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Traveler Journal
Dido’s Journal
9/27/2010
Rachael, Anne, and Keith Third moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
This is my very first entry and I think we should get to know each other. My name is Dido. I have six little sisters and a very strict mother. I think she is run down from taking care of all these girls. My father is my best friend and I am his favorite daughter. He supplies a good life for us working at the ports. You see my country revolves around the water. I live in Phoenicia, and we are called the seafaring people because of our location (Phoenicians, 2010). I value our location because it creates a job for my father. It also gives my sisters and me a place to play and relax. Our location makes trade easy, boosting our economy. We live in the Asia Minor and we are surrounded by the Mediterranean. Here is a map I drew of our location:
We are in the middle class and we always have food on the table. My favorite food is corn because there is not very much room in Phoenicia to grow crops. Most of the food we eat comes from the water so any crop is a treat. I spend my time trying to make the prestigious Tyrian purple dye only found in Tyre, the city in which I live. Only the wealthiest people wear clothes made with the purple dye, and I am determined to have a purple tunic one day. Well journal, I think that I have given you enough information for one day, good night.
Fifth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
Sorry I didn’t write last night. Father has come down with quite a fever. I’ve had to take care of him these past few days. He is calling me now, I must go.
Eighth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
I am quite worried about father. He is still sick and has not been able to work. I am now forced to work to bring in money for my family. I am working for the local artist and making paint. I use animal fat as the binding and add in different pigments for color. It is a small income, but it keeps food on the table. I hope father gets well soon so he can go back to work. Our place on the social hierarchy is quickly deteriorating. The social classes here are very flexible, meaning you can change classes very easily. You are not born to a class and expected to stay in that class for the rest of your life (Khalaf, 2010). My mother worries about how much longer we can survive without his income.
Fifteenth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
Father’s condition is quickly fading right before my eyes. I have made up my mind; I am going to find a cure. I have saved up enough money for my family to live off of while I am gone. My sister, Adonia, and I will travel to Egypt and Babylon in search of medicine. I can conclude that my father caught the fever from incoming cargo from one of these two countries. These countries have made large advances in architecture; I hope they have made advances in medicine as well. It will be a long journey, Journal, and I’m really glad that I will have you with me. I love my countries location; it will be very easy to get to these countries because they are both accessible by boat. We will leave early tomorrow and our first stop will be Babylon.
Seventeenth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
After a long boat trip through the Red and Persian Seas, we finally reached the mouth of the Tigris River. Boating up this river reminded me of the tales I had heard of the Nile, but this was so different. All along the river you could find merchants selling all kinds of different foods; I had seen all of these different foods before, but never ones so big, colorful, and in such abundance. Where I’m from the soil is sandy because we live along the sea, but here the lands are rich and perfect for large harvests. We saw barley and chick peas as long as the eye could see and apples and dates as bright as the sun. When we reached the city, we had never seen anything so large and grand. People, all wearing different colored outfits, were making their way through the streets and alleys. The buildings were all so tall and large that it was mystifying how they didn't fall right down.
lose to the docks, we heard many different languages and saw many different colors of skin trading with one another. As you moved closer to the epicenter of the city, you passed through simple, poorer, farming neighborhoods. In these suburbs you saw little color in the clothing, but as you moved closer to the larger buildings, the colors shot out at you. People here were wealthier and this was showed in the clothes they wore. Here, you only heard Akkadian being spoken, so I had a difficult time communicating. Even with this I could gather that people were talking about a current war the Babylonians were fighting, no one seemed worried for this was a common event for Babylonians. I saw the grand palace, which was home to the king Hammurabi. His set of laws known as Hammurabi’s Code could be seen posted on walls throughout the city. In my home town the consequences for crimes isn’t set for all but decided individually. It makes me think about how different a society can be when we are so close. The Babylonians have no knowledge of the fever. We are going to go to Egypt; we have no time to waste.
Twentieth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
We are on a boat to Egypt right now. The captain says we will reach our destination in about a week. Adonia has been seasick this whole time and it’s very cramped out on deck. I can’t wait to stretch out my legs on land once again.
Twenty-ninth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
We have finally arrived in Egypt. As we were coming into the port, I noticed grand statues of these men with large hats and strange goatees. What a unique place this is! Here is a picture of these statues:
I also noticed many guards along the port; I would be scared if I wasn’t on such a mission.
