Two hundred years ago, one job in Cyprus outnumbered all others – by miles!
According to the Ottoman Property Survey of 1832, 50 people were registered as merchants, 36 were cobblers, and 26 gave their profession as blacksmith. Another 26 were shepherds, and the island boasted 19 barbers, 12 carpenters, and 25 consuls.
Back then, the island had eight bootmakers (apparently different from cobblers), 12 dyers (of whom half specialised
