£ 28
Dalrymple, William.
FROM THE HOLY MOUNTAIN: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium.
Harper Collins.
1997
Reprint.
The author's third travel book records how in 587AD two monks set-off on an extraordinary journey across the Byzantine World from the Bosphorus to Egypt. On the way John Moschos and his pupil Sophronius, the Sophist, stayed in caves, hermitages & monasteries collecting the wisdom of the stylites and the desert fathers before their fragile world was shattered under the great eruption of Islam. Over 1000 years later, using Moschos's writings as his guide, Dalrymple retraces their footsteps finding history, black comedy, civil war, politics & adventure.
483pp plus 33 b/w photo illus. Map of Middle East on endpapers. Near fine in fine unclipped dustwrapper. The only blemishes are small previous owner signature and date on opening endpaper and across the opening endpaper and title page a neat diagonal cut has removed the lower 5cm by 5cm of both pages.
     
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