A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore

by Mohamed Mansi Qandil

  “I shall remove this man and send him far away,” he replied. “I shall imprison him . . . if necessary I shall kill him.”

  Now she spoke her mind. “This man,” she said, “is the one I deserve. From the beginning that wild child has been of no use to me. He is too weak to be the king who rules my body!”

  He stared at her in consternation—it seemed to him he was seeing, once again, Akhenaten announcing his rebellion against the whole establishment. “I do not understand what you mean, oh queen,” he said.

  It was over, she knew. “It was I who gave Pharaoh the throne,” she said, “and I can give to this other man.”

  Through gritted teeth, Horemheb muttered, “Such a thing shall never happen. I will not vanquish the barbarians in the north only to permit them to vanquish me at Thebes. It cannot be . . .”

  He left her then. She saw him crossing the wet grass, heading for where Tayfour was lodged. Would he be able to stop him? Was it possible that any harm should come to him?

  That morning, Howard appeared looking elegant, and happier than usual. He paid no attention to her grave expression or the effects of sleeplessness that showed in her face.

  “Lord Carnarvon arrives today. He and his daughter will cross from the east side of the river, so that we may open up the tomb. I don’t suppose you can meet anyone, in the state you’re in.”

  She did not look at him. She felt her heart was breaking. Ever since he had discovered that wretched stairway he had been ignoring her. All he cared about was telling the elderly Lord Carnarvon that he had found something that might turn out to be astonishing. He had gone no farther than the outer door and the vault beyond it—he did not yet know whether the tomb, hidden behind a wall of clay, was empty or whether a king awaited him within it. He resisted his own curiosity, setting a guard over the site day and night, and enjoining his men not to speak of the matter. Throughout those days he did not see her. So anxious was he that he saw none but himself.

  Aisha refrained from questioning him; she could see that she had fallen into a trap. She had thrown him a life ring—to her cost, for now here he was, back to ingratiating himself with the elderly Lord Carnarvon and his sallow-faced daughter. Henceforth he would never see Aisha, nor would he perceive the danger besetting her, closed in as she was by this angry valley.

  As she stared into space, all at once the sun went behind the clouds, and the river grew dark. Before her she saw the wolves, in their dusty pelts, mouths open and tongues lolling, eyes gleaming brighter than ever by the light of day. Lord Carnarvon and his pallid daughter must be alighting on the shore even now, making for the tomb, broadcasting the death of a king, the death of everything. The wolves moved toward her. Afraid of nothing, unstoppable, they surrounded the house on every side. She remembered the harsh expression upon her mother’s face, and knew it would be useless to scream. There was no escape.

  Tut advanced, while the wolves howled—they were spreading out across the land, bounding over the hills, and now they were nearly upon him. He could see them clearly, and they could smell his scent. The four guards stood well away from him, close to the riverbank, trembling. The old Tut had awoken once more—there was no need for him to be in this city, or to worship this god. He must stand against Horemheb, put a stop to the inscriptions that were filling up the walls of his tomb against his will, efface the images of these gods he detested, not let them take over his destiny, his life in the other world. The howling of the wolves rose, pulsing, alive, endowing his body with extra energy. He must reclaim his rightful place, make it clear to everyone that he was not a traitor, no partisan of Amun, and not beholden to Horemheb. He would announce his repudiation of all of it, and so, perhaps, reclaim his lost manhood.

  He spied the shadow of some phantom, stirring near the doorway to the tomb, then disappearing behind a rock. Was it one of the guards, or a tomb robber? He was no longer afraid—at this moment he could have faced them all—no one would dare to harm the Pharaoh of Egypt! But he felt the force of a great blow as it struck the back of his head. He heard the sound of something shattering, the rocks were spinning, the stars growing distant, and the pain was beyond endurance. Then, all at once, darkness fell.

  I wouldn’t have believed Lord Carnarvon could manage all the steps leading to the mouth of the tomb. The lady held fast to his arm as they stepped over the rubble. Then they paused to look at me, breathing hard. They did not believe that I had anything worthwhile to offer them. I approached the old man, held out my hand, and took his arm to help him keep his balance as we descended along the passageway. The lady stood where she was, hesitating, and when I approached her she raised her eyes as if seeing me for the first time, and held her hand out to me. Incredulous, I took it, and slowly escorted her down the passage. Still she was altogether cold, casting openly doubtful glances at me. The men who had done the excavation were looking down at us from above, smelling of sweat, their faces coated with dust. But their part in the proceedings was finished. She held her delicate nose with one hand, but left the other hand in mine until she stood beside her father. She had relinquished some of her pallor, her face flushed with exertion.

