He was about to say more, but Mahmood called out, “We have just gone past what was the fifth and sixth pylons.In this courtyard, there are ruins of several small temples.I will take you into a special one.”
The group followed him to the remains of a granite-walled structure located past a pair of granite pillars.Although the sides of the doorway and most of the walls were standing, the lintel and part of the roof were missing.
“This chapel was built by Philip Arrhidaeus,” Mahmood said as he led them into the two-room structure.An opening at one end and a few openings in the roof provided plenty of light for them to see the interior.
“Who?”Tom asked.
“He said Philip Arrhidaeus,” Helen whispered.
At Tom’s blank expression, David sighed.“Philip the Third,” he clarified.
“Who?”Tom pressed, his query meant for his brother.
“Of Macedonia,” Randy whispered.
“Alexander the Great’s half-brother,” Diana stated from the other side of Randy.
“Shh,” Barbara scolded.
Will grinned when he noted how Diana had a leather-gloved hand covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle a grin at the expense of her brother-by-marriage.
“Note the ceiling,” Mahmood stated, his gaze lifting.
They glanced up to where the ceiling was still intact to discover a field of carved white stars with red centers on a background of blue.
“And this was the altar,” Mahmood said, his hand resting on a misshapen rock.The corners had broken off, but carvings were still evident on some of the surfaces.
“Wasn’t he the one who wasn’t very bright?”Tom asked.“Suffered seizures and was executed?”
Three of their party turned to look at him in surprise.“There is some writing to suggest he was mentally deficient,” Diana confirmed.
“Unstable, don’t you mean?”David countered.
“But he is recognized as having ruled after Alexander’s death,” Diana said.
“Probably had some help,” Tom mused.
Mahmood sighed.“Let us continue our tour.We are nearly finished.”
“We are?”Helen asked in surprise.
Their guide chuckled.“You will wish to have your luncheon somewhere in the shade of a column or statue,” he said.“Unfortunately, the site of the Sacred Lake does not have water in it, or I would recommend it.”He pointed in the direction of a square, flat area, the outline made evident by the foundations of a temple on one side and rubble along two of the other edges.“When you have finished eating, I will take you to the Khonsu Temple and then back to the ship.”He pointed in the direction from which they had come and then to the west.
“Let’s head back to the hypostyle,” Will suggested.Exposed as they were to the sun, he knew most in the group were growing uncomfortably warm.
Pairing up, they picked their way back over the rubble and sandy terrain, past statues half-buried and columns that no longer held up roofs to smaller temples jutting from their sandy base.
Once they were back in the hypostyle, they settled next to one of the largest columns where a basket containing their luncheon had been left by one of the crew.
Tom made sure he was seated next to Helen.
