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Acroceraunia would be to come to this | Italy; Cicero, as Leake remarks, calls harbour in a yacht from Corfu (35 m. the wind favourable for that passage distant), and thence to make excur-an Onchesmites.

sions among the mountains. The The road to Delvino passes through villages from Palása to Khimára the hollow between the hills on which (both inclusive) constitute what may stands the ruined church of the Forty be called Acroceraunia Proper, and Saints, and another height crowned by are the most interesting to visit. S. a dismantled fortress, built by Ali of the town of Khimára, the scenery Pasha. There is a shorter, but steeper becomes less wild, and loses its pecu- path leading directly up the hill beliar character. hind the skala. All this part of the Epirote coast consists of bare rugged heights, covered with sharp honeycombed rocks.

From Khimára, the traveller turning inland, can proceed 10 hrs. through fine mountain landscapes to Delvino (Rte. 41). Or, if he should prefer to continue his journey along the coast, he can reach in 2 short days (about 15 hrs. in all), the port of Forty Saints ("Ayio Zápavтa), or Santi Quaranta. By sea, the distance is about 18 m., and the traveller had better choose this mode of conveyance, as the quickest and easiest. The principal villages on this part of the coast are Kiepero, Bortzi, Sopoto, Pikernes, Lukovo, and Nivitra.

The Forty Saints, or Santi Quaranta, is a little open port, with a few houses and magazines round it. A boat may sometimes be procured here to cross to Corfu, 17 m. This was the site of the ancient Onchesmus, or Anchiasmus, a name said to have been given in honour of Anchises, the father of Eneas, and of his traditional visit to these coasts, as celebrated in Virgil. The modern skala, or landing-place, derives its name from the ruined mediæval Church of the Forty Saints on the hill above. On the N.W. side of the harbour, near the beach, are the extensive remains of a town of the Lower Empire, walled and flanked with towers, probably of the same date as the ruins of Cassopo, on the opposite coast of Corfu. Santi Quaranta is often visited by English shootingparties, for the sake of the good sport to be enjoyed in the neighbouring place of Delvino. It is still the port of Delvino and of all the neighbouring country; and Onchesmus in ancient times seems to have been a place of importance, and one of the ordinary points of departure from Epirus to

2 hrs. from Santi Quaranta in a N.E. direction are remains of the ancient Phoenice, a name retained by the modern village of Phiniki. 1 hr. further is Delvino (Rte. 41).

5 hrs. A rough path leads along the
From Santi Quaranta to Butrinto is
rocky neck of land which separates
the lake of Butrinto, or Livari, a cor-
ruption of the Latin "vivarium," from
the sea. There are beautiful views
on the one side into the interior of
Albania, and on the other of the oppo-
site coasts of Corfu. The contrast
between barbarism and civilization,
barrenness and fertility, is here very
strongly marked.

traveller can
From the Castle of Butrinto the
cross to the town of

Corfu, a distance of 10 m.

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swollen, but is at other times preferred by travellers, as being shorter and more picturesque than the upper road to Metzovo over the rugged banks. 4 hrs. from Baldouni is Trikhani; so named from 3 khans placed near each Hrs. other; possibly, as Leake suggests, on 5 the site of three Roman taverns (Tres 6 Taberna, a name frequently occurring 4 in the old itineraries). This pass has 7 in all ages been the chief thoroughfare over the central range of Pindus.

From the Three Khans to Metzovo 6 the ascent is difficult and laborious, and occupies 2 hrs.

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From Joannina to the Khan of Baldouni, 5 hrs.-The road skirts the S. end of the lake, and winds by a terrace round an insulated hill on which are some ancient remains now called Castritza, but identified by Leake with the site of Dodona. The hill is tinged with iron, and particularly at the place where part of the water of the lake finds subterranean exits, Karaẞ60pa. The face of the rock is much fractured. The road then enters a broad valley, and then ascends the ridge of Metzikeli, here called Dryscos, i.e. Oakley. From the summit is a magnificent view of the town and lake of Joannina on one side, and the valley of the Aracthus and the mountain scenery of Pindus on the other. Below this ridge is the Khan of Kyria, or the Lady's Khan, about 12 m. from Joannina. The paved road from Joanninna to the Khan of Kyria is continued towards Metzovo; but there is a shorter route by a steep path to the Khan of Baldouni, a picturesque and beautiful spot, near the banks of the river Arta or Aracthus.

