Through space and time part 1:
The burial chamber
Maybe I should introduce myself:
My name is Susan, 25 years old, blonde, English.
As the daughter of a wealthy archaeologist, I was born with a love of travel, so to speak.
Already my childhood I spent more in excavation sites in Egypt than in private school.
I knew that I would never have to work to earn my living, so I devoted myself to my hobbies, art and Egyptology.
My father supported me in this. I started to study Egyptology and was in the practical semester on an expedition....
So I came on a research trip through Upper Egypt. Here my story begins.
My father had given me a local guide whom he trusted and we had joined a caravan.
The caravan was far away from the usual tourist routes. Evening was falling and we reached a small Bedouin camp after nightfall.
They lived here in a very hostile environment. Their only reason for choosing the location was a small spring.
We rode into the camp and were greeted warmly. I noticed that there were only men in the camp.
My guide warned me not to walk around too provocatively, but since when have I listened to him.
While my guide was taking care of our camels, I was treated kindly despite the barren environment.
There was pleasantly cool fermented camel milk.
When I asked how they managed to cool this camel milk so pleasantly, I only received silence and smiles.
We were then assigned a place to stay overnight in a tent.
The night was very short, and after the heat of the day, it was now getting pleasantly cool.
Not wanting to sleep, I lay down in front of the tent and looked at the stars.
After a while one of the Bedouins came over and invited me to the campfire.
Everyone sat there together. I felt the men's eyes on me. Surely they had never seen a blonde - and in short at that.
Little by little, conversations arose, and I was accepted, which was to prove to be a great advantage
The journey was supposed to continue the next morning before sunrise.
So we got up very early and I looked towards the rising sun. Then the surprise was complete.
In front of me, in the middle of the desert, I saw an obelisk and a small pyramid.
I gradually asked all the Bedouins if the pyramid could be visited.
At first they were very reserved.
But getting to know each other around the campfire - and certainly my friendly smile - helped me in the end.
The leader of the Bedouin troop agreed to accompany me to the pyramid.
Even the obelisk was remarkable in its state of preservation.
The place in the dry desert had kept the stone from decay.
But I was amazed when we reached the entrance of the pyramid.
Everything seemed intact here and there was no sign of a violent opening.
The gate was intact, I pushed against it and it didn't move a bit.
I lost hope of seeing inside.
But I was wrong.
Skillfully, my Bedouin reached behind a stone and pulled a lever.
Now the gate swung open by itself, and gave a view inside.
What I saw now took my breath away:
Glittering gold everywhere, rich burial gifts, beautiful hieroglyphs, an unplundered burial chamber lay before me.
I noticed how my Bedouin looked at me from behind. I asked him about it.
He told me that no stranger had ever seen this pyramid and that it was a secret of his tribe.
So I told him how happy I was to be the first to see all this and promised to keep the location a secret.
Now he showed me the inside.
There were 3 sacrophages inside - all still unopened.
In addition, a number of richly decorated precious burial gifts.
-> IMAGE15
-> IMAGE16
I asked why they left the treasures in the pyramid when they were so precious and enough to give the whole tribe another life.
He only said: You can neither eat nor drink the gold. And why should we leave our homes when the well is not exhausted.
We have grown up here and its our home.
I was allowed to look at everything, but should not touch anything. He said there could be a curse on it, and touching it could be fatal.
He probably meant the poisons that used to protect graves from robbers.
There were some urns in a corner. They were visibly not closed any longer.
I asked if they had opened it and what they found inside.
He said: Inside was only useless powder, they tipped it out behind the pyramid, but now the camel's milk belongs and cools in there.
So I had revealed her biggest secret and smiled.
I took a few more photos, turning off the GPS sensor fo my camera, as not to leave placemarks in the photo metadata.
I wanted to publish the photos, but fulfilled my promise to keep the location secret.
When we got back to camp it was already noon. Too late to travel across the desert.
So we stay until evening and start the onward journey at sunset.
But before we left, I looked back at the camp that had brought me so much surprise.
And the Bedouins can also take my word for it: I will keep their secret.
