Athos of the North

The Monastic Choir of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. Precentor Hierodeacon German (Ryabtsev)
The Valaam Monastery has been called «The Athos of the North» even in the ancient times. Like the Holy Mount Athos it has become a «monastic country», where old liturgical rubrics and old traditions of church singing are being revived.
You will hear hymns of mostly Byzantine and Znamenny chants, different in structure and style of performance, but similar in their strictness. Even in the festive Paschal stanzas the joy is hidden under an outer austerity and asceticism.

#athosofthenorth #valaammonastery #byzantine #music

I love this first one ...

An ornate #Byzantine floor #mosaic showing a variety of colorful birds and other animals has been discovered by chance in #Gaza after a Palestinian farmer tried to plant new trees on his land

https://reut.rs/3BlJlP8

Gaza farmer unearths Byzantine-era mosaic

An ornate Byzantine floor mosaic showing a variety of colourful birds and other animals has been discovered by chance in Gaza after a Palestinian farmer tried to plant new trees on his land.