Western Civilization

Andrew Koehler

June 6 , 2010

Traveling in the New Kingdom of Egypt

Life on the road to Thebes is hard for anyone , not the least for a foreigner from the land of Egypt 's former enemy . Not that it makes much difference if you have money . The poor walk the rich take horses or camels . If you are walking along the roads and are suspected of being a foreigner , be prepared to be harassed . As for me , I am fortunate . I am neither poor , nor rich for I have some skills of

value . These skills I would consider modest in comparison to the military conquests of other men which have defined most of my life . My name is Jakarob , the son of a stone mason from the land of Syria , but that land has long been abandoned by my family . The Hittite invasion swept away my father 's house . As a result , I received very little knowledge of stonemasonry and instead , survived by learning the art of languages such as Akkadian Sumerian , and Egyptian . My knowledge of the surrounding regions languages , and eventual journey into Egypt has made me a valuable asset to the court of Pharaoh Ahmose I

The caravan I ride with is apart of a group of professionals answering the request of the pharaoh many of them have military expertise . These men are like me in ancestry . We are Semites who came across the Sinai into the land of Egypt seeking refuge in the land of Egypt...