Excerpt from Researches in the Highlands of Turkey, Including Visits to Mounts Ida, Athos, Olympus, and Pelion, to the Mirdite Albanians, and Other Remote Tribes, Vol. 1 of 2: With Notes on the Ballads, Tales, and Classical Superstitions of the Modern Greeks The monastery of St. Dionysius, one of a number of very ancient monasteries on the sides of Olympus, is situated in the midst of walnuts and other trees, about 100 feet above the stream which flows eastwards from the heart of the mountain through the deep valley, along the sides of which we had approached. It is 3080 feet above the sea. The surrounding scenery is superb, and could not easily be surpassed in Switzerland, from the gran deur of the rocky basin in which it lies, whose steep sides are overlooked by the loftiest summits, rising to the height of 7000 feet above the valley. In contrast to this sublime desolation, the lower slopes present the refreshing sight of varied and delicate green foliage, with clear water flowing among the hard white rocks. The first court of the building, as you enter, is in ruins, having never been restored since it was destroyed by the Turks in 1828; the inner court forms an irregular square, with corridors running round it supported on two rows of arches, while the greater part of its area is occupied by the church, a building with five cupolas and a lead covered roof, but without any appearance of antiquity, and containing nothing of interest inside, except a picture of St. Dionysius of some merit. The guest-chamber, which. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.