“Wait a second!” Anna exclaimed. “I saw this diagram in Kirilov’s apartment.”
“You’re absolutely right, so let’s not lose any more time. We’re going on our next adventure, which hopefully will bring us closer to Pharaoh Khufu’s mummy and the treasures.” He paused, staring at her, “Well, are you gonna let me in?”
“Of course, come on in,” Anna stepped aside with a mocking flourish.
Michael stooped down to pick up a large paper bag. “And I hope you will don something a little less transparent than that robe, otherwise I can’t guarantee your safety,” he joked.
“OK, just give me a few minutes,” she replied with a faint smile, shutting the door while Michael walked over and sat down on the couch. Anna opened the closet and went through her clothes for a couple of minutes. She went into the bathroom to dress, put on her makeup and brush out her long hair. She emerged wearing a knee-length light brown skirt with a floral design and a light creamy blouse with a wide neck that fell becomingly from the shoulders, slightly baring them. She playfully twirled in front of the large mirror, observing herself appreciatively. She turned and looked expectantly at Michael.
Michael looked up and needed a moment to come to his senses.
“Well?” she asked, tilting her head and tossing her hair back lightly.
“Well, what?” Michael asked, realizing the absurdity of the whole situation. Just moments before, he had literally pounded on the door to hurry her up, and now he was sitting quietly on the couch unable to move. This elegant woman with her stylish appearance had forced him to forget everything.
“Well, where are we going?” asked Anna, breaking the awkward silence.
“Anna, you look fantastic and I would consider myself to be the luckiest man on earth walking next to you, but –”
“But what?”
“I bought you something at the street market this morning. It’s a bit more conservative,” Michael said, smiling mischievously as he opened up his paper bag and pulled out something large and black. “This is called a jilbāb,” he explained, indicating the black, high-necked traditional Muslim robe he was holding up for her to see. He laid it down and pulled out something blue from the bag. “And this is called a shaylah.” He held up a blue scarf that would cover all but the face. He set it down and pulled something light grey out of the paper bag. “Those two are for you. And as for me, I will be wearing a gallibaya,” Michael held up his ankle-length robe with long sleeves. Reaching down with one hand he pulled out a white cloth, “and this turban, which is a draped headscarf.”
Anna frowned.
“Relax,” Michael said, chuckling. “It’s all a part of my plan –”
Anna interrupted him, her voice rising, “What plan? Are you converting into a Muslim and dragging me into it?”
“Of course not! We’re going to put these on and head out incognito, just in case our friends from the police department or the Medjay tribe are still spying on us.”
“Oh, so I take it we’re looking for that baffling pyramid?”
“Yes, the water-intake pyramid.”
“And you think you know where to find it?”
“We have Kirilov’s diagram of the necropolis right here.”
It took them a good twenty minutes and the use of Anna’s iPhone to more or less properly dress themselves in the traditional Islamic clothes. Carefully examining each other, they concluded that even their own mothers would not recognize them.
“OK, let’s go,” he said merrily.
“How is this going to work?”
He steered her out the door. “Just trust me!” When they reached the lobby, Michael started walking slowly. Anna looked down as she walked beside him. They left the hotel unnoticed.
Once outside the front door, they turned left and started walking quickly. Although it was September, the sun burned through their outfits. After several blocks Anna was sweltering in her dark costume. Soon Michael spotted a building with an entrance that seemed to be deserted. They cautiously stepped inside the cool, empty foyer and removed their disguises. Michael carefully folded and placed them inside his backpack. A few minutes later, they were sitting in a taxi speeding away to the Giza Plateau.
Michael gazed through the side window at the three biggest pyramids gradually appearing and disappearing in the horizon. He secretly wished that he could see the baffling pyramid from the taxi. Although the baffling pyramid was tiny compared to the three giants, it definitely did not diminish her importance and functionality. Michael imagined that the baffling pyramid looked like Gulliver in the land of Brobdingnag, the land occupied by giants who were twelve times taller than Gulliver from the famous book “Gulliver’s Travels,” written by Jonathan Swift in the eighteenth century. In Kirilov’s words, “without the existence of this small baffling pyramid, the existence of the three biggest pyramids would not be possible.”