Twenty-eighth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
Today was a long day of chatting with the locals. Remember how I was telling you about the statues of the men with the funny hats and goatees? Well apparently these men are the Pharaohs. A Pharaoh is the ultimate ruler of Egypt, sort of like a king we have in Phoenicia (Ancient Egypt Government. 1996, July 22). That is one thing I do not like about my country. Instead of a king with a court of older men from each city-state, I’d like for a sort of democracy with elected officials and fair rule. I’d also love if women could be involved with the government one day. Anyways, back to Egypt. The Pharaohs are worshipped as gods and in Phoenicia; the kings are not nearly as revered as the gods. This means Egypt is a theocracy, which is a government ruled by a religious authority. The Pharaoh is assisted by priest-kings, who were the only ones worthy of dealing with the Pharaoh’s commands (Ancient Egypt Government. 1996, July 22). he Egyptians have many gods like we do, but ours are more about fertility and nature. The Egyptian gods are more like Pharaohs who have died and become gods or personified things like Ra, the sun god. The people are afraid of the gods because if they angered them, they would not be able to go to the afterlife. Both Phoenicia and Egypt have powerful city-states. The Egyptian Hieroglyphics are also similar to our Phoentic alphabet but ours is a lot less laborious. Here is a picture of the twenty-two letters of the Phoentic alphabet: ll the people here are very tall and muscular. They do a lot of manual labor building grand cities and temples for the Pharaohs. They all wear beautiful white tunics and even the men wear eye makeup. The men keep their hair short and shave their facial hair; only the Pharaohs usually have goatees. The women here are beautiful with long hair and drenched in gold jewelry. This is most certainly not like home. I think Adonia really likes it here but we are on a mission and need to get home as soon as possible. I asked around about the fever, but the language barrier makes it almost impossible to communicate.
Twenty-ninth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
Thank you for being such a good listener; you don’t know how comforting you have been to me during these past few weeks. I learned a bit more about this strange place today from a new friend. Her name is Akila and she can speak to us in our language because her brother lives in Phoenicia. She had us over for dinner tonight. We had a meal with bread, beer, melon, and duck. It was delicious. The Nile River is very important to the Egyptians. It is used in agriculture to grow wheat to make bread, barley for beer, melon, and more. Akila was telling me how the Egyptians refuse to eat pig because they were afraid that it carried leprosy. The Nile makes Egypt very fertile even though it is in the desert. The Nile is also necessary for trade. The Nile is basically the center of Egyptian life. Akila also calls Egypt the “Gift of the Nile,” because of how without the Nile, there would be no Egypt. Akila’s husband is a scribe and he keeps track of business transactions on this great new thing called papyrus. It is made from reeds and makes a transportable writing surface. Some other jobs are tomb builders, craftsmen, farmers, etc. The sons are depended on to take up their father’s job when he came of age. All classes have to pay taxes for the government and the army. Without these taxes, the Pharaohs could not complete their huge projects, like the pyramids. Akila tells me these are gigantic, triangular structures built to hold the grave of the Pharaoh and all the expensive possessions buried along with him. Wow, that sounds like a lot of work! There was one sour part of our visit with Akila. She warned us about the governments’ obsession of the possible takeovers of other countries. Akila says that they have a very strong army and have experience from when the Hyksos attacked (The Atlas of the Ancient World. Oliphant, M 1992). Since Egypt is one of the top empires, they are the target of many of the surrounding countries. She says that they are always prepared for battle. Akila just told us to be cautious of the guards and to avoid eye contact because they think that all foreigners are spies. I could tell that scared Adonia a little. I asked her about the fever. She said it had affected her city a few months ago but was gone now. She said she didn’t know the cure but odds are someone does!
Thirtieth moon, second month: Dear Journal,
I am so scared! Today we were at the market buying lunch and one of the guards approached Adonia. He was talking to her, trying to ask her questions. She was following Akila’s advice and not looking the guard in the eye. I guess this made him angry and even more suspicious. He grabbed her arm and started dragging her away! I couldn't let this happen. I ran to him and begged for him to let my sister go. He said some things that I couldn't understand and then transported both of us to a cell in their city prison. He brought us a translator who told us that we were being held for suspicious activity and that we would have to explain our case to judge tomorrow. We aren’t spies; I don’t know what we are going to do! Oh I hope father can hold on until we get home!
