Mural paintings on inner walls of rock-cut tombs from the Middle Kingdom. Beni Hasan, Egypt

"In the necropolis at Beni Hassan are the tombs of the governors of the sixteenth Nome, and those of eight nomarchs, two princes, and a son of a prince who lived in the Twelfth Dynasty. The princes and nomarchs of the Middle Kingdom continued to cut magnificent tombs in the cliffs of the mountains above their city in their own nome. These tomb-chapels cut in the rock were painted with a host of scenes representing daily life. To the corpus of scenes already known from the Old Kingdom tombs of the mastaba-type were added in greater number such subjects as were initiated by the new political circumstances of civil war and the growth of a martial spirit. These scenes included the attacks on local forts, wrestling, and the marching of soldiers. Numerous shallow registers are filled with pairs of nude men in intricate wrestling catches. Each of the two men is of a different hue, as an aid to the clear rendering of the gestures." [Badawi A., 1968: A History of Egyptian Architecture. University of California Press]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was working on "The Nile" project and traveled to Africa from March 14, 1961 to March 31, 1961, visiting Egypt.