The steamship Columbia outside Asyut

ADVENTUROUS TIMES IN ASYUT

Columbia by the shore outside Asyut. The flags for the boat were brought by the family from Sweden.
Ida Uhse describes the stay in Asyut in her travel diary:

“Asyut, 3rd of Jan. The most important of all the cities of the Nile. In the evenings we take lovely walks in the moonlight, which sometimes become quite adventurous. To get across the deep gorges along the banks of the Nile we often had to slide down the precipice on a plank or on a palm trunk sawed in half as the village was situated high up on the opposite side of the gorge. These slides made us laugh heartily and offered us much pleasure. In the city there is a large bazaar and a beautiful Arabic cemetery. Everywhere along the mountain ridges there are rock tombs. We climbed to the highest top of the mountain plateau and from there we had a stunning view of the fertile valley, the city and the cemetery. I find it terrible that people will not leave the rock tombs in peace, but they have been opened and bones and wrapped up parts of mummies lie scattered around.

Here we purchased earthenware, bowls and a rake."