Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
New York : H. Holt , 1998.
Description
In the spring of A.D. 587, John Moschos and his pupil Sophronius the Sophist embarked on a remarkable expedition across the entire Byzantine world, traveling from the shores of Bosphorus to the sand dunes of Egypt. Using Moschos's writings as his guide and inspiration, the acclaimed travel writer William Dalrymple retraces the footsteps of these two monks, providing along the way a moving elegy to the slowly dying civilization of Eastern Christianity and to the people who are struggling to keep its flame alive. The result is Dalrymple's unsurpassed masterpiece: a beautifully written travelogue, at once rich and scholarly, moving and courageous, overflowing with vivid characters and hugely topical insights into the history, spirituality and the fractured politics of the Middle East.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member pierthinker
William Dalrymple is a Scottish-born travel writer and historian, specialising in books about the Near and Far East. 'From the Holy Mountain' is a deceptively simple description of Dalrymple's travels as he follows in the footsteps of John Moschos's 'The Spiritual Meadow', a 6th century guide to
That the countries and governments of the Near East are growing more strongly Islamist and increasingly aggressive towards other religions is well known, although many will be unfamiliar with the specific stories revealed here of persecutions both old and ongoing. More surprising is the reminder that the Byzantine Empire was Christian and many communities have a longer history and stronger claim to the land than Muslims or Jews would like everyone to think. Further, given the antagonism between Islam and Christianity being offered today, it is ironic to learn that much of the religious practice of Islam was drawn from early Orthodox Christianity. As Dalrymple points out, Were John Moschos to return today he might find more familiar in the worship in a mosque than in a Western Christian church.
Dalrymple writes well, with humour and compassion for all the people he meets. He draws you into his journey and helps you see what he has seen with his own eyes. As an armchair traveller too scared to leave his home town, Dalrymple stirred my wanderlust. What better recommendation for this book?
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the Christian monasteries of the Byzantine empire, beginning at Mt. Ethos in Greece through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel (including the occupied West Bank) and Egypt, ending at the Al Kharga Oasis deep in the deserts of Upper Egypt. Along the way he focuses on meeting the remaining Christian (almost exclusively Orthodox) communities in these countries. The stories he hears are by turns surprising and expected (depressingly so).That the countries and governments of the Near East are growing more strongly Islamist and increasingly aggressive towards other religions is well known, although many will be unfamiliar with the specific stories revealed here of persecutions both old and ongoing. More surprising is the reminder that the Byzantine Empire was Christian and many communities have a longer history and stronger claim to the land than Muslims or Jews would like everyone to think. Further, given the antagonism between Islam and Christianity being offered today, it is ironic to learn that much of the religious practice of Islam was drawn from early Orthodox Christianity. As Dalrymple points out, Were John Moschos to return today he might find more familiar in the worship in a mosque than in a Western Christian church.
Dalrymple writes well, with humour and compassion for all the people he meets. He draws you into his journey and helps you see what he has seen with his own eyes. As an armchair traveller too scared to leave his home town, Dalrymple stirred my wanderlust. What better recommendation for this book?
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LibraryThing member name99
More Dalrymple. Longer and a little more serious than In Xanadu, probably because the material us that much more depressing. A sad catalog of hatreds in the Middle East that continue to this day, happily sponsored by various states. Especially interesting were the claims that
* Turkey is still
* Israel does what it can to ensure that archeology and history concerned with anything outside the period of the original twelve tribes of Israel is suppressed, so as to maintain the myth that the place was pretty much an empty desert between when the Romans kicked them out and 1800 yrs later when they returned.
* Of all the countries in the Middle East, Syria of all places is apparently the one that does the least to harass Christians.
* Turkey is still
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doing whatever it can to suppress Christians (which basically means Greeks and Armenians). Question --- has this changed in the wake of all the recent changes in Turkey? The journey the book is based on was undertaken almost twenty years ago.* Israel does what it can to ensure that archeology and history concerned with anything outside the period of the original twelve tribes of Israel is suppressed, so as to maintain the myth that the place was pretty much an empty desert between when the Romans kicked them out and 1800 yrs later when they returned.
