“Well, are you going to answer me or not?”
Alex was pulled away from his thoughts. “I haven’t got the faintest idea.”
“Well,” Kate said again as if to add weight to her annoyance, “it’s a good idea that I have then, isn’t it!”
“Yes, Kate, it is,” said Alex with the resignation of someone who had no wish to battle.
Cairo had said nothing for the last half hour, as they sat at a scruffy little open-air café close to Karnak Temple. They had not drunk much either, as the tamar-hindi before them was now warm. For thousands of years the annual inundations of the River Nile had brought with it mud along with much needed nutrients for the farmers’ fields. With each summer flood, until these were stopped by the opening of the Low Dam at Aswan early in the twentieth century, the river would move slightly further away from Karnak Temple. Today, it was over half a kilometre away from where it had been when the temple was built. This allowed Kate, Alex and Cairo to sit without the fear of meeting ancients. In ancient times the mighty River Nile would have flowed where they sat, though several metres below their current position.
“Well, aren’t you going to ask me where we are going, or would you prefer it if I went on my own?”
Cairo went to speak. Alex just knew he was going to say that he would prefer her to go on her own, so to avoid yet another Kate tongue lashing, he placed a forcible hand over Cairo’s mouth.
“I know what Cairo wants to say, because I feel the same,” said Alex, which was not a lie. “We are a team, we work well as a team and we want to go with you to wherever it is we are going.” Alex had kept his fingers crossed, because this was a lie.
“We are going to Memphis.”
“Elvis,” said Cairo excitedly, “I am going to meet the King. WOW!”
“Not quite, Cairo, Kate means the ancient city of Memphis, which is close to Cairo.”
“No, smart aleck, I mean Memphis, Graceland and Blue Suede Shoes.”
“You do!” Alex exclaimed.
“Of course not, we are hunting for Apis bulls.”
Cairo looked dejected, Alex tried to hide his embarrassment, whilst Kate did not look as happy as she should have. Elvis, being one of her late mother’s favourites, filled her mind with thoughts of the mother she had lost, ironing as she sang along, as they both sang along with the King. She thought of how proud her mother would have been with what she was doing now, but then a pang of guilt hit her. Her mother would be appalled at how she was behaving towards Alex and Cairo. Kate was unable to rationalise why she was behaving as she was. She argued with herself as to if she should say sorry or not, and unusually for Kate, she uttered a single word, “Sorry.”
Alex clasped a hand to his chest as he feigned a heart attack. Cairo sat with his jaw dropped.
“Okay, you two, fun’s over. We need to find out how to get to Memphis and perhaps Saqqara. According to my book,” said Kate as she unfolded a very new looking map before pointing to an area just to the south of Cairo, “the centre of the Apis cult was around here.”
Alex read out as he pointed to each place in turn, “Cairo, Memphis, Saqqara,” for the benefit of Cairo. He then asked Kate what book.
“I got this from the Aboudi Bookshop.” From her backpack she removed a standard sized paperback which she placed on the table. “Oh, and I told the man you would pay for it the next time you are in there.”
“Ha, ha,” said Alex wryly as he read the book’s title out loud, “The Apis Cult in the New Kingdom.” Alex did not know why, but recently his mind had taken to immediately challenging anything Kate came up with, though he kept a still tongue as he thought. “What of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, and surely if Gadeem had been searching for hundreds of years, he would have checked any areas that could be mentioned in a book at the outset. We need to find an Apis bull which rests somewhere undiscovered. However, the Bullsblood plant was right under Gadeem’s nose, and he missed that.” Alex tried to rationalise his thoughts. He really did have serious doubts that they would be able to locate what they needed in such heavily excavated places as Memphis and Saqqara, though he was unable to come up with an alternative plan.
“I must go help with the washing-up,” said Cairo, and he was off before either Kate or Alex could stop him.
“He will be back soon,” said Kate, “as he has forgotten he doesn’t have to do that anymore.”
