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AD587, 2000s: Walking in the footsteps of two monks who explored the Byzantine world
From the Holy Mountain
What you need to know before your trail
In AD 587, two monks, John Moschos and Sophronius the Sophist, embarked on an extraordinary journey across the Byzantine world, from the shores of the Bosphorus to the sand dunes of Egypt. Their aim: to collect the wisdom of the sages and mystics of the Byzantine East before their fragile world shattered under the eruption of Islam. Almost 1500 years later, using the writings of John Moschos as his guide, William Dalrymple set off to retrace their footsteps.
Taking in a civil war in Turkey, the ruins of Beirut, the tensions of the West Bank and a fundamentalist uprising in Egypt, William Dalrymple’s account is a stirring elegy to the dying civilisation of Eastern Christianity.
Locations
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Follow in the footsteps of two 6th century monks
William Dalrymple takes readers along on his amazing five month pilgrimage from Mt Athos in Greece, through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, to the Great Kharga Oasis in Upper Egypt. This is quite a journey in so many ways. Not just in distance and geographical challenges, but the fact that this is the same journey two monks (John Mochos and Sophronius) did all those years ago. The author today visits monasteries, sights of religious significance and more to explore and fully understand the importance of that journey and these places.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: From the Holy Mountain
Destination: Beirut, Egypt, Middle East, Turkey, Greece Author/guide: William Dalrymple Departure: AD587, 2000s
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