Henry Light: Travellers’ accounts concerning Cyprus in: Excerpta Cypria Materials for a History of Cyprus translated and transcribed by Claude Delaval Cobham

Travelogues concerning Cyprus include valuable information about many aspects of life in the island, among other about the appearance of its inhabitants. Clothing is the first item one observes when coming into contact with the people in a foreign country, and is pivotal in creating a first impression of the local population. Travellers refer also to the raw materials and the textiles used for making clothes.   Henry Light, Captain of the Royal Artillery, was in garrison at Malta in the year 1814, and obtained leave to travel in Egypt, Holy Land, parts of the Lebanon and Cyprus. His stay in Cyprus was short. Regarding the appearance of the people he met on the island, he comments: “The costume of the Franks is, for the men, generally that of Europe. The consuls have an uniform, which they make as rich as possible with embroidery. I saw them all in grand gala on the birthday of the Emperor of Austria, whose consul received a visit of ceremony from all the others. The costume of the women is Greek, and almost similar to that which the late travels in Greece have rendered so familiar to all readers.” Light also noticed the dress of the peasants: “The peasantry is ill looking. The men were dressed in a white canvass vest over a waist-coat of the same material, and a white linen turban on their heads. They wore the Albanian petticoat, similar to the Highland kilt, or the usual shalwar or breeches of the Turks, and high boots, used, as I understood, to avoid the fatal venom of the serpents of the island.” (Cobham 1908, 421, 422).