Susan
------
for Tara
The burial chamber
Maybe I should introduce myself:
My name is Susan, 25 years old, blonde, English.
As the daughter of a wealthy archaeologist, I was born with a love of travel, so to speak.
Already my childhood I spent more in excavation sites in Egypt than in private school.
I knew that I would never have to work to earn my living, so I devoted myself to my hobbies, art and Egyptology.
My father supported me in this. I started to study Egyptology and was in the practical semester on an expedition....
So I came on a research trip through Upper Egypt. Here my story begins.
My father had given me a local guide whom he trusted and we had joined a caravan.
The caravan was far away from the usual tourist routes. Evening was falling and we reached a small Bedouin camp after nightfall.
They lived here in a very hostile environment. Their only reason for choosing the location was a small spring.
We rode into the camp and were greeted warmly. I noticed that there were only men in the camp.
My guide warned me not to walk around too provocatively, but since when have I listened to him.
While my guide was taking care of our camels, I was treated kindly despite the barren environment.
There was pleasantly cool fermented camel milk.
When I asked how they managed to cool this camel milk so pleasantly, I only received silence and smiles.
We were then assigned a place to stay overnight in a tent.
The night was very short, and after the heat of the day, it was now getting pleasantly cool.
Not wanting to sleep, I lay down in front of the tent and looked at the stars.
After a while one of the Bedouins came over and invited me to the campfire.
Everyone sat there together. I felt the men's eyes on me. Surely they had never seen a blonde - and in short at that.
Little by little, conversations arose, and I was accepted, which was to prove to be a great advantage
The journey was supposed to continue the next morning before sunrise.
So we got up very early and I looked towards the rising sun. Then the surprise was complete.
In front of me, in the middle of the desert, I saw an obelisk and a small pyramid.
I gradually asked all the Bedouins if the pyramid could be visited.
At first they were very reserved.
But getting to know each other around the campfire - and certainly my friendly smile - helped me in the end.
The leader of the Bedouin troop agreed to accompany me to the pyramid.
Even the obelisk was remarkable in its state of preservation.
The place in the dry desert had kept the stone from decay.
But I was amazed when we reached the entrance of the pyramid.
Everything seemed intact here and there was no sign of a violent opening.
The gate was intact, I pushed against it and it didn't move a bit.
I lost hope of seeing inside.
But I was wrong.
Skillfully, my Bedouin reached behind a stone and pulled a lever.
Now the gate swung open by itself, and gave a view inside.
What I saw now took my breath away:
Glittering gold everywhere, rich burial gifts, beautiful hieroglyphs, an unplundered burial chamber lay before me.
I noticed how my Bedouin looked at me from behind. I asked him about it.
He told me that no stranger had ever seen this pyramid and that it was a secret of his tribe.
So I told him how happy I was to be the first to see all this and promised to keep the location a secret.
Now he showed me the inside.
There were 3 sacrophages inside - all still unopened.
In addition, a number of richly decorated precious burial gifts.
-> IMAGE15
-> IMAGE16
I asked why they left the treasures in the pyramid when they were so precious and enough to give the whole tribe another life.
He only said: You can neither eat nor drink the gold. And why should we leave our homes when the well is not exhausted.
We have grown up here and its our home.
I was allowed to look at everything, but should not touch anything. He said there could be a curse on it, and touching it could be fatal.
He probably meant the poisons that used to protect graves from robbers.
There were some urns in a corner. They were visibly not closed any longer.
I asked if they had opened it and what they found inside.
He said: Inside was only useless powder, they tipped it out behind the pyramid, but now the camel's milk belongs and cools in there.
So I had revealed her biggest secret and smiled.
I took a few more photos, turning off the GPS sensor fo my camera, as not to leave placemarks in the photo metadata.
I wanted to publish the photos, but fulfilled my promise to keep the location secret.
When we got back to camp it was already noon. Too late to travel across the desert.
So we stay until evening and start the onward journey at sunset.
But before we left, I looked back at the camp that had brought me so much surprise.
And the Bedouins can also take my word for it: I will keep their secret.
Susan
------
for Tara