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Show problematic or intricate subjects. However, I vlll aim at lucidity as much as I can. ,//~~ It would appear necessaryf however,, for ae to present these treasures f to you in their right background and setting, let as for a few Eraaents cross the Atlantic and th© Ifediterranean to Egypt tie cradle of civilisation^ and from Cairo let us undertake what way be described as the worst journey in the world across Steal to th© Monastery of St. Catherine, After two days* wanderings on pathless sands and rocks and v&doroeeo, th© Monastery will dawn upon us as a haven of peace in those inhospitable end almost uninhabited and uninhabitable territories. Founded by Baperor Justinian in or around the year 540, it has the appearance of a Eosan or Byzantine fortress. Hi &ia%ev through a S M & U gate one by coo,, tfe pass the triple portal lined with strong iron sheets and studded with nighty iron mils for reasons of defense in ease of eaergewsy. Once o^sMaj'w© are struck by the labyrinth of Barren and circuitous passages of a typical medieval estebllahasnt. Sosetiiaes we find ourselves walking into a vaulted corridor, soxsBt&aso w© ascend half-worn stairways amidst a quaint cluster of buildings that rise in places fa^M stately storeys above ground level and sink in others to subterranean levels, The Basilica with its nine side chapels stands in the heart.of that conglomeration of irregular structures. A dosen other chapels &m^ found here and there scattered all over the Monastery. Other features include the cloisters* the guest-itaUBe, the refectory, the mill, oil-press, distillery, bakery, kitchens, a pharaaey, servants* quarters, storerooms, earpsnter*s and 9K&.WH& workshop, several water-wells, one of which dates from the H i of Hoses, and, above all, the library. |