“Yes, he will,” said Alex who thought to himself, “but he has not gone anywhere near to any washing-up. He also has his doubts about Kate’s plan.”
“Hey, Alex,” said Kate to ensure she had his full attention.
“Yes.”
“It says here the Serapeum of Saqqara was where they buried the Apis bulls.” She read on. “Most of them were buried in the time of Amenhotep III. Do you think we should start there?”
“I was under the impression the bulls were kept in or at a Bucheum.”
“You are almost correct,” said Dr Margretti, who seemed to appear from nowhere. He sat at their table without being invited to do so, and Joe, his assistant, bodyguard or whatever, also sat.
“Where is your Batmobile?” asked Kate.
“You will have to make up your mind, young lady. Am I 007 or Batman?” He gave a little chuckle where his shoulders moved up and down far too much.
“We left it moored in the Nile,” said Joe, “as it is far too showy to park here.”
“Thank you, Joe. Now, with regard to the Bucheum, it is not a common word. I suppose you learnt it from your father, Alex.”
“No, from Keydora actually, whilst we were at a banquet. I was lead to believe the truffle I was eating was the testicle of a bull. After my initial embarrassment, we started talking about bulls in ancient times. She talked about a Bucheum which is why it must have stuck in my mind.”
“Yes, Keydora would know of a–” Joe coughed loudly, bringing the Doctor to an abrupt stop, though Alex had got what he wanted.
Alex had not needed to use Keydora’s name, he had done so because her name should have been unknown to anyone except an ancient. She was the sister of Nakhtifi’s wife though not mentioned in any academic work. Alex had almost convinced himself that Dr Margretti was an ancient, yet he could not be, as he walked freely on modern ground.
“Thank you, Joe,” said the Doctor once again. “A Bucheum is a bulls’ cemetery. Though you, young lady, are also correct in a way. A Serapeum is more correctly a temple, though at the Serapeum of Memphis I believe around sixty Apis bulls were buried. Each had its own tomb, with each tomb having a small chapel built over it. The problem for you and your quest is that all these have all been excavated. You would be more likely to find an Apis bull in the Cairo Museum or their store. When I–”
Joe coughed again.
“Joe, you really are going to have to get that cough seen to. Whilst I do appreciate you warning me when I say something I really should not know anything about, we are sitting here with people who have spoken to ancients, so I think we can relax just a little.”
“Whatever you say, Doctor.”
“Now, where was I? Oh yes, your quest. Did you know that when Alexander the Great ruled Egypt, one of the first things he did was sacrifice a bull? So strong was the Apis bull cult at that time. People do tend to forget that before Luxor grew to be the burial place of the pharaohs, who brought their ‘modern’ gods from Lower Egypt with them, it was ringed by temples to the god Montu.”
Alex looked confused. Dr Margretti took this to be his mention of Montu, though it was not. For the very first time Alex had really looked at Dr Margretti. He looked beyond his slightly over exaggerated British academic way of speaking, beyond the old style of clothes he was wearing, to the slightly more vampire than human person beneath. He was younger than Alex had previously thought, and Cairo was spot on, he did look like Akhenaton.
“Forget Montu,” said Dr Margretti, breaking Alex’s thoughts, “as he is not important. His temples, however, could well be. They ring Luxor, and you migh
t have missed the connection as you are looking for Apis bulls, but here they were called Buchis Bulls, hence the Bucheum Keydora was talking about. It is here somewhere, you just have to find it.”
“Are Apis bulls the same as Buchis bulls?” asked Kate.
“For the needs of Gadeem, they are exactly the same. I am not going to confuse you both with their history or how the bulls were chosen, though if you could locate the Bucheum here, I would think that you should be able to obtain a freely given nose ring if you use your brains. You do both appear to have brains, which is a good start.”
Joe coughed again as he looked at his watch.
“We must go. Good luck the both of you, and do wish your young Egyptian friend good luck as well. I cannot stress enough how vitally important it is that you work together and also share your knowledge, or you will not all get through this.” Dr Margretti stood, turned, took just a few paces, then stepped into his transport almost before it had come to a complete halt.
