Scientific Director of Pattichion Historical Archive Museum & Research Centre

Μ.Α. SOPHOCLEOUS

Part B’

The Tragasol compound consisted of two parts and was a building of special architectural interest from the viewpoint of industrial archaeology. The total area of the two parts was around 3000 square metres. The southern part was built first and accommodated all necessary machinery for the processing of carobs, for the grinding and sorting of the seeds. There followed the construction of the northern part which was essentially a storage facility from which the finished product was dispatched for export. The front facade of the building was 85 metres long and the whole construction was some 50 meters wide. It was a building with various special features, such as the doors, which are similar to those seen in several factories and shops of the pre-war Limassol. Also noteworthy were the windows which were placed in way that facilitated air circulation and catered to the lighting needs of the interior of the building.

At the level of the pyramid-shaped roofs, in the front facade of the building, one could see a large door-window opening from the outside in front of a small balcony-shaped platform. It seems as if this was designed as an opening for ventilation purposes, as well as for inspection of the products (carobs).

Limassol did of course make optimum use of carobs which were seen as a major asset for the town. Interestingly, Ploutis Servas, mayor of Limassol in the period 1943-49, once said that carobs, along with wine, were in fact Limassol’s dowry! Carob seeds were used as raw material for the production of gum, while the grinded carobs were exported to be used as animal feed as well as in the preparation of confectionery products.

Carobs were transported to the Tragasol building by animal-pulled carts from the mountainous area around Limassol, as well as by sea, from Pissouri and other areas, onboard boats which were unloading the carobs at a small pier south of the Tragasol building, from where porters would then carry them to the company storage area.

Hundreds of employees used to work for decades at the Tragasol and many of them could feel attached to the history of these buildings.

Whenever the British Governor of Cyprus was in Limassol, he would often pay a visit to the Tragasol while a local newspaper made reference to the building on April 21, 1930, as ‘’the English shop which is known to be exporting abroad grinded carobs’’.

The Tragasol, which would buy as many as 10,000 tons of carobs, was particularly interested in the carob seeds. According to the daily Eleftheria newspaper of August 8, 1928, “It is well-known that the Tragasol is mostly interested in carob seeds which are used in England for making a luxurious facial cream and waterproof fabrics dye for luxury garments.”