Travels in Southeastern Europe

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

5MIONASTIR TO TEPELEN. 287 lands, while on another rock just opposite him sat his faithful Arab, who watched ceaselessly lest a foe should attack him in the rear. None dared attack him in front, for his eyes glittered like fire, and struck terror into all beholders. Alternate sun and storm swept the land; the lower slopes of the hills were pink and purple with blossoming almonds and Judas-trees; the mountains beyond were violently ultramarine, a riot of fierce colour. Such is the cradle of Ali Pasha. Tepelen is in Liabaria, and the Liabs (or Ljaps) have a sinister reputation. Two years ago, I was told, the road between Klisura and Tepelen was in the hands of brigands, and could not be passed without paying blackmail. Even now, to attempt to ride it without gendarmes would be risky. The newly-appointed 'reform' judge told a dismal tale of savagery, with which he was unable to cope. 'OuG commencer?' he cried dolefully-' Ou commencer? ' Schools were his chief idea, and these, undoubtedly, he said should be Greek, ' for Liabaria is part of Epirus, and Epirus was part of Greece; therefore the Liabs are Greeks.' That they persisted in talking Albanian and calling themselves Shkyipetars was a deplorable fact. Blood feuds raged, and a man's property is his only so long as he can defend it. As for his life, ilis not so highly valued as a sheep's, for a sheep is food. There is now practically no communication with the outer world-far less than in Ali's time, a century ago. He kept the trade-route clear,
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About this Item

Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 287
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001
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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bosnia/ans3900.0001.001/294

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"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 April 30, 2025.
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