:
'Prepare thyself that we may go down into Egypt. The word of the king
has gone forth, let us obey Sesostris. He gives the breath of life to
those who love him; hence all the earth loves him, and Khati forms but
one with him.'" They were received with pomp at Ramses-Anakhitu, and
perhaps at Thebes. It was with a mixture of joy and astonishment that
Egypt beheld her bitterest foe become her most faithful ally, "and the
men of Qimit having but one heart with the chiefs of the Khati, a thing
which had not happened since the ages of Pa."

The half-century following the conclusion of this alliance was a period
of world-wide prosperity. Syria was once more able to breathe freely,
her commerce being under the combined protection of the two powers who
shared her territory. Not only caravans, but isolated travellers, were
able to pass through the country from north to south without incurring
any risks beyond those occasioned by an untrustworthy guide or a few
highwaymen. It became in time a common task in the schools of Thebes to
describe the typical Syrian tour of some soldier or functionary, and we
still possess one of these imaginative stories in which the scribe takes
his hero from Qodshu across the Lebanon to Byblos, Berytus, Tyre, and
Sidon, "the fish" of which latter place "are more numerous than the
grains of sand;" he then makes him cross Galilee and the forest of
oaks to Jaffa, climb the mountains of the Dead Sea, and following the
maritime route by Raphia, reach Pelusium. The Egyptian galleys thronged
the Phoenician ports, while those of Phoenicia visited Egypt. The latter
drew so little water that they had no difficulty in coming up the Nile,
and the paintings in one of the tombs represent them at the moment of
their reaching Thebes. The hull of these vessels was similar to that
of the Nile boats, but the bow and stern were terminated by structures
which rose at right angles, and respectively gave support to a sort of
small platform. Upon this the pilot maintained his position by one of
those wondrous feats of equilibrium of which the Orientals were masters.

[Illustration: 218.jpg PHOENICIAN BOATS LANDING AT THEBES]

Drawn by Boudier, from the photograph published by Daressy.

An open rail ran round the sides of the vessel, so as to prevent goods
stowed upon the deck from falling into the sea when the vessel lurched.
Voyages to Puanit were undertaken more frequently in quest of incense
and precious metals.