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Until the end of the 19 th century,
Cypriots continued to use the island's
traditional animals, donkeys and camels,
to carry their goods over long journeys.
The first attempt to import mechanical
vehicles onto the island was made by
Nicolaos Jeremias (who came from Smyrna
) when he imported a steam carriage in
1892 to use as a taxi. Unfortunately
nobody could drive it properly and as a
result it was abandoned - together with
his dreams.
The first car to be imported into Cyprus
was a red, two-seated Peugeot, brought
to Limassol by Dr Ioannis Pieris, after
finishing his studies in France in 1907.
He learned to drive it by following the
instructions in the handbook that came
with car. The local people were amazed,
but frightened, by the sight of the
noisy carriage that was moving without
the help of horses. Apparently, before
each journey, women used to splash Holy
Water on the car to wish the passengers
a safe journey. When the first
agricultural tractors were sold on the
island, their owners used to tie them up
to trees when they were not being used!
Slowly, but steadily, more cars were
imported during the next few years and
numbered over 200 by the end of the
Second World War.
The
first private car to be brought to
Paphos was owned by Charalambos
Nicolaides and it was issued with the
characteristic number “P1”, i.e. “Paphos
1”. Shortly afterwards, Stefos Rouvalis
brought another one to the town.
The
Postal Service from Nicosia to Larnaca
operated on a daily basis because then,
all the embassies were located in
Larnaca. In 1912 a car was used for the
first time to replace the carriage, but
unfortunately it proved unreliable due
to the poor condition of roads - or
rather paths. The unreliability of the
new service forced the authorities to
revert to using carriages again, but
in1915, after the roads had been
improved, the car was put into service
again.
The
Paphian people, as well as the
Limassolians, had to go as pilgrims to
the Monastery of Saint Andreas by boat,
because the roads were in very bad
condition. At the end of the last
century, it took six days for a person
to travel from Ktima to Nicosia on a
mule. It was a very difficult journey
and the riders were forced to dismount
and walk, since there was a danger of
falling from their mounts. In 1920 the
journey from Ktima to Nicosia , via
Limassol and Larnaca, lasted for three
or four days, including overnight stops.
But with the arrival of the car,
transportation was revolutionized.
The
Ford Agency in Cyprus , which was
established in 1915, is considered to be
the first in Europe and the oldest in
the Middle East . In their effort to
promote the use of the car and convince
people that using a car was better than
using a carriage, the Agency
representative swapped a carriage with
two donkeys with a car.
Additionally the politicians at that
time used cars to carry their voters on
Election Days so that they could win
their vote.
After
the Second World War there was an
increase in the number of cars imported.
The roads were flooded with very small
cars, notably by such models as the NSU
Prince, the Standard 8, the Lloyd
Alexander, the Renault 4CV, the Austin
A30, and the Goggomobile. In addition
some bigger cars such as Borgwards and
Jowetts were in use. Later, in 1958, the
first BMW Isettas appeared, three of
which can still be seen on our roads
today.
Due
to the fact that Cyprus was a British
colony, most of the cars that were
imported were British. Although some of
these cars were considered unique and
collectable, their owners,
unfortunately, could not afford their
upkeep. They did not realize their
future value and as a result, foreign
collectors came and took many of them
away.
A
winery in Limassol that was linked with
various Eastern countries, imported
Wartburg cars using the Exchange Method:
they sent grapes and wine in return for
new cars.
The
following collectable cars can still be
found on the island: BMW M1, Peugeot
T16, Simca 1200S `74 coupe, 3 `79
Abarths, `68 Aston Martin DB6, Peugeot
504 coupe/ convertible, `73 Saab Sonnet,
`62 Ford Capri 109E, `46 Triumph
Roadster, Clan Crusader, Austin
Sheerline Saloon, that belonged to the
Governor (1950), Fiat Dino, 130 coupe
and 2300 S coupe, Facel Vega and many
others.
One
remarkable car is the `58 Cadillac that
belonged to Archbishop Makarios III, the
first President of the Cyprus Republic .
This specific car has traveled less than
15000 miles. President Makarios also had
a Mercedes-Benz 600 which was given to
him by the Cypriot representative of
Daimler-Benz in Nigeria . The
Mercedes-Benz 300 “Adenauer”, a ‘60
model, still appears on the emblem of
the World Rally. This great car, which
belonged to Princess Zena de Tyras, was
named “Princess” in Cyprus . |