“Michael, Anna,” said Kirilov, showing them one of the diagrams. “Here is a map of the Giza necropolis. Besides the three big pyramids, you can see seven small pyramids known as the Mokattam Formation. One of the small pyramids is located at the foot of Khafre’s pyramid. The next three pyramids are to the south of Menkaure’s pyramid. The last three pyramids are to the southeast of the Great Pyramid. Renowned Egyptologists assume that these small pyramids were intended to be the burial places of the pharaoh’s queens, sons and daughters.”
“That’s what I thought as well,” said Anna.
“It is strange that Pharaoh Khufu’s son, the hereditary Prince Ka-Wab, who died before his father, was buried in a mastaba,” Kirilov commented. “The mastaba was a rectangular tomb that had a flat roof with walls that inclined toward the center. The others were buried inside the small pyramids. That is odd, don’t you think?” asked Kirilov, looking at Anna.
“Yes, I would say so.”
“Good. This diagram clearly demonstrates that all the small pyramids are identical in size and closely located to the larger pyramid’s bases. Furthermore, they are not coated, but instead have a unique form of laying blocks, which is different from the outer layer of the large pyramids. Is it pure coincidence that six of the seven small pyramids were constructed in a straight line?”
“Well,” Michael started, but was quickly interrupted by Kirilov.
“Once I looked at old photographs of the Great Pyramid, I was stunned. On one of the photographs, taken from the side of the Sphinx, an unknown pyramid is visible in the foreground. It had a broken off edge and was sunk in the low place of the very curb of the road that runs toward the Great Pyramid. Its form and location in the low place, next to the road, on the outskirts of the eastern side of the plateau was bewildering. After several years of studying it, I understood that without the existence of this mysterious, or as I call it baffling pyramid, the existence of the three biggest pyramids would not be possible. The idea of the pharaoh’s burial under the Great Pyramid, in the cave and on an island required raising very pure Nile water and directing it to a special water basin. The volume of the water in the cave had to be constant at all times.”
“So, the Nile and the cave’s pond were directly connected through an artificial canal, right?” asked Michael.
“No, Michael, your assumption is erroneous. This direct connection couldn’t be possible because the inlet of the artificial canal is physically lower than the lower level of the Nile. Therefore, water densely saturated by silt would have to pass through the canal. In just a few years sediment would clog up the canal and the water basin itself. Using contaminated dead water to flood the burial chamber was inadmissible. On the other hand, clean live water could only be obtained from the upper layer of the Nile waters. In addition, the artificial canal could not directly open up to the Nile River because in periods of low tides it would reveal the entrance to the tomb, thus revealing the main secret of the Great Pyramid.”
“I guess you
came to a dead end, right?” Anna asked.
“Not really,” Kirilov paused as if he was expecting this very question. “This contradiction was resolved by the Chief Architect HemIwno quite cleverly. Take a look again at the plan of the necropolis.”
“The baffling pyramid is marked by the letter C. It has an artificial canal underneath it that travels north towards the other three small pyramids marked as A3, A2 and A1. Do you see how canal C-A1 passes horizontally along the Nile River? The Nile River is sixteen ancient Egyptian cubits in height. One Egyptian cubit is about fifty-two centimeters, which means the water was raised up to eight meters and thirty-two centimeters. When the river reached its maximum water level, the necessary quantity of living water was removed from the highest level of the tidal wave. Then gravity directed this living water along the artificial C-A1 canal to the water basin located beneath the Subterranean Chamber of the Great Pyramid.”
“But in practice, how exactly that was happening?” asked Anna. “I still find it hard to imagine the whole picture.”
