Travels in Southeastern Europe

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

TEPELEN TO ELBASAN. 307 ice lasted the whole day; a painted crucifix, draped with black, stood in the middle of the church, and each one kissed the foot on entering. Half-way through the service it was removed, and a table put in its place, on which lay a bier, covered with a black cloth, painted with the body of the dead Christ, for no images are allowed by this church. Two priests carried the bier round the church on their heads, preceded by an incense-bearer, walking backwards, and followed by a procession. The service was all in Greek, and the singing a tuneless nasal yowl. In the late evening the church was crammed to suffocation, and as each one held a lighted candle, it was a glare of yellow light and foggy with smoke. In the middle of the service some of the Turkish police pushed their way in and had a look at the bier, their red fezzes conspicuous above the bare-headed crowd. The raucous voices, barbaric music, and gaudy, shabby trappings, dim through the smoke, made a dramatic scene which culminated when the priests lifted the bier and carried it from the church; there was a wild scramble of men and boys, who all strove to shove a shoulder under it, if only for a second, as it was borne all round the building, and the whole congregation followed with twinkling candles. Almost all the kirijees are Christians, and were holiday-making, and we had difficulty in finding anyone to take us on till after Easter. We finally got off on Sunday morning with a couple of Moslems and very good horses. The Kaimmakam told me he was
/ 395
Pages

Actions

file_download Download Options Download this page PDF - Page 307 Image - Page 307 Plain Text - Page 307

About this Item

Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 307
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/ans3900.0001.001/314

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.