Diary of Cyril Strahan Parry - Part 6

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are accustomed to. The feet are also
used to guide the chisel when
using a lathe which is also on the
floor of the ''curled up'' attitude these
niggers get themselves when working
ir Marvellous. I have seen an Arab
turning  pieces of wood no bigger
than Matches for making picture
fames & using his foot to guide the
lathe. We walked back into Cairo
& arrived about 5pm. The native
''Lemonade'' sellers have a peculiar
custom here, they do not call out
what they have to sell but rattle
two pieces of brass  (like saucers)
especially made for the purpose.
The ships of the Third Contingent are
beginning to arrive & so Cairo will 

89 

be visited a  few more thousands of
Australians with plenty of money &
ready to be taken down night & left.
15 Reinforcements have now arrived
by the Runic. They disembarked at Port
Suez & came by Train to Portde Hoabla
but finding no one there to meet them,
they went with the Troops in  Abbassia
Camp. I went out next  morning & met
them  & brought them into Cairo.
A  few days after they arrived we
left the National Residence & moved
into York House just near the office
this is kept by French people (Mcle
Bannerau) & French is the predominant
language, We are quarted 5-6
or eight in a room,  & ''Biscuils''). Our
Meals are very fine & everyone one is
very satisfied. 

90

Sunday 11^th
We visited the Pyramids at Sakarrah
A guide from the house (Ali) made all

the arrangements for us & saw we were

up in time for Breakfast etc. We caught

a train at 7am. & after an hours run

along the Banks of the Nile & through

Date plantations we arrived at

Badeachien Station. Here donkeys
were waiting for us (as we had

telegraphed for them). After passing

through the Egyptian Village of
Badeachien with its quaint mud

houses & Nar_^^row streets we passed

through typical Egyptian Country

till we came to the Site of the

Ancient City of Memphis. All

that is left now is a heap of ruins 

91
& broken pottery of which are Rameses II
and are 45 feet in length (all in one piece) 
The stone is said to have been brought

from Assuan down the Nile which must

have been a fine Engineering feat even in

those days. After passing this we

went to date country & Canals, after

crossing these the Country was open

Rice flats & vegetable gardens.  Here we

found a Native Market being held in

the Middle of a Field, everything in the 

way of Native products & Manufactures

was for sale even to an old Camel

that was being cut up & sold for food.

Later we passed another village & then

arrived at the Edge of the desert. We

halted here under a large Sycamore

tree to give the donkeys a chance

92

While here we watch Arabs climbing

the date palms & tying up the dates 

that were just appearing. Just prior

to this my donkey  had stumbled over

a Stone in the Sand & landed me

there also & then he add insult to

injury fell & rolled on top of me.

However no harm was done to 

either donkeys. After crossing the 

desert for some little while we

arrived at a tomb almost buried

in the sand. We left our "Mounts"

& went inside, down a narrow

"Cutting" till we came to a locked

door, a guide was there so we

went inside & found it to contain

many large rooms all beautifully

carved & coloured, during the day

93

we visited Many old & beautiful tombs

The Grandest of which were the

tombs of the Apis Bulls. These were

reached by an inclined tunnel

about 14' each way. Inside was a large

hall (cut out of the solid rock) 1200 feet 

x 12 ft x 13 ft. & along each side were

Caves (24) each containing a huge stone

Coffin weighing many tons & measuring

roughly 21'x12'x15'. They were beautifully

carved &  polished & did  not show the 

slightest signs of wear.  How on earth

they got them in there is a Marvel

because several attempts have been

made to get them out with modern

machinery & failed to even move 

them as the space is so limited.

They are  made of black granite

94
while the Caves are Sandstone so

they must have been put in at one time

All the paintings & carvings were

Marvellous & in just perfect condition

except that the colours had faded

a bit. They usually represented

the things that happened during

the lifetime of the King for whom

they were erected. We had a lunch

in one of these old tombs (quite a 

contrast). We had dinner in a 

house that was built by a Frenchman
when he was excavating the

Tombs in 1851. This is now used as

one of the Cooks rest houses. The

largest of the Pyramids is called

the ''Step'' pyramid on account of

its shape, & is said to be over 6000 yrs

old.
95
We afterwards retraced our steps &

arrived at Bradeachien about 5 pm

& had a bite at the local Buffet.
Caught our train at 5.10 pm & arrived

in Cairo an hour later. On the way

home we passed a huge swarm of

locusts. It took us many minutes (20)

to pass through them, they swarmed

over everything. It is no wonder our 

worthy old friend Pharoah got the

fright of his life in the good old days

of the Plagues. During the day we

had a fine opportunity of seeing

Native irrigation wheels in action.

These we saw were worked by a

Camel although it is customary to

use Oxen. I managed to get a fine 

picture of me of these. I have now

96

been promoted to the Rank of 

Warrant Officer.                            

Next week we have 2 days leave, 

in addition to Saturday afternoon 

& Sunday so "Bill" Wickham and I

are going to Luxor, 400 odd miles

up the Nile.

Saturday 17th April

During the afternoon we visited the 

Native Bazaar at the Mousky &

spent our time examining and

priceing Silks.

Sunday 18th April

Went with Wick & Fred Ormond to

the house of Mr Monsom roln  an Englishman 
who had married a French wife.

