one of the 

 divisions of the island. Richard I, king of England, subdued Cyprus, 

 on account of its king's treachery ; and its royal title was transferred 

 to Guy Lusignan, king of Jerusalem, from whence it passed to the 

 Venetians, who long held that empty honour. 