Hence to Metzoro is 6 hrs.-The road follows the course of the river till the junction of the Zagori and Metzovo branches, which unite, at an acute angle, the lofty intervening ridge terminating in a promontory clothed with wood. The road crosses the Zagori by the Lady's Bridge, and follows the course of the Metzovo stream, the bed of which it traverses nearly 30 times in 12 m. This road is impracticable when the stream is

Metzovo, a town of 1000 houses, hangs on the steep side of a mountain, separated from Mount Zygos by two deep ravines, whence the river Arta takes its source. Metzovo commands the most important pass in all Pindus. Surrounded on every side by high mountain-ridges, it stands nearly 3000 feet above the level of the sea, and in winter has a very severe climate. The town is divided into two unequal portions by the chasm of a torrent which forms a branch of the Arta. The northern and larger of the two divisions is called Prosilio (Пpvσhλiov) as being exposed to the sun; while the southern, being shaded by the mountain on which it stands, is named Anilio ('Avýλtov). The road to Thessaly passes through the latter. The population of Metzovo is chiefly of Wallachian descent.-(GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 0.)

The river of Aspropotamos the ancient_Achelous, rises near Metzovo. The Peneus, or Salamvria, also rises on the E. side of Pindus, above Metzovo; again, the Viosa, the ancient Aöus, takes its rise in the mountains to the N. of Metzovo, as also the Haliacınon, or Vistritza, and the Aracthus, or Arta.

From Metzovo to the Khan of Malakassi is 4 hrs. The road ascends the central ridge (Zvyós, here called of old Mt. Lacmos) of Pindus, immediately opposite to Metzovo. It first follows the course of a mountaintorrent, and thence is very steep, winding along a precipitous promon

tory of rock to the summit of the pass, which is attained after 2 hrs.' travelling, and is 4500 feet above the sea. Here are presented to the view the wide plains of Thessaly, the Peneus of Tempe issuing from the rocks below, and far beyond appear Olympus, Ossa, and Pelion, bounding the E. horizon. The chain of Pindus is not the least remarkable object in the nearer landscape.

The forests which cover its sides consist chiefly of firs and beeches. There are also small oaks, and an abundance of box. In the latter end of February and beginning of March, at which time the snow generally collects on the ridge in the greatest quantity, the pass of Metzovo is often impassable for horses for several days together.

A winding descent of 2 hrs. brings the traveller to the Khan of Malakassi, near the confluence of the two streams which form the Peneus. On the steep side of the mountain above stands the village of Malakassi, interspersed with trees like Metzovo.

From the Khan of Malakassi to Kalabak is 7 hrs., through a wooded and picturesque country.

3 hrs. from Malakassi is a khan on the Peneus, and soon after the road crosses the valley of a considerable stream, the Klinovo. The country hereabouts formed part of the district called by the ancients Athamania.

From the Klinovo to Kalabak, 5 m., the road is intolerable, passing though narrow meadows on the banks of the river, and among planes which skirt it.

The singular rocks of Meteora are seen from a great distance in descending the valley of the Peneus. They rise about a mile distant from the river, a group of insulated massive cones and pillars of rock of great height, and for the most part perpendicular. The deep recesses be

Pindus is the backbone of Northern Greece. Its successive vertebræ have different names. Mt. Zygos was of old, as we have seen, called Lacmos. From its foot diverged the 5 chief rivers or liquid roads of Northern Greece, connecting it with the Ionian and gean seas. It is what the glacier of the Rhone is to Switzerland.tween these pinnacles are thickly Here was realized the poetical vision of Virgil in the 4th Georgic, when he introduces Aristæus into a grotto at the source of the Peneus, one of the streams which issue from this mountain reservoir, and shows him "omnia sub magnâ labentia flumina terrâ." The Aöus is probably so called by a Doric or Eolic form, because it flows from the East. The modern name Viosa is a corruption of the same word. At its mouth, at Apollonia, Augustus spent some early time in literary ease, as at the mouth of the Aracthus he won the battle of Actium. From Corinth to Apollonia— i. e. to the frontier of Illyria-extended a beacon line of Colonies, bringing the arts and polity of Greece along with the sacred fire exported by the settlers from the altars of their gods.