First moon, third month: Dear Journal,
Today we met in front of a judge. He wore a grand headpiece and a clean white robe. He asked who sent us to spy on them. I told him that we weren’t spies. He did not believe us. He said that we were helping to plan an attack and that he would find out who sent us one way or the other. Adonia got emotional at this point and started to cry. I pleaded our case saying that we weren’t spies, just two sisters from Phoenicia searching for a cure to our father’s fever. I could tell the judge was hesitant, but he saw the truth in our eyes. He was actually a very kind man and then sent us to a local doctor who could also speak Phoenician. We were almost ready to go home! We met with the doctor who gave us an herbal remedy he had used to treat the fever in the area. He said that father should be back to normal within a few weeks after taking the medicine. I only hope father is alive when we get home!
Tenth moon, third month: Dear Journal,
Adonia and I are home in Tyre and we ran home to father. He is alive, but he was only hanging on by a thread when we arrived. We gave him the medicine and we prayed to the gods for a strong recovery. All we can do now is wait.
Twentieth moon, third month: Dear Journal,
Life is a beautiful thing my friend! Father can now walk, talk, and laugh like he did before the fever. His recovery is remarkable and he is only getting better. We were so scared that we almost lost him, and now our family has only become closer. My mother even smiles more now! I am still working, but now I work for myself. I make my own pots and paints and make an even better income for my family. Adonia is my assistant. Father is returning to his normal self and in the process, my best friend is returning. One day I came home from work, and my family surprised me with my very own purple tunic! My life is the best it has been in a long, long time. Thanks Journal, for being here for me during the thick and thin. You really are a blessing.
Traveler Journal
Dido’s Journal
9/27/2010
Rachael, Anne, and Keith
Third moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
This is my very first entry and I think we should get to know each other. My name is Dido. I have six little sisters and a very strict mother. I think she is run down from taking care of all these girls. My father is my best friend and I am his favorite daughter. He supplies a good life for us working at the ports. You see my country revolves around the water. I live in Phoenicia, and we are called the seafaring people because of our location (Phoenicians, 2010). I value our location because it creates a job for my father. It also gives my sisters and me a place to play and relax. Our location makes trade easy, boosting our economy. We live in the Asia Minor and we are surrounded by the Mediterranean. Here is a map I drew of our location:
We are in the middle class and we always have food on the table. My favorite food is corn because there is not very much room in Phoenicia to grow crops. Most of the food we eat comes from the water so any crop is a treat. I spend my time trying to make the prestigious Tyrian purple dye only found in Tyre, the city in which I live. Only the wealthiest people wear clothes made with the purple dye, and I am determined to have a purple tunic one day. Well journal, I think that I have given you enough information for one day, good night.
Fifth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
Sorry I didn’t write last night. Father has come down with quite a fever. I’ve had to take care of him these past few days. He is calling me now, I must go.
Eighth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
I am quite worried about father. He is still sick and has not been able to work. I am now forced to work to bring in money for my family. I am working for the local artist and making paint. I use animal fat as the binding and add in different pigments for color. It is a small income, but it keeps food on the table. I hope father gets well soon so he can go back to work. Our place on the social hierarchy is quickly deteriorating. The social classes here are very flexible, meaning you can change classes very easily. You are not born to a class and expected to stay in that class for the rest of your life (Khalaf, 2010). My mother worries about how much longer we can survive without his income.
Fifteenth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
Father’s condition is quickly fading right before my eyes. I have made up my mind; I am going to find a cure. I have saved up enough money for my family to live off of while I am gone. My sister, Adonia, and I will travel to Egypt and Babylon in search of medicine. I can conclude that my father caught the fever from incoming cargo from one of these two countries. These countries have made large advances in architecture; I hope they have made advances in medicine as well. It will be a long journey, Journal, and I’m really glad that I will have you with me. I love my countries location; it will be very easy to get to these countries because they are both accessible by boat. We will leave early tomorrow and our first stop will be Babylon.