* Of all the countries in the Middle East, Syria of all places is apparently the one that does the least to harass Christians.
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LibraryThing member cerievans1
150 pages in so far a few interesting stories but on the whole disappointing, I will reserve judgement
Update. I didn't manage to finish this book; as I suspected, my final view is that it was disappointing. Having read a couple of William Dalrymple's other works of non-fiction I had high
Update. I didn't manage to finish this book; as I suspected, my final view is that it was disappointing. Having read a couple of William Dalrymple's other works of non-fiction I had high
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expectations of this book. Unfortunately, for me it focused too much on religion and not enough on observations and travel. I have up after 300 odd pages... having made it as far as Egypt. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karen_Wells
Dalrymple's speciality is going to dead places that the modern world has killed, and rooting around to discover those trace elements of its mysterious golden past that still exist below the surface.
He comes across as a modest man of learning and good humour; certainly he has good eyes and ears. For
He comes across as a modest man of learning and good humour; certainly he has good eyes and ears. For
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me this book worked at every level; finely observed cameos of people and places, most definitely educational, and sometimes powerfully moving in its evocation of the tragedies and heroism of this region. Show Less
LibraryThing member piano3646
Quite fragmented because of its format (divided into various chapters) but a good read
LibraryThing member theonearmedcrab
Wlliam Dalrymple’s “From the Holy Mountain” (1997) has a chapter on Lebanon, which he visited a few years after the civil war. His description paints a divided and destroyed country, yet with signs of remarkable resurrection. He is particularly interested in the Maronites, the ancient
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Christian society that survived in the Lebanese mountains, and more specifically in their role in the civil war – not a pretty picture, according to Dalrymple. As with all books I have read from Dalrymple, this one is equally brilliant, a balance between often funny travel experiences put in a broader framework of history, ancient to recent. Interestingly, he traveled west to east through Turkey via Syria to Lebanon (and then on to Israel and Egypt) in 1994, and he must have been in Diyarbakir, SE Turkey, when we were there, too. Show Less
LibraryThing member danoomistmatiste
In late 6th century AD, a Byzantine Mystic John Mochos along with his disciple Sophronius conduct an epic journey though Byzantium covering Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. These travels and experiences were penned into an epic tome called The Spiritual Meadow.
The author attempts to
One common theme you notice in the book through conversations conducted with the surviving members of the various Christian denominations is the tremendous pressure exerted on their communities and the constant threat and fear under which they have to live. In Turkey, the population has dwindled to almost nothing and may die out toally in the next few decades. In Israel they are treated as second class citizens and have been forced to emigrate in large numbers leaving behind only the old.
In Lebanon though the Maronites were the majority, their Political intransigence led to a devastating civil war which in turn led to a mass exodus of all the wealthy and educated christians out of the country and reducing them to a minority.
In Egypt, even tough the Coptics are present in fairly large numbers, they are being increasingly threatened by Islamic Fundamentalism.
Surprisingly, in Syria the christian populations are thriving and prospering. In that country are to be found great Byzantine cities that are intact though abandoned. Seems that it would make for a great vacation and destination for an history buff and archaeologist.
All in all a very wonderful read. His style of writing is excellent and he intends to tranport you into the world that he is describing. You can almost feel yourself living in Byzantium in the times of the great emporors Constantine and Justinian.
The author attempts to
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conduct the same journey and travel in the footsteps of the two mystics, carrying along a translation of the Spiritual Meadow for reference. Amazingly, many of the Monastries and other sites visited by them are still intact and surviving as they were built. One common theme you notice in the book through conversations conducted with the surviving members of the various Christian denominations is the tremendous pressure exerted on their communities and the constant threat and fear under which they have to live. In Turkey, the population has dwindled to almost nothing and may die out toally in the next few decades. In Israel they are treated as second class citizens and have been forced to emigrate in large numbers leaving behind only the old.
