"Tree of Idleness" - help to solve the mystery!

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
30/09/2010 19:59

Please help needed from lovers of history and literature!



One of the recent guidebooks on Bellapais says that there are 2 trees in the village square that claim to be “The Tree of Idleness”. There is a sharp divide in the opinions - which is the real one:

a Japanese pagoda tree outside the café or

a mulberry next to the coffee house, adjacent to the ticket office?

The guidebook continues that as Durrell himself never stated the type of the tree in his book and is no longer around, it is impossible to settle the argument one way or another.



I only visited Bellapais once and did not have enough time to ponder on this topic.



Not long ago I came upon an early edition of “Bitter Lemons” with a front cover photograph of “Tree of Idleness, provided by the British European Airways Archives. Durrell had chosen and approved the cover. On this photo one can clearly see the tree in the village square against the backdrop of the Abbey. /cont.../

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
30/09/2010 20:00

/...cont/



I’m sure there are more photographs from that time. It is very easy to check which tree is the real one using one of the photos.

So why still 2 claims?



I would be very grateful for your thoughts and information on the subject.



Clarissa

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
01/10/2010 09:31

Clarissa.. May I copy your msg to an Armenian Cypriot I know...? He owns a house in the village.. and his dad figures in Bitter Lemons of Cyprus ( mentioned once ! )



I'm SURE he will know

hal9000


Joined: 01/12/2008
Posts: 154

Message Posted:
01/10/2010 09:58

I always understood the "Tree of Idleness" to be metaphorical, in which case any tree under which people sit and while away their time could claim to be the one.

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
01/10/2010 20:38

hal9000: I go along with that, and as Durell is alleged to have 'given approval' only to the photo (msge 1, last part)but without authenticating the cover picture as truly depicting 'the' tree, there are surely no guarantees either way. Mulberry trees were certainly a common feature in the villages of Cyprus in the 'old' days so if the Tree of Idleness is not metaphorical, my money would go on that one.

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
01/10/2010 20:54

Re : Msg 3,



Dear mx6,



that would be very kind of you. Looking forward to hear the words of wisdom from the witness of the history in the making!



Re : Msg 4,

Dear hal9000,



The "Tree of Idleness " of Bellapais is definitely not a metaphor but one specific tree the legend of which goes back centuries and centuries.



Clarissa

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
01/10/2010 21:15

Re : Msg 5,



Dear swannee7,



I think that the fact that Durrell himself chose this particular picture which is named "The Tree of Idleness" is in effect an authentication.

In this early edition he also used a lot of photographs from his private collection.

arrry



Joined: 19/08/2008
Posts: 1235

Message Posted:
01/10/2010 21:50

Clarissa ...........I visited Belapais just recently and was informed by half of the village that the REAL tree is the one in the coffee shop . I met the coffee shop owner who also claimed that his one is the REAL DEAL ( well he would wouldn't he ! ) he seemed a nice sort of chap so i didn't argue the toss .

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 01:17

Re : Msg 8,



Thank you, arrry.

Hopefully all together we'll solve the mystery.

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 01:27

Chop them both down and do some ring tree counting and carbon-dating! That will dispel any future arguments!

Infact, on a similar ilk, DNA all those that think they are TC's or GC's!



Richard

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 14:12

From my mate SoUren;



"Well I can’t refuse can I



It is a tree in Bellapais, just outside the Abbey, and to my shame I cannot find a picture of it in my collection!



If you visit Bellapais, it is by the coffee shop nearest the ticket office for the Abbey



Legend has it that anyone who sits under it becomes so relaxed and lethargic that they will be unwilling to work.



Lawrence Durrel, who had a house in Bellapais, which incidentally he shared with my father, wrote about the tree in his book Bitter Lemons.



So what is it that your lass wanted to know?



Did she need someone to take her round North Cyprus and show her the sights?



Any excuse for a return trip to Cyprus"

juliamoons



Joined: 14/05/2009
Posts: 849

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 14:43

I think it is the one near the coffee shop, check out this picture.



http://home.clara.net/bobmonty/cyprus55/cyprus55/tree-of-idleness.html

MaggieAndBernie



Joined: 26/07/2008
Posts: 2012

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 15:33

Julia

Just spent the last 1/2 hour looking through all those fantastic old photos & reading the story! Great stuff! thanks for sharing!



