In post 525 we payed attention to the book of Frederick W. Hasluck, student, librarian and assistant director of the British School at Athens, who travelled to Mount Athos in 1911. He produced 130 images in total, and they came in the collection of the British School at Athens. The book Mount Athos and Its Monasteries was published in 1924, four years after his death in 1920.

Hasluck made a complete tour of the monasteries making drawings and architectural studies, that he first published in 1911 in an article in the Annual of the British School at Athens entitled ‘The First English Traveller’s Account of Athos’, using six of his photographs.

The book from 1924 was illustrated with 27 photographs.

This is a rare photograph of the old kalderimi that led from Iviron to Lavra. It has been destroyed when soon after 1963 the first dirt road was build from Dafni to Karyes, when Athos celebrated its 1000 years anniversary/existence (read more about the path and the Megalos Velas bridge here and here).

Part one of his book Mount Athos and its Monasteries is a discussion of the history of the monastic system. The concluding chapter in this part lays out the architectural arrangement of a typical Orthodox monastery. The second half of the book is a guide for the modern traveller – intended as an itinerary – of the 20 monasteries.

For further reading visit this site. Thanks for publishing in October 2019.

Wim Voogd, 10/3