London: Harper Collins, 1997. First edition. Signed by author on the title page. In near fine unclipped dust jacket. Decorative endpapers. Under dust jacket the cloth boards are spotless and the gilt title is bright. No foxing. Internally too everything is clean and bright. "It is a rich and gripping blend of history and spirituality, adventure and politics, laced with a thread of black comedy." The author retraces the footsteps of monks John Moschos and his pupil Sophronius the Sophist through eastern Turkey, the ruins of Beirut, the West Bank and southern Egypt. x, 484 pp.