“Good luck,” said Joe, who had Dr Margretti’s back, then they were gone.
“Love that car,” said Alex.
“It’s even cooler inside,” said Kate, and she was not talking about the temperature.
Cairo stepped from a local service bus. Upon returning to their table he took a sip of his tamar-hindi. It was far too warm to enjoy, so he ordered an ice-cold pitcher from a passing waiter. “We not go to Cairo.” Kate and Alex looked at him as they waited for him to say more. His fear of Kate verbally attacking him caused him to remain silent.
“Of course not,” said Kate. “What have you found out?”
His eagerness to tell them rose above his fear. “There is cemetery of bulls here. It at Armant, but nobody know where.”
“Armant, I have heard of that place before.”
“You know why, Alex, it’s because it is the village that Rose goes to.”
“Yes, you are right. So, it’s only walking distance from here.”
“About fifteen kilometres,” said Cairo.
“So, it’s only a short taxi ride from here,” said Alex as he changed his mind. “How did you find this out?”
“I speak to Ropet and Sanuba, they speak to Keydora as she speak of bulls when we had banquet. Problem is nobody know where it is. It lost in time.”
“Right, let’s split up,” said Kate, “Alex, you go and see your father to find what he knows, Cairo, please go back and see Ropet and Sanuba again. Find out anything more that you can, no matter how small. I shall go and see Rose. We will meet back here in two hours. Are we all agreed?”
The waiter placed a new pitcher of tamar-hindi along with three cold glasses on the now vacated table. He did, however, take the twenty Egyptian pounds that had been left under a half full glass.
Chapter 19
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Armant Temple
The three young adventurers stared over the brick wall at an area roughly the size of a large football stadium, though if it was indeed a football stadium, it would have been in the very early stages of construction. All they could see were foundations, the very bottom blocks of what must have been a very large temple.
“So, this is Armant Temple,” said Kate, as she stated the obvious. “Not much to see, is there?” she said, as she continued to state the obvious.
“Not much at all,” said Alex rather despondently. “I’m more than a little disappointed. I can’t see how we are going to find a tunnel that was lost in antiquity, because if we start poking around in there we can be seen from everywhere. And just look at how many foundations there are. There must have been a hundred rooms. The tunnel could be anywhere.” He scanned the area only to be amazed at the number of windows which overlooked the site.
Three, four, and a few five storey buildings surrounded the remains of the ancient temple. Each was jammed up to the next. With some, it was impossible to see where one building finished before the next one started. They were standing on the north side of the temple. Here the road was so narrow that anyone looking out of any window could clearly see the whole site. Looking over to the south side, the road was obviously a great deal wider. That was also where the only entrance to the compound was.
Double width metal gates stood to the right of a small brick built gaffirs’ hut. The three adventurers watched as a gaffir walked from the hut over to a seated colleague, then offered him something. Tea, they presumed. Beyond the boundary wall to the west of the temple, the houses were lower, only three floors. To the east, in front of where the first pylon would have stood, was Armant market. A daily fruit and vegetable market which on certain days of the week expanded along the south and west sides of the temple. This was when the locals brought in produce from their fields, also livestock, or so the youngsters had been informed.
They each in turn stepped off the small pile of bricks. These had allowed them to see over the wall with ease. They sat on a small patch of green, which was in the shade of a tree with shiny deep green leaves.
“What do we know,” said Kate. It was a statement rather than a question. “I found out from Rose about this site as it is now. From what I have just seen, her description was very accurate. She had never heard of a Bucheum being associated with this temple. As she was with Bast on the West Bank, I didn’t get chance to speak to Gadeem. However, from what she said, I don’t think he would know any more than she did. According to Bast, this temple was already in a bad state of disrepair in Gadeem’s time. She said that temples dedicated to Montu are from a time long before the pharaohs ever thought of moving to Luxor.”
