Item 01: J. E. Morrison diary, 13 October 1917-29 October 1918 - Page 157
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[Page 157]
the Port of Jedda where they are brought by steamers & then they have to walk back & from a distance of 12.4 miles. [124 miles] On the way hundreds perish & also killed & robbed on their way through the mountain passes. When they get to Mecca & Mohomad's tomb there they leave money & valuables on his tomb as Peter's pence. No one seems to know where this money & valuables go to, the pilgrims being so illiterate & so simple. Yet the old custom goes on year after year until such time as these class of creed are properly educated. A matter of time. Probably there will be a great change after this war & the evolution of this world.
The weather is exceedingly hot & oppressive, in fact the hottest we have experienced during our stay in Egypt. That is sailing down the Red Sea, on the land probably it is far worse. The heat so intense that a European could not live with any comfort in such a country, so that the British troops have to put up with great hardship being out in these parts.