Seventeenth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
After a long boat trip through the Red and Persian Seas, we finally reached the mouth of the Tigris River. Boating up this river reminded me of the tales I had heard of the Nile, but this was so different. All along the river you could find merchants selling all kinds of different foods; I had seen all of these different foods before, but never ones so big, colorful, and in such abundance. Where I’m from the soil is sandy because we live along the sea, but here the lands are rich and perfect for large harvests. We saw barley and chick peas as long as the eye could see and apples and dates as bright as the sun. When we reached the city, we had never seen anything so large and grand. People, all wearing different colored outfits, were making their way through the streets and alleys. The buildings were all so tall and large that it was mystifying how they didn't fall right down.
lose to the docks, we heard many different languages and saw many different colors of skin trading with one another. As you moved closer to the epicenter of the city, you passed through simple, poorer, farming neighborhoods. In these suburbs you saw little color in the clothing, but as you moved closer to the larger buildings, the colors shot out at you. People here were wealthier and this was showed in the clothes they wore. Here, you only heard Akkadian being spoken, so I had a difficult time communicating. Even with this I could gather that people were talking about a current war the Babylonians were fighting, no one seemed worried for this was a common event for Babylonians.
I saw the grand palace, which was home to the king Hammurabi. His set of laws known as Hammurabi’s Code could be seen posted on walls throughout the city. In my home town the consequences for crimes isn’t set for all but decided individually. It makes me think about how different a society can be when we are so close. The Babylonians have no knowledge of the fever. We are going to go to Egypt; we have no time to waste.
Twentieth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
We are on a boat to Egypt right now. The captain says we will reach our destination in about a week. Adonia has been seasick this whole time and it’s very cramped out on deck. I can’t wait to stretch out my legs on land once again.
Twenty-ninth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
We have finally arrived in Egypt. As we were coming into the port, I noticed grand statues of these men with large hats and strange goatees. What a unique place this is! Here is a picture of these statues:
I also noticed many guards along the port; I would be scared if I wasn’t on such a mission.
Twenty-eighth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
Today was a long day of chatting with the locals. Remember how I was telling you about the statues of the men with the funny hats and goatees? Well apparently these men are the Pharaohs. A Pharaoh is the ultimate ruler of Egypt, sort of like a king we have in Phoenicia (Ancient Egypt Government. 1996, July 22). That is one thing I do not like about my country. Instead of a king with a court of older men from each city-state, I’d like for a sort of democracy with elected officials and fair rule. I’d also love if women could be involved with the government one day. Anyways, back to Egypt. The Pharaohs are worshipped as gods and in Phoenicia; the kings are not nearly as revered as the gods. This means Egypt is a theocracy, which is a government ruled by a religious authority. The Pharaoh is assisted by priest-kings, who were the only ones worthy of dealing with the Pharaoh’s commands (Ancient Egypt Government. 1996, July 22).
he Egyptians have many gods like we do, but ours are more about fertility and nature. The Egyptian gods are more like Pharaohs who have died and become gods or personified things like Ra, the sun god. The people are afraid of the gods because if they angered them, they would not be able to go to the afterlife. Both Phoenicia and Egypt have powerful city-states.
The Egyptian Hieroglyphics are also similar to our Phoentic alphabet but ours is a lot less laborious. Here is a picture of the twenty-two letters of the Phoentic alphabet:
ll the people here are very tall and muscular. They do a lot of manual labor building grand cities and temples for the Pharaohs. They all wear beautiful white tunics and even the men wear eye makeup. The men keep their hair short and shave their facial hair; only the Pharaohs usually have goatees. The women here are beautiful with long hair and drenched in gold jewelry. This is most certainly not like home. I think Adonia really likes it here but we are on a mission and need to get home as soon as possible. I asked around about the fever, but the language barrier makes it almost impossible to communicate.
Twenty-ninth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
Thank you for being such a good listener; you don’t know how comforting you have been to me during these past few weeks. I learned a bit more about this strange place today from a new friend. Her name is Akila and she can speak to us in our language because her brother lives in Phoenicia. She had us over for dinner tonight. We had a meal with bread, beer, melon, and duck. It was delicious. The Nile River is very important to the Egyptians. It is used in agriculture to grow wheat to make bread, barley for beer, melon, and more. Akila was telling me how the Egyptians refuse to eat pig because they were afraid that it carried leprosy. The Nile makes Egypt very fertile even though it is in the desert. The Nile is also necessary for trade. The Nile is basically the center of Egyptian life. Akila also calls Egypt the “Gift of the Nile,” because of how without the Nile, there would be no Egypt.
