Rating: 
Summary: LAST GASP OF A DYING FAITH
Review: First, it is important to remember when reading this book that Dalrymple is writing a travelogue and not an ethnographic study of the Middle East. He is re-tracing the stapes of a mid-Byzantine era monk, John Moschos, and recording what is left of the Byzantine Christian world Moschos lived in. If you are obsessed with ancient Christian-Byzantine arcana, (as I hopelessly am), you will glue your eyes to these pages as Dalrymple describes what remains of the Nestorians, Monophysites and obscure heterodox sects like the Yezidis with the same passion as a pimpled teenager with a flashlight and a copy of Playboy under his bedsheets late at night. Dalrymple gives a very brutal assessment of alleged atrocities committed by the Maronites and Israelis. Dalrymple struggles to remain objective, but is obviously difficult when he sees the misery he sees. While some of the superstition and fanaticism he encounters has a bizarre kind of charm there is also an element of horror when religous convictions are so intense that riddling the bodies of infants with bullits can be considered a pious act. It is sad to see the slow passing of ancient Christian cultures which have left us such a beautiful legacy of art, architecture and music; but one can't help but wonder if there wouldn't be a little more humanity and peace if the churches, mosques and synagaogues ALL became things of the past and we as a species use a little logic and less Santa Claus. If Dalrymple does nothing else, he chronicles the misery of religion.
Rating: 
Summary: Good work largely spoilt by political bias
Review: For a long time William Dalrymple has been regarded by both me and others as a great modern day writer-historian-adventurer, who goes off on quests in the less trodden paths of the world, digs up historical information, makes connections that would have eluded most and then writes about it in a very informative, entertaining, erudite and funny manner.
All of these are true of "From the Holy Mountain". Here, he decides to follow in the footsteps of a Byzantine monk in order to investigate the history and current status of the Eastern Christian Churches. This he does, going to monasteries of denominations as varied as the Maronites, the Greek and Syrian Orthodox as well as the Copts. He also makes his usual fabulous observations which in this book might be new to many people in terms of the similarities between Eastern Christianity and Islam in terms of ritual as well as the degree that Christianity can be thought of as a Western religion. He does much to broaden the conception and knowledge of most readers about Eastern and general Christianity, as well as indulging us in some kind of off-beat, romantic notion of the various harsh and desolate monasteries and caves in the wasteland deserts of the Middle East, having been (and some still being) inhabited by eccentric recluses from the world.
However, in describing much of the political situation, he lost me. He seemed slightly anti-Israel from "In Xanadu" but here, he shows that he is extremely biased. Although I'm sure many (although I don't know how many) of the persecutions and troubles of the Palestinian Christians described in the book are genuine, the fact that he jokes about his visits with Lebanese warlords and how civilised they were while showing vitriol in the section about the Israeli govenment shows that he is not being very consistent. To me, it undermined many other political statements he made (such as largely blaming the Maronites exclusively for the troubles in Lebanon) for if from everything I know about Israel he was quite selective about the material he chose to include, this could mean he was just as selective and biased about other material.
I still liked the book very much for its descriptions and details of the Eastern monastic lifestyle then and now, but the political bias inserted a sour note. I think whatever your persuasion, if you're interested in the material, it's a great book, just be aware that he is quite biased.
Rating:
Summary: One Of A Kind Look Into Middle East Christianity
Review: For anyone ineterested in the learning about the last dying days of Christianity in the Middle East, where the religion began, this is the one book to have. It works on all levels -- as a hoistrical treatise, as a travel epic, and as an anthropological study. It is humorous, fascinating, informative, and fair. I'd never heard of Dalrymple before this book (I purchased it because of my interest in Eastern Christianity), but I am now eager to check out the author's other travel books.
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Summary: Excellent tour of the ancient and Modern Middle East
Review: From The Holy Mountain is a first rate travel story and history. William Dalrymple does an excellent job of connecting the Byzantine Empire and the all-but-forgotten outposts that now remain. I was reminded of Robert Kaplan's "Balkan Ghosts" in reading of the struggle between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. If you are interested in Byzantine History, or the history of this region, buy this book!!!!
