THE GRIFFON GETS BAUDOLINO TO CONSTANTINOPLE IN 1204

Baudolino dozes off while looking at the griffons, one of which…flies off the tent’s cover and, after circling the courtyard, lowers itself by Baudolino who gets on its back. They fly over the Nile, desert land, the shore of Mediterranean, then inland. Baudolino rejoices at the sight of a fortress with tall towers and minarets, Read More …

Jerusalem in 1187: Fight or surrender?

It takes Saladin nine years to conquer Aleppo after surviving an assassination plot. Thus, in 1183 he controls the valleys of Egypt, Tigris and Euphrates and is about 600 miles from Jerusalem. The Templar Reynald angers him by attempting to destroy a Muslim shrine in Egypt and sacking a caravan that, legend say, included Saladin’s Read More …