66 CYPRUS-SALAMIS-PAPHOS. SCRIPTURE NOTICES. ... BARNABAS, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet."-Acts iv. 36, 37. "Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word... and some of them were men of Cyprus."-Acts xi. 19, 20. "(Barnabas and Saul) sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews... and when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet."-Acts xiii. 4, 5, 6. (Read the history of this man in the following verses.) "Mnason, of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge."-Acts xxi. 16. "We sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary."-Acts xxvii. 4. [Acts xv. 39; xxi. 3.] "At a former period, Cyprus must have been remarkably productive and well peopled. Mr. Thompson had travelled through the interior of the island, and in his journey visited not fewer than sixty villages, which had remains of ancient churches, now ruined and desolate; and everywhere he found wide plains left uncultivated, which might yield abundant harvests. It is an island which no Christian can gaze upon without remembering the days of the apostles, for this was the native country of Barnabas, who sold his estates and brought the money to Jerusalem, for the use of the infant Church; and who, afterwards, in company with Paul, traversed its whole extent from Salamis to Paphos, preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ.' Here, too, Sergius Paulus had his residence, and Elymas the sorcerer; Mnason, too, 'the old disciple,' spent his youth amidst its hills and plains. But there is no Barnabas or Mnason in Cyprus now; for no Jew dare plant his foot upon its shores, because of the Greeks, who have persecuted without remorse every wanderer of that nation that has visited or been cast upon their coast, ever since the reign of Trajan.”—Mission to the Jews, p. 324. Salamis was once the most important city of Cyprus, and contained a grand temple of Jupiter. It was twice destroyed, first by the Jews, and afterwards by the Saracens. A Christian bishop once resided at Salamis. The spot where this city stood has been washed away by the sea. "The ancient city of Paphos is beautifully situated close upon the sea, and though totally in ruins, formed From three large temple of Venus) the residence of eight or ten families. arches (said to be the remains of a upon a hillock, we obtained a fine view of this once celebrated place. "On entering Paphos, we found ourselves in a long street, on one side of which is a range of small arches, probably the remains of shops and bazaars, and at the end stands a large church or cathedral, with many pieces of marble columns dispersed about it. This has been converted into a mosque. The ruins of many churches built at a very early period lie around . . . several of them were used as places of shelter for cattle; others for granaries and baths. The land around produces corn and tobacco; also date and orange trees. There is a large mound of ruins nearer the sea, evidently the remains of some vast structure, and on the edge of the sea is a castle."-See MADOX's Travels. "A high hill near the town produced beautiful rock crystal, which, from its peculiar brilliancy, has received the name of the Paphos diamond. Among the coins which have been discovered here, is one which bears a representation of the temple of the Goddess of Love and Beauty, and another has a head of the goddess, &c. Paphos, however, has been more truly honoured by St. Paul's having preached there the gospel of the grace of God, than by all that poets have sung of the Paphian Queen."-RAE WILSON. 66 Among the trades carried on in Cyprus is a particular process in printing cotton cloths, which instead of losing colour by being washed, become more beautiful. The dye is composed of the root of the boid, and ox's blood, and when well imprinted, this colour never fades. The vines are said to grow to a larger size than in any other country, and we find that the stairs of the temple of Diana at Ephesus were made of a single stem. The vintage begins in August, and continues during six weeks, which are marked as a period of great joy. The wine produced is luscious and sweet. Several coins, idols, and other relics, U have been found in different parts of the island, and also mines of gold, "The swarms of locusts are a great scourge to Cyprus. "This island furnishes a spacious and most convenient roadstead for vessels of all descriptions."-See RAE WILSON'S Travels. Mr. Madox describes the scenery in several parts of Cyprus as most wild and beautiful; mountains covered with firs, paths running among myrtle and evergreens, fine streams of water, and valleys rich in pine, olive, and oleander trees. CHAPTER IX. EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA. EGYPT. Its past History and present State. ALEXANDRIA.-Mareotic Lake-Church of Athanasius - Landing at Alexandria-The City-Pompey's Pillar-Cleopatra's Needles - Alexandrian Library-Date-Palms-Mosquitoes-Slave-market. ROSETTA-The Bazaar. Voyage by Canal to Cairo. CAIRO.-Descriptions of the City-Boulac. ISLAND OF RHODA. ZOAN, or TANIS. LAND OF GOSHEN, or RAMESES. ON, AVEN, or BETHSHEMESH. NOPH, MOPH, or MEMPHIS, THE PYRAMIDS. MUMMY-PITS OF SACCARA. AMMON NO, OR NO, (THEBES.) TOMBS OF THE KINGS. SYENE. ISLAND OF PHILE. ETHIOPIAN TEMPLES. |