Lefke Aqueduct

With long and hot summer periods, in the past Cyprus has always had a significant shortage of water. Clean water supply to urban residential areas was always one of the most important concerns of Cyprus governors.
Throughout the centuries, water generally depended on rain fall, snow fall on the mountains and natural springs, the main one located in Lefke. Since the Roman era, water supply to cities was handled from the fresh springs via aqueducts, the water carrying systems consisting of chains of wells, underground water channels and bridges. During sieges however, most of the conduits were demolished which created more shortages.
At the beginning of the Ottoman administration, the existing water systems were inspected and repaired, and new ones added. The Lefke aqueduct was built around 1609. With its bridge of 10 arches, it's considered one of the best Ottoman monuments of Lefke and is still used today for irrigating orchards and fields.
Lefke, which has fertile fields leading up to the sea, also produced grain during the Ottoman periods so mills and water stretches were built for grinding. English explorer Sir Samuel White Baker, commenting on Cyprus in 1879, wrote that the stonework in the waterways that pour water into the mills that returned with water in Lefke was "elegant and braided". 10 of these arches have survived to this day.