Akila’s husband is a scribe and he keeps track of business transactions on this great new thing called papyrus. It is made from reeds and makes a transportable writing surface. Some other jobs are tomb builders, craftsmen, farmers, etc. The sons are depended on to take up their father’s job when he came of age. All classes have to pay taxes for the government and the army. Without these taxes, the Pharaohs could not complete their huge projects, like the pyramids. Akila tells me these are gigantic, triangular structures built to hold the grave of the Pharaoh and all the expensive possessions buried along with him. Wow, that sounds like a lot of work!
There was one sour part of our visit with Akila. She warned us about the governments’ obsession of the possible takeovers of other countries. Akila says that they have a very strong army and have experience from when the Hyksos attacked (The Atlas of the Ancient World. Oliphant, M 1992). Since Egypt is one of the top empires, they are the target of many of the surrounding countries. She says that they are always prepared for battle. Akila just told us to be cautious of the guards and to avoid eye contact because they think that all foreigners are spies. I could tell that scared Adonia a little.
I asked her about the fever. She said it had affected her city a few months ago but was gone now. She said she didn’t know the cure but odds are someone does!
Thirtieth moon, second month:
Dear Journal,
I am so scared! Today we were at the market buying lunch and one of the guards approached Adonia. He was talking to her, trying to ask her questions. She was following Akila’s advice and not looking the guard in the eye. I guess this made him angry and even more suspicious. He grabbed her arm and started dragging her away! I couldn't let this happen. I ran to him and begged for him to let my sister go. He said some things that I couldn't understand and then transported both of us to a cell in their city prison. He brought us a translator who told us that we were being held for suspicious activity and that we would have to explain our case to judge tomorrow. We aren’t spies; I don’t know what we are going to do! Oh I hope father can hold on until we get home!
First moon, third month:
Dear Journal,
Today we met in front of a judge. He wore a grand headpiece and a clean white robe. He asked who sent us to spy on them. I told him that we weren’t spies. He did not believe us. He said that we were helping to plan an attack and that he would find out who sent us one way or the other. Adonia got emotional at this point and started to cry. I pleaded our case saying that we weren’t spies, just two sisters from Phoenicia searching for a cure to our father’s fever. I could tell the judge was hesitant, but he saw the truth in our eyes. He was actually a very kind man and then sent us to a local doctor who could also speak Phoenician. We were almost ready to go home!
We met with the doctor who gave us an herbal remedy he had used to treat the fever in the area. He said that father should be back to normal within a few weeks after taking the medicine. I only hope father is alive when we get home!
Tenth moon, third month:
Dear Journal,
Adonia and I are home in Tyre and we ran home to father. He is alive, but he was only hanging on by a thread when we arrived. We gave him the medicine and we prayed to the gods for a strong recovery. All we can do now is wait.
Twentieth moon, third month:
Dear Journal,
Life is a beautiful thing my friend! Father can now walk, talk, and laugh like he did before the fever. His recovery is remarkable and he is only getting better. We were so scared that we almost lost him, and now our family has only become closer. My mother even smiles more now! I am still working, but now I work for myself. I make my own pots and paints and make an even better income for my family. Adonia is my assistant. Father is returning to his normal self and in the process, my best friend is returning. One day I came home from work, and my family surprised me with my very own purple tunic! My life is the best it has been in a long, long time. Thanks Journal, for being here for me during the thick and thin. You really are a blessing.
Sources:
Ancient egypt government. (1996, July 22). Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/3011/egypt3.htm#
Carr, K. (2009, January 19). Egyptian clothing. Retrieved from http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/clothing/
Carr, K. (2009, January 21). Egyptian food. Retrieved from http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/food/egyptfood.htm
Khalaf, S.G. (2010). Phoenician government and politics. Retrieved from http://phoenicia.org/govern.html
Oliphant, M. (1992). The atlas of the ancient world. Simon & Schuster
Phoenicians. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/J002807/Time%20and%20Time%20Again/Time%20and%20Time%20Again/phoenicians.html#