State Library of NSW
[Page 101]
amuse us by playing tom toms & dancing. It was amusing too. At the end of every item there was a chorus of Hip hip hurrah – Very good – very nice – then Ibrahim stands up & says "God bless the King of England and all the Sisters". So ends the 1st day. The next is planned for Thebes to see the Tombs of the Kings. So we start at 9am cross the Nile & take donks or drive as we please. The tombs are 6 miles away westwards, the road winds & winds first over desert then by Cultivated fields & tis pretty to see the Natives amongst their goats & donkeys but how they pest you to buy scarabs etc. Very soon all life seems to be shut out; the hills rise higher & higher & we are in the heart of the Mountains where the Kings chose their last resting place. I would ask an apology in attempting to describe them: To do it one would indeed need to be an Archaeologist. I know we go down & down steps & along dark corridors which end in 3 or 4 chambers & in one is the depression in the floor where the sarcophagus was placed. The paintings & carvings on the walls represent the passage of the Kings soul. His obeisance to the Spirits & Gods also the scenes of his daily life on earth. There are 40 Toms in all but as its hot & tiring the 4 most important ones satisfy us. The tomb of Seth T I like best. The carvings & colouring all beautiful & as fresh today as when they were done. In the tomb of Amenlotes II (Rameses the Great Son) is the only one where the Mummy still remains & near to him are the mummies of his wife & servant.
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