Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-06-10
A. C. BAKER WRITES
ABOUT TRIP TO CAIRO
Continued from first page)

We are going to Karnak this af-
Iternoon 1t is about three miles out
and we are in search of a donkey.
wish to inform those that have
not been in these foreign countries
that wherever you may ride there
you have footman who runs behind
| as you ride to care for your donkey.
These men, many of them, forty
years old will run all day at speed
that an American would not believe
possible. These donkey boys were
Exhibiting their donkeys and desiring
you to test them. l was told that
Gingerbread was the strongest DON
key there. His footman, Joseph,
brought him around; he had a rec
ommend from Roosevelt that he had
ridden Gingerbread five days, also a
recommend from Croker of Califor-
mia, saying he had ridden him two
days and that they were fully salts
fled with Gingerbread and donkey
boy Joseph.
Though not a rider, I was soon on
| Gingerbread, and at a splendid speed
riding to Karnak the great temple,
my donkey boy keeping at my side
and in very good English explaining
all passing scenes.
The temple of Karnak we are told
| by our lecturer was commenced
about FIVE thousand years since and
was three thousand years in build
ing, each ruler of Egypt adding a
section to it. 1t covered, when sha-
ken down at the time / have before
described by the great earthquake,
ten hundred and eighty acres. They
now have about one hundred and
eighty acres of this excavated. 1t
had an avenue of Sphinxes carved
out of sandstone of one thousand fac
ing on an avenue reaching to the
great temple at Thebes and an ave-
nue. of lion headed sphinx of six hun
dred reaching to Luxor. The sphinx,
reaching to Thebes, had rams heads
and lions bodies, and anyone of these
would be work to inspire one with
wonder at their perfect ehiseling and
proportions. We are riding up
through this evenue of lion sphinx.
The vandal and Mahomedan, who
will not allow these craven ina ges,
has blasted off the heads and caused
as complete destruction as possible,
but still the geographical society is
getting together a large number and
resetting them in their former pla-
ces. The foundation stone for large
portion still stands in place. They
are remounting them, fastening on
the great heads to bodies not much
injured and restored portion will
give some impression of what this
must have once been. At the time
| of the great earthquake, the river,
which ran on the other side of the
temple, changed it's bed and cut
through the avenue of rams head
sphinx, placing Thebes on the oppo-
site side of the Nile and leaving
Karnak separated from their other
great religious temples.
AS we approach the great temple
the pylon of the great temple OF
Khons stands at the commencement
of these sphinx avenues. This pylor
stands over one hundred feet high
/ the immense blocks of sandstone
handsomely chiseled, make a monu
ment of perfect symetry; on all side.
are chisled hyreglyphs describing the
great events of that age. This tenn
pie was dedicated to Horus anC
Anon Ra, Horus being represented b.
the sparrow hawk and Anon Ra be
ing the god of the sun. At the toll
of the pylon, above the entrance
was carved the representation o
Horus the hawk with the rays of TIT
<hAhOh ieo idoidIih6 iiohl IL
These rays were colored with the full
solar spectrum and though this col
cring has been there for thousand
of years it still retains fresh brigh
tint.
/ AS you enter the temple you se
in many places Anon Ras sun rays
cannot occupy space to only des
cribe the work of one Pharoah RANT
ses the I'd. This Ramises, the per
secutor Of the Jews, built during hi
reign a section containing 1876 col
umns, &C feet high and twelve fee
in diameter is the most impressive
AS one enters this hypostile and con
templates those great stone restin
: On these columns he cannot under
stand how such immense blocks
: weighing thousands of tons wer
placed in position. This portion
r entirely eNcavatedSand muchl of tn
, fallen work being again placed in it
: original position A little farthe
back are the great obelisks place
there by Thouthmes LIST, the larg
est being the greatest obelisk eve