Death on Tour - Janice Hamrick [45]
“Pretty lady! I have many things for a very pretty lady. Come with me!”
“Cheap souvenirs. The best prices! The best quality! Look! Look!”
By this time, we were almost immune to the colorful compliments and exuberant greetings, but I noticed that walking beside Alan provided a better buffer than when I was alone or with Kyla. The salesmen did not approach so closely or yell so loudly, and their comments were mostly directed at him. My chin just topped his shoulder, and I could glance across him into the stalls without worrying about making eye contact. I liked it.
Although haggling on my own seemed all but impossible in the face of the shouting, I was still determined to try it at least once. The little gold pyramid that Alan had given me was nestled safely in the bottom of my purse. Foolish to carry it around, but I liked having it with me and it weighed hardly anything. Oh well, maybe I would be able to find some little gifts in the alabaster and perfume shops that we were scheduled to visit later in the tour. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no time to stop at a shop now, even if I could get up the nerve to try.
On the other end of the spectrum, DJ hurried forward to haggle at the nearest booth, but Anni grabbed his arm and propelled him onward.
“We will have time to shop after we go through the temples,” she told him. Glancing back, she noticed Flora and Fiona had been cornered by three salesmen, and she hurried to rescue them.
We went through a modern building where Anni bought tickets for us. We had to open our purses for inspection and go though a metal detector before being allowed through to the other side. How sad that the world had come to this—a world where ordinary people thought nothing at all of the requirement for metal detectors and armed guards at a historical monument. The terrorists had a lot to answer for, I thought as I opened my purse for the guard’s examination. I was glad I’d hidden Millie’s bag at the bottom of my suitcase back at the hotel. I was still trying to figure out how to return the stolen items, although at this point it was going to be all but impossible.
Once out of the building, we could see nothing but a gravel path and a large domed mound. The white sun beat down on our heads and on the rock with a promise of coming heat, but right now the morning air was still cool and pleasant. After a few paces, our shoes were covered with white dust. I saw Kathy Morrison give a cry of annoyance as she wobbled down the path in her high-heeled sandals. Her red toenails were already obscured by grime. Even Kyla had worn more sensible shoes than those.
“You look pleased with yourself,” said Alan under his breath, looking from Kathy to me, as though reading my thoughts.
“Because I’m a terrible person. You should take warning.”
“I think I’ll risk it.”
Kathy fell behind as the rest of us followed Anni along the path. Three minutes later, we rounded a mound of rocks and stopped dead.
The great temple of Abu Simbel waited in the brilliant Egyptian sunlight. It had been old before the forces of Alexander the Great swept across Greece, before the Romans crossed the English Channel, before Christ walked the earth. Even knowing what to expect, I was unprepared for its sheer size and beauty. Three seated figures loomed sixty feet into the air, surrounded by scores of carvings and smaller statues, all guarding a dark and mysterious entrance. A fourth statue lay broken in half on the ground, recreated exactly as it had been found when the temple was rediscovered in 1813. All four statues had the same forbidding face, the face of the pharaoh. The dark doorway in the center looked small and mysterious, but it must have been twenty-five feet tall. Tourists walking through looked like colorful miniatures.
Every camera was out and clicking.
“Look at that,” said Ben, and