  I pointed out the cartouche bearing the name of the king, explaining to them the meaning of the hieroglyphic inscription. Then we proceeded on into the tomb. The air grew hot and stifling, and Lord Carnarvon paused several times to catch his breath. We came to a halt before the blocked-off wall that stood between us and another epoch, with all its secrets and illusions. The breathing of the men watching from above could be heard resounding in the passageway, but none of them dared come any closer. From a distance a faint sound reached us, like that of wolves howling, although we were in broad daylight. I took up a small pickaxe I had placed there specially, next to the wall, and struck the first blow . . . then the second. The wall was no more than a barrier of brittle clay, with space behind it: the as-yet-undiscovered tomb of a king. A small crack opened before us, emitting thickly musty air, laden with the odor of decay, and of pitch and camphor—ancient air, which had lain dormant for so many eons. Lord Carnarvon clutched his chest and began to cough violently. The lady seized his hand and patted it, glaring at me once again. At last the air grew still. Flying insects, grayish in color, swarmed about, but dispersed on encountering the outer air. Lord Carnarvon, recovering, stood up straight. I wanted him to take a look through the crack, but he indicated that he would not be able to manage it, and I dared not ask the lady. I lit the electric lamp, and directed the beam through the opening, into the interior chamber. What I glimpsed was like a dream: the shimmer of a golden mirage, glowing despite the darkness that had accumulated since the beginning of time. With an effort, Lord Carnarvon spoke to me.

  “Can you see anything?” he said.

  “Yes,” I replied. “Wonderful things.”

  Historical Figures Featured in the Novel

  Glossary

  Historical Figures Featured in the Novel

  Abbas, Khedive (Abbas II Hilmi Bey [1874–1944]). Last Ottoman viceroy (khedive) of Egypt and Sudan (1892–1914), deposed by the British in 1914.

  Ali, Muhammad (1769–1849). Commander in the Ottoman army, originally from Albania; a political reformer who declared himself viceroy of Egypt and Sudan in 1805 and served in that capacity until 1848; he is widely considered the founder of modern Egypt.

  Amherst, Lord (William Amhurst Tyssen-Amherst [1835–1909]). British politician remembered primarily as a collector of antiquities.

  Andrews, Emma. Mistress of Theodore Davis (s.v.); in the novel she is called Emilia.

  el-Baroudy, Mahmoud Sami (1839–1904). Nationalist poet and political figure, who also briefly served as prime minister of Egypt in 1882.

  Baybars, al-Zahir (ca. 1223–77). A Mamluk (see glossary) sultan of Egypt, of Turkic origin; in 1254 he defeated the Seventh Crusade of France’s King Louis IX, and in 1260 scored a major victory over the Mongols.

  Belzoni, Giovanni Battista (1778–1823). Italian explorer and excavator
of Egyptian antiquities.

  Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen (1840–1922). English poet, translator, and political commentator; anti-imperialist.

  Carnarvon, Lord (George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert [1866–1923]). English aristocrat best remembered as an amateur Egyptologist who bankrolled various excavations, most notably Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.

  Carter, Howard (1874–1939). British artist and Egyptologist renowned for discovering Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922; although a great part of Carter’s portrayal in A Cloudy Day on the Western Shore is essentially factual, much has been fictionalized; in addition to the invention of his relationship with Aisha (herself an invention) and numerous lesser episodes, aspects of Carter’s family background are only loosely depicted. Accounts differ, for example, as to whether he was one of eight or eleven children (most say eleven), but seem to agree that he did not actually have any younger siblings.

  Cromer, Lord (Evelyn Baring [1841–1917]). British consul general in Egypt from 1883 to 1907; much resented among Egyptians for his repressive policies. Britain’s draconian response to the Dinshaway incident (see glossary) may be seen as effectively his undoing as an administrator in Egypt.

