“What’s the secret?” I asked.
“Oh, so now you’re interested?” she said. “It starts a long time ago, in Africa....”
PART 1 I AM ENSLAVED. THIS IS MY STORY.
(1461–1460 BCE)
Diary of Zosar Zuberi, a boy in Aswan, Egypt, where Cleopatra’s Needle was carved
Translated from Egyptian
Obelisks were carved at the granite quarry in Aswan, Egypt.
DAY 1
We were rudely awakened in the middle of the night by our master. He told us to pack our things immediately. Why are we being taken away? I have done nothing wrong. My family has always obeyed the rules. Why are they doing this to us? This is our home.
DAY 2
We were put on a boat and taken to Aswan. Mother, father, and all three of my sisters. I don’t know why we have been moved. Is this a punishment? I don’t know what we have done. My little sister, Nakia, has been crying all morning.
Every time there is a knock on the door in the middle of the night, we know we will be moving. We go where we are told. At least our family will be allowed to stay together this time.
DAY 3
We arrived by boat on the Nile to Aswan. I think I know why we were taken here. This is where the quarries are. Aswan has the best pink granite in all the world. Huge blocks of it. The granite is used to make monuments and statues, which are brought to all parts of Egypt for people to admire.
My father has worked as a stonecutter. He is very good at carving granite. His services must be needed. I am just glad the rest of us are allowed to be with him. But I am afraid the masters are going to put me to work too this time. I just celebrated my birthday number nine. So now I am a man. I am capable of lifting heavy objects and working long hours under the hot sun. I am a hard worker and will do a good job, because I do not want to be whipped.
DAY 4
We have been put in temporary quarters. There is no roof, but that will not be a problem because rain hardly ever comes. We have been told, as we expected, that my father and I will work in the quarry. My mother and sisters have been assigned to work the fields. We start first thing tomorrow morning. I have never carved stone before. It looks like very hard work. My father says he will teach me.
DAY 5
Father and I were taken on a long march to the quarry. It must be a very large project that we will be working on. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of workers here. Many of them are paid laborers who work the fields during the growing season, and then come to Aswan to work in the quarry during the remainder of the year. Many others are prisoners who have been convicted of committing crimes. A boy who looked like he was my age told me his uncle took a piece of fruit that did not belong to him and was sentenced to five years of hard labor in Aswan.
Many others are enslaved people, like us. Years ago, my parents were taken captive during a war in Syria and brought to Egypt. Their heads were shaved and they were branded with the pharaoh’s name. The children of an enslaved person are also enslaved, so I am a slave.
I have never been able to understand how it is possible for one human being to own another human being. How can that be right? My father says that is the way it has always been, and that is the way it will always be. So I should get used to it.
DAY 6
We were introduced to the overseer. His name is Yamu-nedjeh. He looks like a very mean man and he spoke roughly to us. He demands total obedience and promises punishment if we disobey. The masters are always mean men. I suppose you have to be mean if you are going to be a master.
Yamu-nedjeh told us why we have been brought here. The pharaoh, Thutmosis III, has tasked us to carve a large obelisk out of the granite. I did not know what an obelisk was, but my father whispered the answer to me. An obelisk is a long, four-sided monument that slopes gradually from its base and comes to a point at the top.
I do not understand. Why is making an obelisk so important to the pharaoh? There are so many workers here. Could not our labors be put to better use if we were assigned to grow crops and feed the hungry people of Egypt? That is what I would do if I were pharaoh. I would try to make life better for my people.
It seems to be a waste of time and energy to have hundreds of men make a stone monument that serves no purpose except that it will be pleasant to look at. But my father says to keep such views to myself if I do not want to be punished. I am not here to think, he says. I am here to work.
DAY 7
It is very hot, dry, and dusty in Aswan. It will not be easy to work outside all day. My father said it is going to take a very long time to carve an obelisk out of granite. He says I may be twelve or thirteen years old by the time we are finished. That is okay with me, but I feel sorry for him. Father is thirty-five years now, so he is an old man. Few people live to reach the number fifty. Working out in the sun is no way to spend your final years.
Father does not like to talk about what happened to his hand. But I know. He had finished eating his rations, but he was still hungry. So he took another man’s fish and he was caught. There was talk of executing him, but instead they cut off the fourth finger of his left hand. My father was allowed to live only because he is a skilled stone carver. This all happened before the year of my birth.
It is hard to work with stone when you don’t have all your fingers. But Father told me he has gotten used to it and that I should not feel sorry for him. Our family lives on, he says. The sun, thank Ra, still shines. We still breathe air. Other slaves have not been so lucky. Father said I should feel sorry for all the ones who have died. And I do. But I feel sorry for my father too.
DAY 8
There is very good news! Father told me he made a deal with Yamu-nedjeh. When we finish carving the obelisk, he will no longer be enslaved. My father will be free! I asked him why Yamu-nedjeh would make such a deal. He told me that Yamu-nedjeh expects him to work harder and faster if he knows he will be freed when the job is done. I will work hard and fast too. I also want to be free as soon as possible.
DAY 9
I accompanied my father and other workers to the quarry. Before we can carve the obelisk, it is important to select the correct piece of granite. Aswan has excellent pink granite, but some parts of the quarry are better than others. For a large obelisk we must find a section of granite that has no flaws or cracks in it. They do not want us to spend months and years working on an obelisk and then find out it was damaged.
Yamu-nedjeh chose a spot in the quarry. It was then washed down with water from the Nile to clean the surface, and we got ready to start working. But my father noticed a tiny crack in the granite, and he pointed it out. Yamu-nedjeh was angry that his judgment was questioned. He had a worker drill a test hole, and he discovered that Father was right. There was a crack in the granite.
Father found another location that was more suitable for carving. It is on the edge of the quarry. That is good because it is closer to the Nile, which means it will be easier to move the obelisk to a boat when we are finished carving it.
DAY 10