Maggie

Pugwash


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 1797

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 15:41

Thanks some nice pictures, not seen these before.

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 20:24

Re: Msg 11,



Dear mx6,



Thank you so much !Excellent !



For me it's solves the problem: from the photo the tree near the coffee shop was always the front runner. And now we have confirmation from your friend.



Please send my thanks and best wishes to Souren. I 'll look him up next time I am in Bellapais (better with a bottle of Armenian cognac)



Clarissa

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 20:39

Re : Msg12,



juliamoons, thank you for the information.



Most fascinating reading and charming photos!



Rare photo of the tree as well!



So I think it is better for the the authors of the guidebook to withdraw in the next edition this nonsense about the two trees. I'll be writing to them.



Thanks again to everyone.



Clarissa

Blackbird



Joined: 11/08/2009
Posts: 1432

Message Posted:
02/10/2010 20:49

Sat under it once myself.....haven't done much since!

mmmmmm



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 8398

Message Posted:
03/10/2010 01:16

Hi Clarissa



I will pass on your msg to Souren, but sadly his family home may still be in Bellapais - but being Armenian - his family got turfed out :(

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
03/10/2010 17:40

Clarissa: If the legend of the Tree of Idleness " goes back centuries and centuries" the original tree would now be 'petrified' (turned to stone). I understand there are no surviving records detailing the history of any villages or forests on the slopes of the Kyrenia Range that are centuries old. Perhaps I'm wrong.... That old mulberry tree is certainly very old and was no doubt in situ pre-Durrell, but I find it hard to credit that it could be 'centuries' old. When I lived in Cyprus as a child/teenager umpteen years ago, just below the top of the pass leading down to Bellapais/Kyrenia there was a shallow ravine. Within it could clearly be seen the trunk of a petrified tree. It was the only one there and we all knew of it. Centuries ago that whole area must have been heavily forested & eventual settlers might well have started the legend as their built their settlements in and around those trees. Food for thought ?

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11281

Message Posted:
03/10/2010 18:42

RE msg 19, swannee7: (...) I understand there are no surviving records detailing the history of any villages or forests on the slopes of the Kyrenia Range that are centuries old. (...)

=> More than a dozen villages were already there when the Bishop of Utrecht in the Low Lands, Willebrand of Oldenburg, visited Cyprus two decennia after the conquest of Cyprus by Richard I, the Lionheart (1191). Willebrand wrote his manuscript in medieval Dutch/German (translated: "Travels" ). And these villages were undoubtedly there in the late Byzantine era (before 1191).

Btw: several mulberry trees are centuries old in Cyprus. They are descendants of imported trees by the Lusignan Kings, who promoted the silk industry (very special, rough quality, exported to Kings and high nobility in Western Europe). There's an old mulberry tree near the Forgotten Fourth Fortress in the Kyrenia mountains estimated to be about two centuries old.

swannee7


Joined: 21/08/2009
Posts: 394

Message Posted:
03/10/2010 19:20

DC: Thanks for putting me right. In my defence I did say, 'I may be wrong' ! As a matter of interest do you have any information about that petrified tree just below the crest of the old Kyrenia pass. Coming down towards Kyrenia the small ravine I mentioned was on the right, at the foot of the lowest slopes of the Range. That whole area has changed out of all recognition and the old main road we used has been superceded. That petrified stump was a wonderful relic and it would be catastrophic to think it might have been mindlessly uprooted, just to make way for new roads or whatever. Would appreciate your input if you have any on this subject. Thanks.

Clarissa2


Joined: 12/06/2009
Posts: 1476

Message Posted:
03/10/2010 21:49

Re : Msg 18,



Dear mx6,

I suppose I should have guessed it.

Anyway, all the best to Souren and all his family, and I hope that one day ( very soon) they all will be sitting under The Tree and telling us the stories from the bygone era.



Re: Msg 20,

Dear DC,

Most interesting and informative - as always.



Thank you.