From the summit of the pass, the descent on the eastern side is more gradual. A short distance below is the Zygos Khan, sheltered by woods.

clothed with trees. On a nearer approach the outlines of several Greek monasteries are seen on these heights, seeming as if entirely separated from the rest of the world. The small town of Kalabak or Stagi is situated below the most lofty of these pinnacles. It is on the site of Eginium. Kalabak is the Turkish, and Stagi (rayo) the Greek name. Night-quarters can be procured in this village. At Kalabak the Greek insurgents in Thessaly in 1854 were finally routed by the Turks.

We pass on till we come beneath the abode

"Of the monastic brotherhood on rock Aerial.”

The Monasteries of Meteora (rà Meréwpa, sc. MovaσThpia, i. e. the Meteor - Monasteries, or "Convents high up in the air ").-A short walk from the village of Stagi leads the traveller among the strange pinnacles crowned by these Convents. They form a cluster of detached rocks,

separated by deep chasms, and each | rope which hauls you up is worked

has a little level space on its summit, where the buildings are placed, looking like incrustations on the cliff. The deep recesses between the pinnacles are thickly clothed with trees, many of which have entwined their roots among the fissures, and seem as if suspended in air. The traveller had better ascend to the Convent called par excellence Meteora, as being the largest of those still inhabited. The view from the summit over the great plain of Thessaly is very magnificent. The church is also curious. But the singularity of the spot-so unlike any other in the world-is its great attraction. A colony of monks settled on these rocks, for the sake of the security they afford, at a very early period. The six convents still tenanted by the Fathers possess wells and cisterns, some goats and sheep, and a store of meal, but they depend for their support chiefly on charitable contributions; and the traveller is expected to make a small present "for the Church" (día тhν 'Ekкλŋσlav). There are now not more than 100 caloyers in all the 6 monasteries collectively. Besides the nets, the Convents of Meteora are also accesible by ladders of wood and rope, made in several separate joints, and let down over the face of the cliff, from the mouths of artificial tunnels in the rock, which communicate with the lower parts of the buildings. At night, and when not required, these ladders are pulled up, and the monks are entirely isolated from the world below. The ladders are the most hazardous mode of ascent or descent, as they are perfectly perpendicular, and swing backwards and forwards in the air with the least breath of wind. A monk mounting by one of them looks from below like a large black fly crawling on the face of the precipice. The traveller is recommended to trust himself to the net, as the safest and most singular method of ascent. Here you resign yourself piously to the care of the holy fathers, whereas on the ladders you must rely on your own nerve and steadiness of head. The

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from above by a pulley and windlass. Of course, as you begin to ascend, your weight draws the net close, until your knees are forced up to your chin, and you are rolled into a ball like a hedgehog. On arriving at the monastery above, you lie on the floor a perfectly helpless mass, until the monks unroll you from the net, and help you to your feet. There is no real danger. "A motley draught have these aerial fathers-literally fishers of men-often inclosed, since first they cast down their net into the world below. Sometimes they draw up in it an inquisitive scholar from the far West, sometimes a young officer from Corfu, sometimes a brother Cœnobite from Mount Athos, sometimes a neophyte yearning for solitude and religious meditation; once they received an Emperor of the East (John Cantacuzene), who came to exchange the purple of Constantine for the cowl of St. Basil." Steep paths lead a considerable way up the face of the precipices; so that the actual ascent in the nets or by the ladders averages only from 200 to 300 feet.

