Travels in Southeastern Europe

The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

284 THE BURDEN OF THE BALKANS. tekieh on the hillside to the right of the road as you ride to Tepelen. His father was a Dervish, and that is why he became great, says local tradition; his father was Beg of Kabija, the village above the tekieh, says history, but Tepelen was sure he was also a Dervish. 'Some Dervishes are allowed to have sons,' said the suvarri. Ali's father was robbed of his patrimony by his own brothers. He died sweetly revenged upon them, but he left his widow Khamka and his young son nothing but a patch of barren ground. Ali gained his bread as a kirijee. One day, when upon the march with a caravan, he met a holy man, who warned Ali's master he must use no violence towards the boy, for he was destined to have a great future. The master jeered. 'If,' he said, 'you know the future, tell me this: My mare is in foal. Will she bear a male or a female? ' The holy man said: ' She will bear a mule.' The master was both scornful and angry. He shot the mare and ripped her open, and found a mule within her. Then was everyone greatly astonished, and they believed in the future of Ali. Thus we whiled away the time waiting for the river to sink. There was nothing to eat, and the sun came out hot, so I went to sleep on the suvarri's big sheepwool cloak, till I was awakened by wild yells. The caik had started from the other side, a
/ 395
Pages

Actions

file_download Download Options Download this page PDF - Page 284 Image - Page 284 Plain Text - Page 284

About this Item

Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 284
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

Technical Details

Link to this Item
https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001
Link to this scan
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bosnia/ans3900.0001.001/291

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are likely in the public domain. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact [email protected] . If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact [email protected] .

DPLA Rights Statement: No Copyright - United States

Related Links

Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/bosnia:ans3900.0001.001

Cite this Item

Full citation
"The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham." In the digital collection Travels in Southeastern Europe. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 1, 2025.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.