The travels of Sinuhit were involuntary, but a time came when a tour in Palestine was almost as much the fashion as it is to-day. The conquests of Thothmes III. had made Syria an Egyptian province, and had introduced Syrians into the Egyptian bureaucracy. Good roads were made throughout the newly-acquired territory, furnished with post-houses where food and lodging could be procured, and communication between Egypt and Canaan thus became easy and frequent. The fall of the eighteenth dynasty caused only a momentary break in the intercourse between the two countries; with the establishment of the nineteenth dynasty it was again resumed. Messengers passed backward and forward between Syria and the court of the Pharaoh; Asiatics once more thronged into the valley of the Nile, and the Egyptian civil servant and traveller followed in the wake of the victorious armies of Seti and Ramses. The Travels of a Mohar is the result of this renewed acquaintance with the cities and roads of Palestine.
The writer is anxious to display his knowledge of Syrian geography. Though he had not himself ventured to brave the discomforts of foreign travel, he wished to show that he knew as much about Canaan as those who had actually been there. A tour there was after all not much to boast of; it had become so common that the geography of Canaan was as well known as that of Egypt itself, and the stay-at-home scribe had consequently no difficulty in compiling a guide-book to it.
The following is the translation given by Dr. Brugsch of the papyrus, with such alterations as have been necessitated by further study and research. "I will portray for thee the likeness of a Mohar, I will let thee know what he does. Hast thou not gone to the land of the Hittites, and hast thou not seen the land of Aupa? Dost thou not know what Khaduma is like; the land of Igad'i also how it is formed? The Zar (or Plain) of king Sesetsu (Sesostris)—on which side of it lies the town of Aleppo, and how is its ford? Hast thou not taken thy road to Kadesh (on the Orontes) and Tubikhi? Hast thou not gone to the Shasu (Beduin) with numerous mercenaries, and hast thou not trodden the way to the Maghar[at] (the caves of the Magoras near Beyrout) where the heaven is dark in the daytime? The place is planted with maple-trees, oaks, and acacias, which reach up to heaven, full of beasts, bears (?), and lions, and surrounded by Shasu in all directions. Hast thou not ascended the mountain of Shaua, and hast thou not trodden it? There thy hands hold fast to the [rein] of thy chariot; a jerk has shaken thy horses in drawing it. I pray thee, let us go to the city of Beeroth (Beyrout). Hast thou not hastened to its ascent after passing over the ford in front of it?
"Do thou explain this relish for [the life of] a Mohar! Thy chariot lies there [before] thee; thy [feet] have fallen lame; thou treadest the backward path at eventide. All thy limbs are ground small. Thy [bones] are broken to pieces, and thou dost fall asleep. Thou awakest: it is the time of gloomy night, and thou art alone. Has not a thief come to rob thee? Some grooms have entered the stable; the horse kicks out; the thief has made off in the night, thy clothes are stolen. Thy groom wakes up in the night; he sees what has happened to him; he takes what is left, he goes off to bad company, he joins the Beduin. He transforms himself into an Asiatic. The police (?) come, they [feel about] for the robber; he is discovered, and is immovable from terror. Thou wakest, thou findest no trace of them, for they have carried off thy property.
"Become [again] a Mohar who is fully accoutred. Let thy ear be filled with that which I relate to thee besides.
"The town 'Hidden'—such is the meaning of its name Gebal—what is its condition? Its goddess [we will speak of] at another time. Hast thou not visited it? Be good enough to look out for Beyrout, Sidon, and Sarepta. Where are the fords of the land of Nazana? The country of Authu (Usu), what is its condition? They are situated above another city in the sea, Tyre the port is its name. Drinking-water is brought to it in boats. It is richer in fishes than in sand. I will tell thee of something else. It is dangerous to enter Zair'aun. Thou wilt say it is burning with a very painful sting (?). Come, Mohar. Go forward on the way to the land of Pa-'Aina. Where is the road to Achshaph (Ekdippa)? Towards which town? Pray look at the mountain of User. How is its crest? Where is the mountain of Sakama (Shechem)? Who can surmount it? Mohar, whither must you take a journey to the land of Hazor? How is its ford? Show me how one goes to Hamath, Dagara, [and] Dagar-el, to the place where all Mohars meet? Be good enough to spy out its road; cast a look on Yâ.... When one goes to the land of Adamim, to what is one opposite? Do not draw back, but instruct us. Guide us, that we may know, O leader!
"I will name to thee other cities besides these. Hast thou not gone to the land of Takhis, to Kafir-Marona, Tamnah, Kadesh, Dapul, Azai, Harnammata, and hast thou not seen Kirjath-Anab, near Beth-Sopher? and dost thou not know Adullam [and] Zidiputa? Or dost thou not know any better the name of Khalza in the land of Aupa, [like] a bull upon its frontiers? Here is the place where all the mighty warriors are seen. Be good enough to look and see the chapel of the land of Qina, and tell me about Rehob. Describe Beth-sha-el (Beth-el) along with Tarqa-el. The ford of the land of Jordan, how is it crossed? Teach me to know the passage that leads to the land of Megiddo, which lies in front of it. Verily thou art a Mohar, well skilled in the work of the strong hand. Pray, is there found a Mohar like thee, to place at the head of the army, or a seigneur who can beat thee in shooting?
"Beware of the gorge of the precipice, 2000 cubits deep, which is full of rocks and boulders. Thou turnest back in a zigzag, thou bearest thy bow, thou takest the iron in thy left hand. Thou lettest the old men see, if their eyes are good, how, worn out with fatigue, thou supportest thyself with thy hand. Ebed gamal Mohar n'amu ('A camel's slave is the Mohar! they say'); so they say, and thou gainest a name among the Mohars and the knights of the land of Egypt. Thy name becomes like that of Qazairnai, the lord of Asel, when the lions found him in the thicket, in the defile which is rendered dangerous by the Shasu who lie in ambush among the trees. They measured four cubits from the nose to the heel, they had a grim look, without softness; they cared not for caresses.
"Thou art alone, no strong one is with thee, no armée is behind thee, no Ariel who prepares the way for thee, and gives thee information of the road before thee. Thou knowest not the road. The hair on thy head stands on end; it bristles up. Thy soul is given into thy hands. Thy path is full of rocks and boulders, there is no outlet near, it is overgrown with creepers and wolf's-bane. The precipice is on one side of thee, the mountain and the wall of rock on the other. Thou drivest in against it. The chariot jumps on which thou art. Thou art troubled to hold up thy horses. If it falls down the precipice, the pole drags thee down too. Thy ceintures are pulled away. They fall down. Thou shacklest the horse, because the pole is broken on the path of the defile. Not knowing how to tie it up, thou understandest not how it is to be repaired. The essieu is left on the spot, as the load is too heavy for the horses. Thy courage has evaporated. Thou beginnest to run. The heaven is cloudless. Thou art thirsty; the enemy is behind thee; a trembling seizes thee; a twig of thorny acacia worries thee; thou thrustest it aside; the horse is scratched till at length thou findest rest.
"Explain to me thy liking for [the life of] a Mohar!