The number of monasteries was once 24, but only 10 of these now remain, of which the following are inhabited:- Meteora, St. Stephen, Barlaam, Trinity, St. Nicholas, and Haghia Mone. Some of the monasteries are situated in caverns formed by nature and art in the face of the rock. On arriving at the foot of a monastery, a summons is shouted forth to the monks above. They lower a net by a strong rope, and in this slender vehicle the traveller seats himself. The projection of the pulley from a shed above secures him against injury by striking against the rock. The ascent is accomplished in 3 minutes. The monasteries are irregularly scattered on the summit of the rocks, and possess neither external nor internal splendour.

Kalabak to Triccala, 4 hrs. The road winds round the tallest of the pinnacles, which may be 1000 feet in height, and opens on the plain of Triccala. To the right is the Pencus;

to the left Kalabak, overshadowed by | horses, from traditions of their equesthe reverse of the rocks of Meteora, trian prowess. There was probably a which on this side assume a hilly time when they appeared as formidcharacter. At a distance in the plain able monsters to their neighbours, as appear the towers of Triccala. On did the mounted Spaniards to the the right is Pindus, and on the left Mexicans. a low chain of naked hills stretches from Kalabak to Triccala. The approach to Triccala is marked by an appearance of activity and prosperity.

Triccala, the ancient Tricca, contains about 7000 inhabitants, of which the majority are Greeks. There are also a few Jews. The town is on the left bank of the Peneus, and is situated on a low ridge of hills, which extends into the plain from its northern boundary. Near the extremity of this ridge are the ruins of the Castle, once of some importance, probably erected during the period of the Greek emperors. The only existing Hellenic remains are fragments in its walls. The Turkish Governor's residence is composed of two large serais, occupying two sides of a quadrangle. The culture of corn and cotton is carried on to a considerable extent in the adjoining plains.

Tricca was a very ancient city, and capital of that part of Thessaly called Histiæotis. It is mentioned in Homer as subject to the two sons of Esculapius, who led the Triccæans to the Trojan war; and it contained the most famous and most frequented of all the temples of that god, to which was attached a medical college of great repute. The modern name of Triccala is used by Anna Comnena.

The ranges of Pindus to the S.E. of Triccala form the highland district of Agrapha (τà ˇAypapa), a division of the country which existed under the Greek empire, and derived its name from its villages being "not written down" in the publicans' books, but only paying a small tribute collectively. Like Maina, Suli, and other similar districts, Agrapha was long virtually independent, even after the Turkish conquest of Greece, and the population has always been purely Greek. At the beginning of the 19th century, it contained about 85 villages, with 50,000 inhabitants. The southern, or Etolian part of Agrapha, is now included in the kingdom of Greece.

From Triccala to Larissa is 12 hrs.; but the traveller may divide the journey by stopping at Zarko, a village half-way between. The road lies across the plain, and is devoid of picturesque interest. Near Zarko an irregular chain of hills runs to Thaumaci, and separates the plain of Triccala from that of Larissa and Pharsalia. The traveller crosses the Peneus near a deserted village. Farther on, a rising ground is covered with Turkish tombstones, and Hellenic remains, from the site of the ancient Larissa; and soon after the minarets of Larissa are seen glittering above an oasis of trees and verdure in the midst of a plain of sand.

Larissa, in Turkish Yenishaher, is situated on a gently rising ground on the S. side of the Peneus (Salamvria). It was one of the most important and wealthy cities of ancient Thessaly, and is still considered the capital of that province; but in no age has there been any very striking incident in its

The great plain of Thessaly enabled the old Thessalians to practise horsemanship, and lay the foundation of the glory of the Thessalian cavalry. At the present day the traveller is reminded of the physical properties of this region by the sight of the wide and level road near Larissa, on which the arrabahs, or chariots, of the Turkish Beys, the modern Scopada and Aleuada, may be seen to roll. The Centaurs were an ancient Thes-history. Larissa is now the residence salian tribe, in Homer nearly savage of a Greek archbishop, and of a Pasha, warriors, but who in after times came and contains nearly 30,000 inhabitants, to be depicted as half men and half partly Greeks, but chiefly Mahomme

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