  Davis, Theodore (1838–1915). American lawyer and amateur Egyptologist; his wealth financed some of the excavations in Upper Egypt.

  Fahmi, Mustafa (1840–1914). Egyptian politician who served variously as cabinet member and prime minister, accused of subservience to the British; it is not clear whether or not the incident relating to illegal ownership of slaves actually occurred.

  Farid, Mohammed (1868–1919). Egyptian nationalist and reformer, of Turkish background; backer of Mustafa Kamil (s.v.), and second president of the Egyptian National Party.

  Fazil, Zainab Nazli (1853–1913). Egyptian princess of Turkish origin; well-educated and vocal, she may have wielded some influence with the leading politicians of the day, both Egyptian and British.

  Ismaïl Pasha (1830–95). Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, who followed much of the reformist agenda of his grandfather Muhammad Ali, but mismanaged Egypt’s finances and was eventually dismissed by the Ottoman sultan.

  Kamal, Yusuf (1882–1966). Founded Egypt’s first art academy, the Egyptian School of Fine Arts, in 1908, and sponsored Mahmoud Mukhtar (s.v.) in 1912, when Mukhtar undertook his studies in France.

  Kamil, Hussein (1853–1917). Sultan of Egypt, 1914–17, so appointed under the newly declared British protectorate, selected for his sympathy to British interests, to replace Khedive Abbas II (q.v.).

  Kamil, Mustafa (1874–1908). Egyptian lawyer and nationalist, founder, in 1900, of the newspaper al-Liwa (see glossary), and of the Egyptian National Party in 1907.

  Kitchener, Lord (Horatio Herbert Kitchener [1850–1916]). Senior officer in the British Army and colonial administrator in Egypt and Sudan; succeeded Lord Cromer (q.v.) as consul general of Egypt, succeeded by Eldon Gorst (1861–1911).

  Laplagne, Guillaume (1894–1927). French sculptor, first director of the Egyptian School of Fine Arts (see Yusuf Kamal, q.v.), who counted Mahmoud Mukhtar (s.v.) among his protégés.

  Mahdi, the (Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah [1844–85]). Son of a Sudanese boat builder and charismatic religious leader (member of the Samaniyyah Sufi order), who in 1881 proclaimed himself the divinely appointed harbinger of the last days (the Mahdi); he assumed military command of a force called the Ansar (helpers), and led several successful campaigns against the Egyptians and the British.

  Mariette, François Auguste Ferdinand (1821–81). French scholar and Egyptologist, founder of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities. He is thought to have devised, at the behest of Khedive Ismaïl Pasha (q.v.), the plot of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida, which premiered in Cairo in 1871.

  Maspero, Gaston (1846–1916). French Egyptologist who twice served as director of the Department of Antiquities; he was not in fact its director in 1891, when Howard Carter (q.v.) first arrived in Egypt. Maspero was dedicated to combating the illegal trade in artifacts, and he helped found the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, in 1902.

  Mukhtar, Mahmoud (1891–1934). Son of a peasant family, from the village of Tanbara in the Egyptian Delta. Mukhtar was one of the first students to attend the Egyptian School of Fine Arts upon its opening in 1908, but he was not actually dismissed from the school—he graduated, and went on scholarship (in either 1911 or 1912; accounts differ) to study at École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is best known for his sculpture Egypt Awakened (located in Cairo’s Ramses Square in 1928), which expresses nationalist sentiment, and now stands by the avenue leading to Cairo University.

  Naville, Henri Édouard (1844–1926). Swiss archaeologist and Egyptologist.

  Newberry, Percy (1869–1949). British Egyptologist who travelled to Egypt with Howard Carter in 1891, having selected Carter to train as a tracer of ancient wall art.

  Orabi, Ahmed (1841–1911). Egyptian military leader of peasant stock who founded the Egyptian Nationalist Party in 1879. In 1882 he led an unsuccessful rebellion against Khedive Tawfiq as part of the Egyptian resistance against Ottoman rule; Tawfiq called for reinforcements against the uprising, resulting in the British bombardment of Alexandria, which culminated in the occupation of Egypt.

  Paget, Rosalind Frances Emily (1844–1925). Artist in Egypt who produced watercolor paintings of art from various sites in Upper Egypt; she is mentioned in a letter penned by Edouard Naville.

