"
Our first sight of Dechani disappointed us a little, the proportions
lacked the beauty of the Ipek church; but the big old door marked by the
fire the Turks had built against it, decades before, cheered us up a
bit.
A pleasant priest with a smooth face and ringlets two feet long greeted
us and led us to the little Russian hospital which was fitted into the
Abbey, warning us not to bang our heads against the heavy oak beams in
the corridors.
The Russians welcomed us heartily, preparing the most wonderful tea,
Australian butter, white bread made with flour brought from Russia.
Pavlovitch enjoyed himself immensely. Food was thin in the barracks. But
he was very worried about the priest's long ringlets.
"I'd soon cure 'im, a month diggin' de trench!" he murmured.
After tea we examined the church. The interior was one miraculous blue:
pictures with blue backgrounds, apostles with blue draperies, blue
skies, a wonderful lapis lazuli.
Once the Moslems had overpowered the defenders of the church and had got
in, the eyes of some of the saints were picked through the plaster.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193