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Summary: Illuminates the dark ages of the Middle East
Review: From The Holy Mountain While the Levantine of the Middle East is politcally unstable it is hardly unexplored country. After all Alexander, assorted Greeks and sundry Romans all traipsed around the eastern shores of the Medeterrean. So a travel book that reveals this area has to be special and William Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain is very special. More than just a traveller, he is a classical scholar, Dalyrmple sets oput to trace the jouney of 6th Century Orthodox who travelled from The centre of the then universe, Constantinople, to the edge of the world, the last monestary on the Nile before the Sahara. In now why is this a dry historic travelolgue as Dalrymple's journey leads him through more hotspots than the US Marine's could invade in a year. Eastern Turk and the disputed Kurdish Lands, the Maronite homelands of Lebanese warlords. Israel's West Bank, Upper Egypt's terrorist prone settlements. Most surprisingly it is in Syria, a senior bad boy of the Middle East, that Dalyrmple feels safest. Thanks to a excellent understanding of who lived where, invaded who and was subjegated when, Dalrymple explains the shifting tribes and artifical borders that complicate the social mileau of the Middle East. But he has an ear for culture too to lighten the historical diet of genocide, ethnic cleansing and invasion. The high point of the book is his description of finding the cathederal of a small Orthodox Chrisitan demomination in Aleppo, eastern Syria. There he listens enraptured to the plainsong of the congregation who sing a liturgy from the 6th Century in Aramaic unchnaged since the 1st century. Never have I read a description of music that was so evocative. Dalrymple rounds out his polymath character by ensuring that a reader learns some contempory lessons. His investigation of where, geographically, socially and spritually, Christianity, Judaism and Islam mix will continue to enlighten any news from the Middle East.
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Summary: William Dalrymple is one my favorite authors
Review: He could write about ANYTHING and it would be interesting. I am savoring every sentence of this wonderful book. I feel like I am in Mr. Dalrymple's back pocket as he travels to such obscure but important destinations. I've come to realize how difficult it is to say there is one true religion. Mr. Dalrymple shows how Christianity and Islam grew out of each other and how their practices and beliefs, while so different today, were actually very similar in the beginning. An important lesson for anybody today who thinks their religion should rule the world.
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Summary: A humane, scholarly, and fun(!) Millennium 'Must Read'
Review: How strange that an archane book retracing the spiritual travels and historical recordings of a 6th century Byzantine monk should have such resonance and relevance for today. Yet William Dalrymple has produced a book, whose remarkable erudition is matched by both by his amazing ability to charm his reticient subjects - including an elderly Orthodox Christian Syrian nun with a benign regard for sheep-sacrificing cosmonauts - as well as by his ability to write like a dream. It is a kind of pilgrim's travel log. I loved the Chaucerian robustness of its characters like the faded Alexandrine beauty of ancient Byzantine family, who as a young girl knew Cavafy; and the old Muslim farmer who frequently saw St George in his neighborhood. The amazing examples of the influence of the art of the dessert fathers on early Celtic works, as well as the illuminated manuscripts of Syria on the Book of Kells was breathtaking. The passages on the music of the Christian community of the Urfalees (formerly Odessa) dating back to the 2-3rd century AD was divine! It is impossible not to be moved by its deeply meditative concern for the passing of a cosmopolitan world whose rare accommodation of cross-fertilising faiths and nationalities is much needed in what passes for 21st century civilization.
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Summary: Help! My review 'deSSert fathers'instead of 'deSert fathers'
Review: I have appeared as the most recent review, but note on re-read, BIG error! Please can you change ASAP?????? Sorry about this.
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Summary: Kudos To A Terrific Read
Review: I must add my compliments to William Dalrymple, who has written an extremely objective and important book on the obstacles Orthodox Christianity has faced in the Middle East. The author, a Roman Catholic from Scotland who has written several books about his experiances in India, is no zealot. He has written a very human story, on occasion very humorous, but ultimately sadly tragic on the pressures and prejudices dedicated Christians have been facing in Turkey, Israel and Egypt over the past century. He is a very good writer and has touched some sensative areas as evidenced by the reviews on this provocative and courageous book. He knows his history and is right on the mark. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: I read this book after a brief stay on Mt. Athos and a month-long tour of Istanbul and Turkey. As an American-born, Eastern Orthodox Christian, I was familiar with the general history of Christianity in this part of the world. I did not know or appreciate the extent to which Orthodoxy has dried up or been driven out of Turkey, the Levant and Egypt. It is truly sad. Outside of Greece, the Orthodox world has the feeling of a ghost town.Dalrymple's book brought a vividness to much that I witnessed firsthand but didnt have the background to appreciate. He is a far more intrepid traveller than I. Highly recommend, it is an enjoyable, entertaining and thought-provoking travelogue for any who are interested in Orthodoxy, the middle east or simply good travel writing.
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