  Petrie, William Matthew Flinders (1853–1942). British Egyptologist and pioneer of archaeological methodology and conservation.

  al-Rafiy, Abdel Rahman (1889–1966). Egyptian historian of Levantine origin; he joined the Egyptian National Party in 1907.

  al-Sayyid, Ahmed Lutfi (1872–1963). Egyptian intellectual, activist, and founder, in 1907, of Egypt’s first political party, Hezb al-Umma, as a direct response to the Dinshaway incident (see glossary) in 1906. The founding of the Egyptian National Party by Mustafa Kamil (q.v.) followed soon thereafter.

  Weigall, Arthur (1880–1934). British Egyptologist and author. When Howard Carter was dismissed from his post as chief inspector of antiquities for Upper Egypt in 1905 following an incident involving a group of French tourists, Weigall was appointed in his place; historical accounts suggest that the rivalry between Weigall and Carter was, at times, as bitter as the novel’s narrative suggests.

  Wolseley, Garnet (1833–1913). Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army and commander of the British forces assisting Khedive Tawfiq at the time of the rebellion staged by Orabi (q.v.), whom Wolseley defeated in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, near Suez in the Egyptian Delta.

  Glossary

  abaya. A cloak-like wrap, frequently made of wool, but may be composed of other fabric.

  bey. Traditionally a title of prestigious social rank, achieved either by merit or through bribes and awarded by the ruler of Egypt; it may also be used more loosely as a term of respectful address.

  dahabeah. A type of wind-propelled houseboat specifically associated with the Nile, and often with nineteenth-century tourism, although this type of vessel, in one form or another, has existed since pharaonic times.

  dhikr. A practice, Sufi in origin, of repetitive chanting in praise of God; may be accompanied by music and dance, or dance-like ritual movements.

  Dinshaway. A village in the Egyptian Delta, iconic in the history of Egypt as one of imperialist Britain’s most egregious atrocities in the region (1906); the novel’s description of this episode hews substantially to historical accounts.

  effendi. A gentleman, specifically a non-European clothed in Western garb, except for the distinctive cylindrical hat (usually red, with a tassel) known as a tarbush; also used as a postpositive title, and sometimes as a proper name.

  al-Fatiha. Opening chapter of the Qur’an, often recited on ceremonial occasions, but also under relatively informal circumstances.

  felucca. A sailboat of traditional Egyptian design; similar to a sloop, except that, unlike a sloop, it may have two
sails rather than just one.

  fellah (pl. fellahin). A peasant farmer.

  gallabiya. A long, robe-like garment, traditionally worn by male Egyptian and Sudanese peasants (although its use has expanded); especially in cold weather, other clothing, such as long underpants, may be worn underneath.

  hajj. The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, specifically performed during Dhu al-Hijja, the last month of the lunar Islamic calendar; pilgrimages performed at other times of year are known as ‘Umra.

  hanim. Lady; originally a Turkish term referring to an aristocratic woman, it came to be applied postpositively to the names of high-class Egyptian women.

  Helmiya al-Gadida. A district of Cairo; notably more prosperous than that of Gamamiz Lane.

  jilbaab. A long, flowing outer garment; similar to a gallabiya (q.v.), worn by either men or women.

  khamsin. A hot southerly Egyptian wind usually carrying sand.

  khedive. An official of the Ottoman court, roughly equivalent to viceroy; the khedivate of Egypt was a tributary state of the Ottoman empire, lasting from 1867 until 1914 and substantially overlapping with the British occupation of Egypt (1882–1914).

  kuttab. Traditional primary school at which, in addition to religious teachings, reading, writing, and grammar are taught, with the Qur’an as the basis for instruction.

  al-Liwa. Nationalist Egyptian newspaper founded in 1900 by Mustafa Kamil; the word liwaa’ means banner.

  Maghreb. The region of North Africa generally associated with modern-day Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

  Majnoun and Layla. The principal characters in a well-known traditional story, dating to pre-Islamic times, of star-crossed lovers.

  Mamluks. Muslim rulers between the tenth and nineteenth centuries, who were originally slaves conscripted into military service; accorded privileges denied ordinary slaves, they were ultimately able to seize power in their own right and establish a series of dynasties in Persia, Egypt, and elsewhere.