Ignoring David’s comment, Mahmood continued.“They cover the body with natron for forty days.”
“What is natron?”Helen asked.
“A sort of mineral salt,” her father replied.“They would have found it in dried out lake beds.Then used it to help dry out the body,” he explained.
Mahmood nodded in agreement.“The dried body would be anointed with oils and resins and then wrapped in linen.”
“With jewels,” Diana interjected.
“Amulets, yes,” Mahmood agreed.“Then a final layer of resin...”He pointed to one of the human mummies.“Which makes it dark after a time, and then they would be placed in a sarcophagus.”
“Sounds quite involved,” Barbara remarked.“How long until the funeral?”
Mahmood chuckled.“The entire process took seventy days, so...then it would be placed in a tomb and sealed for the journey to the afterlife.”
“Well, I think we’ve seen enough,” Will said, his comment directed to their guide.“Might we go into the temple now?”
“Of course,” their guide replied as he headed toward the single obelisk in front of the pylon.“I insist you take care as you navigate the ruins here,” he said.“There is a good deal of rubble.Much debris.”He pointed to what appeared to be a hill to the south.“It has built up over the centuries from those who lived here.”
Harry hung back with the vendor, and he pointed at one of the crocodile mummies.“I wish to buy that one,” he said, pointing to one without a linen wrap.
The old man held up a few fingers, and Harry pulled some coins from his waistcoat pocket.When the vendor waved for him to choose one, he extracted his handkerchief and wrapped it around the back of one of the crocodiles before lifting it.“It’s very light,” he remarked before straightening.“Shukran.”He slid the mummy into his top coat pocket so only its tail poked out before he hurried off to join the others as they faced the first pylon.
From the way rubble and sand had been removed from part of the area, it was apparent where the missing obelisk had been located.Its mate was still standing in front of the left side of the pylon, where sand remained piled up quite high.Also in front of the pylon were the top halves of a pair of statues, elaborate crowns with balls on top still atop their heads.The bottom half of their bodies were buried in the sand.
“This temple honors the gods Amun, Mut, and their son, Khonsu,” Mahmood stated.
“Which pharaoh is this?”David asked, pointing to the statues.
“We think Ramesses the Second.Like the other Theban temples around here, this one was built with Nubian sandstone,” Mahmood explained as they made their way past the pylon and into what remained of the forecourt.Some of the space was now taken up by a mosque.“This is the Abu Haggag Mosque, built twelve-hundred years ago and still used today.”He turned and waved to a spherical structure mounted on a column.“Pigeon tower,” he said.“Pigeons are a favorite food here.They are quite tasty.”
As if the birds had heard his comment, several appeared from inside and flew off.
Up ahead, a grand colonnade of two rows of columns all intact and topped with the open lotus flower capitals, indicated where the hypostyle hall might have been, but with the walls on that side missing, it was hard to imagine the original layout.Another colonnade, the one David had remarked upon when they had been walking to the temple, came next.On their left, parts of walls and columns jutted up from the ground, their bases somewhere down below.
A pair of statues, only the top halves visible above the ground, were next to and in front of a partial wall.Although carvings covered most of it, some of the rock face had broken away.“Amun and Mut,” Mahmood stated, indicating the statues.
The group moved to study the double statue.Although Mut was missing her nose and Amun’s cheek was gone from one side, their other facial features and headdresses were still quite clear.
“Take time to look at the rest and know that much is buried beneath us,” he said.
Breaking off into smaller groups, the older couples headed towards the sun court while Diana and Randy regarded the top half of the sanctuary.
David wandered off to the grand colonnade, leaving Tom and Helen together at the statues.
“Thank you for trying to...to protect me earlier,” Helen stammered.
“You’re welcome,” he replied.He cleared his throat.“I noticed you didn’t bring Bradley this afternoon.”
She shook her head.“He’s with the nanny,” she replied.“Although it was good for him to be outside earlier, he was quite tired.”
Tom turned to her and then glanced around.When he was sure no one was watching them, he took her hand and led her around to the other side of the statues.Sandwiched between the wall and the backs of the statues, another wall protecting them from being seen from the courtyard, they stood staring at one another until Tom finally said, “I...I wanted to speak to you about...”His face screwed in a grimace.
“About?”she prompted.When he didn’t respond, she sighed.“Did you bring me back here to kiss me?”
His eyes rounded.“Uh, well, I wouldn’t object to doing so,” he admitted.
She blinked.“You wouldn’t object?”she repeated, her words making it sound as if she was offended.
