“It is miraculous,” said Nicephorus. “To think of the impossible antiquity of the Earth. Imagine the ancient history of this world. Look at these hills of rock and think: it has been six thousand years, six thousand long years, since the Earth was formed molten in the Creator’s hands. And since then, empire after empire spread here. The kingdom of giants. The Greeks. The Persians. The Romans. Byzantium. We are passing over their dining halls and marketplaces. We are so blessed to walk for a while in this place, before we too are covered with silt.”