The afternoon was taken up with

tennis. Then we went into Tea and
97
stayed till 9.30pm. Here I met Many
very fine English & French people of the
best classes & had a good all round time.
As we arrived home Fred Wick & Fred
Ormond persuaded me to pretend
to be drunk so they forthwith started
to help me upstairs, by the time I 
reached the top I had perfected the
Act of Acting, so much so, the Mde
Banneriau took us seriously & 
took me into the dining room & gave
me some tea, cutting up meat,
spreading my bread & spoon
feeding me, even apply the servietee
when necessary & putting her arm
round me & filling me up with hot
Cafe & Soda. Afterwards had me
taken upstairs & put into bed

98
clothes & all. As soon as the light
was out I got up but I was ooo late 
to clear myself, & when I saw them
In the morning it was too late to 
convince them. They however
believe I was drunk & don't mind
a bit. The Boys who were laughing
last night laugh even louder to
day as it turned out in an unexpected
Manner.
Saturday 24th April 1915
Fred Wickham & I left by train
at 8pm for Luxor, we were fortunate
enough to get a sleep in the Train &
arrived at 9.10a.m on Sunday
25th April. Here we were met by
a conductor from the Hotel de
Famille & were driven in a cab to our
99
quarters on the Banks of the Nile. Here we
had splendid accommodation. During
the morning we went round the
Temple of Luxor which is right in the
Town, & at Lunch time we met Dick
Lloyd & Jim Comoy & Lt Evans who had
gone up some day previous. In the
afternoon we went to the Temples at
Karnak about ten  minutes drive
from the Town. After this Dick Lloyd
& John Comoy returned to Cairo by
6 p.m train. After dinner we sat
alongside the Nile till late in the
evening
Monday 26th April
Up early in the morning and had
Early Breakfast, crossed the River
in a "Felucca" belonging to the House &

100
took donkeys on the other side.
We set out across the River flats
till we came to a small native
village after this we went along the
bank of a dried up Canal for some
considerable distance. Finally
crossing Farm Country till we
came to the Ruins of an old
Temple We spent about half an hour
looking round this then took to the
donkeys again & after riding for
nearly an hour along a winding
road through the hills we arrived at
the "Tombs of the Kings". There are
believed to be 300 of them but only
130 odd have yet been discovered
We only went in three of them as
They were all much alike. They were
 101

cut out of solid rocks & extended inward
about 300 feet, all the walls were beautifully 
carved & coloured & in most cases
The Mummies were still in the
original Coffins. Later we retraced our
steps & went to the ruins of the Temple
of Deir-El-Bahie also cut into the
wild rocks of the Mountain After this
we made one way to the ruins of
Ramessium w^here  were we had our
lunch & then 3 hour sleep till it was
a bit cooler. Then made out way
home & arrived just in time for dinner.
During the evening we borrowed
the Felucca & went for a sail on
The Nile till nearly 11 pm.
Sunday 27th April
Had an early breakfast & set out 

102
across the River again & took donkeys.
For some distance we went over the
same ground as yesterday & soon
same to the "Colussa" which are
on an open plain. They once formed
the Entrance to a huge temple but
all that now remains of it a few
broken pillars & stones. After passing
this we went into the Hills to the
remains of a Christian Templ. Then
crossed a spur of the mountains
till we came to the Tombs of Queens
Here we found many tombs most of
which contained Mummies.
After spending sometime here we
made our way to the ruins of the
Temple of [[Medirick Iabre?]] which
is one of the finest temples in the 
district 

103

We eventually returned to Luxor
in time for Lunch. After dinner
we took donkeys again & rode
through Luxor to a Big Market.
These markets are held every day but
once a week (Tuesday) there is a very
big one & it was this we saw. Every
conceivably thing was for sale (in the
Nature line anyhow) I took about a
dozen photos here, all of which
turned out well. On our way back
from here we went through the
Luxor Trades School. This is situated
in the Native Quarter & is intended
to teach the Native boys different
trades. Arrived a Hotel just in time 
to get tea & catch a train for Cairo
at 6.10 pm. Slept best part of the way 

104
home & got in a 7 next morning.
We struck Luxor right in the middle
of the Harvesting. The Crops are all
reaped by hand by men, women & 
children. The grain is then carried 
either on the Head or Camels & donkeys.
Over these heaps someone walked
with an arrangement which looked
like a cross between a sledge & a
[[?]] plow, this cuts up the straw
& threshed out the grain. Later it is
sifted out by throwing it in the wind.
All the impliments are very primitive.
The majority wooden even the plough.
All the irrigation is done by wheels 

& wells. Driven by oxen or camels.
the natives up here are not near as
civilised as near Cairo, but all the
Hospitals are full, as the casuality 

photograph - see original document
 

105
same the are the "Backcheise" crowd.
While ^ we were enjoying ourselves the
Boys were making a name for themselves
against the Turks. It appears
they landed under cover of the warships
guns on narrow beach at the foot of
cliffs. Barbed wire entanglement were
encountered under the sea but these
were destroyed by gun fire. After
landing machine guns, Shrapnel &
Entrenchments had to be encountered.
Everything came out all right although
we lost very heavily but nothing like
the Enemy suffered. The Turks were
completely driven out & now the
"Boys" are well established.
Cairo is full of wounded & all the
Hospitals are full, as the casuality