In Lebanon though the Maronites were the majority, their Political intransigence led to a devastating civil war which in turn led to a mass exodus of all the wealthy and educated christians out of the country and reducing them to a minority.
In Egypt, even tough the Coptics are present in fairly large numbers, they are being increasingly threatened by Islamic Fundamentalism.
Surprisingly, in Syria the christian populations are thriving and prospering. In that country are to be found great Byzantine cities that are intact though abandoned. Seems that it would make for a great vacation and destination for an history buff and archaeologist.
All in all a very wonderful read. His style of writing is excellent and he intends to tranport you into the world that he is describing. You can almost feel yourself living in Byzantium in the times of the great emporors Constantine and Justinian.
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LibraryThing member jonfaith
Very promising beginning which soon detoured into ruminations on geopolitics and along the way found it self stretched in the muddy fields of scripture and doctrine. The geopolitics appears dated, of course, which is no one's fault. The scripture and doctrine appear methodical, which I regard as
If it wasn't for the encounter with Robert Fisk I would've aborted the book while it was in Lebanon. It is a revealing view into the incestuous proximity between Islam and Christianity, even if the lengths explored lapse into Rorystewartism. That said, a neutral can appreciate the symbiosis of these desert faiths.
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alarming. If it wasn't for the encounter with Robert Fisk I would've aborted the book while it was in Lebanon. It is a revealing view into the incestuous proximity between Islam and Christianity, even if the lengths explored lapse into Rorystewartism. That said, a neutral can appreciate the symbiosis of these desert faiths.
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LibraryThing member Steve_Walker
A brief mention of the classic "Spiritual Meadows", itself a collection of saying from 7th Century Monks in the Middle East, in Sir Steven Runciman's "History of the Crusades" leads William Dalrymple to replicate
the journey, taken long ago, in the late 20th century. This is the story of that
The only other book on this topic that comes close to being this well written is "The Body and the Blood" by Charles Sennott. Dalrymple,and justifiably so, has inherited the mantle worn by the late Sir Steven Runciman and the recently deceased Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor. I read this book every year. I can't say enough good things about it.
the journey, taken long ago, in the late 20th century. This is the story of that
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journey and of the story of the decline of the native Christian population of the Holy Lands.The only other book on this topic that comes close to being this well written is "The Body and the Blood" by Charles Sennott. Dalrymple,and justifiably so, has inherited the mantle worn by the late Sir Steven Runciman and the recently deceased Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor. I read this book every year. I can't say enough good things about it.
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LibraryThing member stillatim
As good as advertised, and perhaps even more so twenty years after publication, given all that has happened in the meantime. If you're not inclined to sadness over lost traditions, you probably won't care, but I almost cried when the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddha, and I have literally no
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social or cultural connection to Buddhism whatsoever, so I was basically free for the taking on this one. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (Shortlist — 1998)
Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize (Winner — 1998)
Thomas Cook Travel Book Award (Shortlist — 1998)
Language
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
x, 483 p.; 25 cm
ISBN
0805058737 / 9780805058734
Local notes
This is a great book! The author follows a medieval manuscript written by a Byzantine monk - John Moschos - who traveled around the Eastern Mediterranean. When the monk traveled, Christianity was just beginning to give way to Islam. When the author travels, Christianity is on its last legs in the same areas, or has disappeared completely. Thus, the narrative "book-ends" this long decline. It's hard not to feel sadness at the passing of a people, a culture, and a big piece of history. At the same time, as a Pagan, it's hard not to read this account and think "Well, you reap what you sow." What's happening to modern Christians and their sacred sites is what happened to classical Pagans and their sacred sites when the Christians took over. -- DHF
(There is more on the decline of Christianity in the Near East in The Vanishing by Janine di Giovanni.)
(There is more on the decline of Christianity in the Near East in The Vanishing by Janine di Giovanni.)