“I used to be as lost as you are right now,” said Kirilov, smiling. “Then I read Nancy Jenkins’ book, ‘The Boat Beneath the Pyramid: King Cheops’ Royal Ship.’” Kirilov reached over and grabbed the book from the bookshelf. He opened it up, flipped through some pages and started reading:
As recently as fifty years ago the Nile in flood reached to the village of Kfar es-Sammân just under the pyramid plateau and the imposing bulk of the monument was mirrored in the placid surface of the Nile floodwaters.
He stopped to show his two pupils a picture. “This is how the Giza Plateau looked in the 1920s. You can see how different this entire area looks today.”
“Definitely,” said Michael. “I don’t remember seeing the Nile River so close to the Giza Plateau.”
“When the Aswan High Dam was constructed in 1970, the Nile River was diverted away from the Giza Plateau. The village of Kfar es-Sammân, which Nancy Jenkins mentions in her book, is called the town of Nazlet el-Samman nowadays. This town and the baffling pyramid are both located at the edge of the plateau. Here you can see where the wavy line marks the edge of the plateau. The baffling pyramid is the key. If you follow the diagram, the modestly sized pyramid is situated on the necropolis’ edge and in its lowest place, next to the road curb. When the Nile was in its flood stage, this pyramid would fill up with the cleanest water from the Nile surface,” Kirilov paused to see if they understood. He continued slowly, “Because it was never coated, it always appeared unattractive and even doomed. Therefore, this pyramid has fooled all of the treasure seekers, compelling them to go around it: Chief Architect HemIwno’s exact intent. But, if we were to dig at least thirty-two feet into its northern side, we would reach the artificial canal carved in the rock that allowed the pyramid to constantly pass water through itself. Once inside, we could crawl all the way to the water basin and the artificial island located beneath the Subterranean Chamber of the Great Pyramid.”
“Hey, wake up!” Anna’s shouts brought Michael back from Moscow to the taxi in Cairo. The driver, who had been nodding off, was suddenly fully awake and aware that he was on the opposite side of the road. Everyone in the taxi screamed as an old truck barreled down into their faces. The taxi driver jerked the steering wheel and the two vehicles darted past each other, with only a few inches to spare.
Still slightly shaking, Michael glanced through the windshield and saw the unforgettable outlines of the Giza Plateau located only a few miles south of Cairo where a limestone cliff rose abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert plateau. The ancient Egyptians called Giza “kher neter,” meaning the necropolis. Shortly thereafter, at the far edge of the Giza Plateau, Michael observed the outlines of one of the oldest towns in Egypt beneath which supposedly lies the Valley Temple of the Great Pyramid’s complex.
“Nazlet el-Samman,” announced the driver as he pulled up to their destination in a cloud of dust. He hoped that his passengers’ near-death experience would not prevent them from forgetting to leave a tip. After all, death-defying experiences made you more resilient and proved that what did not kill you, made you stronger.
Chapter 53
Nazlet el-Samman, Egypt
Thursday, September 28
9:05 a.m.
The town of Nazlet el-Samman was in the shadows of the pyramids, located between the Giza Plateau and the western edge of Cairo. The ancient ruins were separated from the town’s modern residents by a solid concrete wall topped with a chain link fence. Photos of its residents can be found in family albums all over the world as they provide tourists with horse and camel rides. Unfortunately, the town has been badly affected by the Egyptian revolution. In their desperation, the town’s residents waged the Battle of the Camel, taking their camels and horses over to Tahrir Square to trample and beat the growing demonstration that ultimately toppled the Mubarak regime after thirty years in power.
It was still relatively early when Anna and Michael got out of their taxi. As they walked in the dusty morning rays of sunshine, life in the village was already bustling. Children were rushing to school and tour guides were attending to their animals. Michael and Anna wandered around looking at the local features that tourists often do not get a chance to see.