“That’s excellent news,” said Alex, “because if Gadeem has no knowledge of a Bucheum ever being here, then he will never have looked for one here.”
“What did you find out from your dad?”
“Not much at all, to be honest.” Alex took a sip of water. “His head is full of Alexander’s and Ay’s gold. The only really solid information I gained from him, was that ancient records do mention a Bucheum which archaeologists have hunted for, though not recently.”
“Well, if they could not find it, what hope do we have?”
“Dad said they had to pack up and leave Egypt quickly in nineteen-forty because of the war, not because there’s nothing here. Apparently, they didn’t want to leave because they were on to something, though dad had no idea why no archaeologist had ever been back to continue the work, because it would be an important find.” Alex felt they were in exactly the right place. A Bucheum which Gadeem knew nothing of, one which remained undiscovered, even to the ancients that they knew, could well lead them to a ring from the nose of the Apis bull, freely given, or, in this case, of the Buchis bull, freely given. Dr Margretti had confirmed that for the purposes of the spell they were identical.
Kate now asked Cairo what he had found out.
“Only what I tell you. There was tunnel from this temple to Bucheum. It go from here to desert. Oh, and Keydora say that bulls were only dirty shown as bulls.”
“What?” said Kate in such a way that it caused Cairo to flinch.
“I think you mean deity, Cairo.”
“Yes, Mr Alex, that what I said.”
“Explain, please?” asked Kate with some attitude.
“I might be wrong,” said Alex, “but I think that the Apis bulls were always shown as bulls, so the Buchis bull should be the same.” He could see from the look on Kate’s face he needed to explain more. “We know that Thoth is an ibis, and though he can appear on temple and tomb walls as an ibis, it is more usual for him to be shown as a man with the head of an ibis. The Apis bulls are always shown as Apis bulls. They never change form.”
Kate now understood, though what use this information would be was quite beyond her understanding. “How do we get in there without being seen, then find a tunnel which had been lost long before the time of Ramses?”
They sat for some while, eating their picnic as they thought.
The three of them each came up with an idea. When they pooled their ideas, it gave them a
plan. They were indeed working as a team.
As the call to prayer started, the three adventurers sprang into action. They had less than ten minutes in which to complete their plan. The washing of hands and feet was followed by the race to the mosque. This allowed the youngsters to get into their places without anyone paying them any attention. The moment the streets emptied, Alex stepped up onto the old tractor which had been parked adjacent to the fruit and vegetable market. He only had to move it forward along the length of the temple, one hundred and fifty metres at the most. As he expected, there was no ignition key, just a couple of bare wires. He flashed these together, the already warm engine sprang to life.
Kate gave Alex the okay, so he crunched the tractor into first gear. With a shudder both it and its water tank trailer moved forward. He struggled with the heavy steering, though ensuring the tractor did not reach more than walking pace proved easy. Kate jumped on the back of the water tank, where Cairo was already turning the wheel, allowing the water to flow. With Kate’s help water was soon flowing with force. It took all their strength to control the large diameter pipe so that it shot its water over the temple wall. They fought with the pipe to ensure that the whole width of the temple area was saturated.
Metre by metre the light-coloured sand turned dark, and stayed dark, whilst the blocks of stone barely changed in colour. Once at the western most end of the temple, Alex made no attempt to find reverse, in order to return the tractor to where they had taken it from.
“Come on, Alex,” called Kate, as she and Cairo ran past the now stationary tractor on their way to the rear of the temple.
Alex had no idea how to kill the engine, so he left it running, jumping off to follow Kate and Cairo.
Running and giggling, they collapsed to the ground just as the mosque started to empty. All they had to do now was to wait.
Raised voices came from the direction of the parked tractor. Cairo explained that it was the gaffirs from the temple shouting about the water, though equally the tractor driver and his assistant were shouting back at them. Soon the tractor moved off, allowing the normality of Armant to be resumed.
Luxor Lost and Found Page 14