They decided to catch a ride on a tok tok, a motorized tricycle with a small cabin. It may look awkward, but is maneuverable through the winding, dusty streets lined with mud huts and small buildings. They got out near the concrete wall that separates the town from the pyramids. Looking beyond the concrete wall, Michael and Anna admired the view of the three pyramids. They appeared to be a stone’s throw away and looked magnificent in the shimmering sun.
They walked beside the concrete wall, trying to find the town’s entrance to the desert. A half an hour later, after a fruitless search along the wall, they decided that it was time to explore the desert behind it. Propping up the trunk of an old tree against the concrete wall, Michael managed to scale it with Anna following after him. They looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but no one was in the vicinity. Michael climbed up and over the sturdy chain link fence. Once he was on the other side, he coached Anna as she climbed up it. As he was assisting her in climbing over the top of the fence, a policeman suddenly appeared out of nowhere, calling after them in Arabic. It was obvious that he did not want them to climb the wall, but Anna and Michael pretended they did not hear him. Anna quickly finished climbing down the other side of the chain link fence. Turning their backs and ignoring not only the shouting policeman, but also their thundering hearts, they carefully held onto the concrete wall and slid down it, dropping down onto the desert floor. Once outside the wall, they walked far away to a quiet spot and stood against the cool concrete wall. They gazed at the pyramids in their stark beauty. From their perspective, it really looked as if they were alone in the desert.
Down below them stretched the Sphinx, a huge stone structure with a colossal gateway that may have been the entrance to the ancient necropolis. They had a good overview of the ancient workmen’s village. This is where archaeologists discovered the bakeries, breweries, houses and the burial places of the population who built and maintained the pyramids.
Then they started exploring by looking at the Kirilov’s necropolis map and walking through the Mokattam, an area defined by a low range of hills. The eastern part of the Mokattam Formation had undergone significant changes as a result of the construction activity. They wandered in different directions to find the location of the baffling pyramid marked on their map. There was a multitude of different elevations made of the same limestone, which made it almost impossible to determine the real age of its abandoned pieces and structures. In the intersection of two old roads, however, Michael managed to find several rows of masonry covered partially in sand.
“These are the remains of the baffling pyramid,” he announced, an unmasked glow in his eyes. “Beneath this rubble is supposed to be an artif
icial canal made of carved rock. This pyramid served as the water pump, bringing the stream of fresh water along the artificial canal,” he added, deep in his thoughts.
“So, hypothetically speaking,” said Anna, perched on Kirilov’s comfortable couch, “if we were to dig into the northern side of this baffling pyramid about thirty-two feet, then we would reach this artificial canal, right?”
“No, unfortunately, we can’t,” he paused and sighed deeply. “The baffling pyramid doesn’t exist anymore.”
“What?” both Anna and Michael exclaimed, shocked.
Kirilov sighed. “This so-called auxiliary pyramid was leveled to the ground some time ago. It had been labeled as an unnecessary and useless construction.”
“But by doing so, it prevented the access of the living water into the burial scene located underneath the Great Pyramid,” said Michael in astonishment.
“Exactly,” Kirilov said grimly. “All seven of the small pyramids, plus this baffling pyramid located on the side of the road, played a vital role for the necropolis as a whole. As it remained uncoated and was built with special masonry stone blocks, it allowed an adequate amount of air inside the burial site. It functioned as the lungs of the burials: the three big pyramids were breathing through the smaller eight pyramids. At the base of each of the eight small pyramids were basically sumps, which served as drainage reservoirs to better dilute the accumulating pollutants in the Nile River’s tidal water. But it was almost impossible to completely purify the water, and some small amounts of impurities still came through the purification process. It was known that these impurities would lead to their degradation and the formation of gases. Over time, the burial site could become a hotbed of germs and toxic gases. The only possible solution was to provide permanent, effective air ventilation. This could be done by using the gallery, through which Khufu’s mummy was brought into the crypt.”
Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu Page 37