‘In time, the two gods – Amun and Ra – merged to become Amun-Ra, greatest of all the gods, and to show his gratitude and respect to the great god, the pharaoh, mighty Ramses II, has built the Temple of Amun-Ra, here at Abu Simbel.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the sun has not yet risen. The world waits. Will it rise or will it not? Have we had our last day? Has the Sun God failed at last? For our survival, mighty Ra must triumph every night. The God of Chaos has only to triumph once. Look outside. All is dark. We, along with the people of Egypt – of the world – can only wait. Has the Sun God finally been defeated? Are we all doomed to eternal darkness? Until the end of time itself?’
There was no sound inside the pod. Everyone was staring at the screens, straining their eyes, waiting to see if the sun would rise. Even Luke had forgotten to eat.
Someone said, ‘There – look.’ A faint glimmer showed on the horizon. Someone cheered and there was a brief round of applause. It would seem that Apophis had not triumphed this night. The glimmer swelled. Gold replaced pink and then light flooded across the screen, dazzling their eyes as the great god Amun-Ra rose triumphantly over the horizon.
The cameras must be aligned directly into the sun, thought Jane, blinking.
‘Ladies and gentlemen – behold.’
The cameras swung dizzyingly. There was a moment’s disorientation and then, with a crashing musical chord that made everyone jump, the purple shadows were swept away and a massive stone face filled the screens.
The captain moved round to stand in front of them. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the year is 1248BC. Today we have brought you to the country of Nubia. Or Kush, as it was known at the time. We have landed near the Second Nile Cataract. This is the site of the Great Temple of Ramses II. Over to our right stands the Small Temple of Nefertari, his chief wife.’
She gave them a moment to take it all in. The mountain, the temple, the four massive statues of Ramses the Great – a pharaoh who never knowingly sold himself or his achievements short.
There was no soundtrack to the screen, Jane noticed. No noises filtered through from the outside. The images were impressive but somehow sterile. Almost unreal. Jane had never before realised how much her senses of sound and smell contributed to the world around her. In the background, a speaker played what Mr Geoffrey and his colleagues no doubt considered to be ‘Egyptian music’. Discordant pipes and clashing cymbals rose to a dramatic crescendo and then died away. Jane made a mental note never to let anyone from St Mary’s near this.
The captain continued. ‘You might not perhaps have noticed, but this is not the temple we see in our own time. In 1960, reacting to the threat of flooding from the newly built Aswan High Dam, the decision was taken to move both temples out of harm’s way.’
Her voice swelled. ‘What you see before you today, however, is the original site, and the temple, as you can see, is still under construction. I think it’s worth mentioning that no one else in all the world has seen what you are seeing today. This is the sort of very unique, very special experience we aim to bring to you, our customers.’
She gestured at the screen, her voice becoming more businesslike. ‘So, to get down to basics – the temple complex at Abu Simbel is being built by Ramses II to commemorate his supposed victory at the Battle of Kadesh. The construction will take around twenty years – between 1264 and 1244BC. As you can see, the façade is almost completed and most of the work is now taking place within the temple.
‘Each of the statues you see before you is of Ramses himself, wearing the double crown of Egypt. Each is sixty-six feet high. You will see that all four are intact – in our time the statue to the left of the entrance is damaged and the upper part lies on the ground.’
She continued with more statistics – details of the façade and the names of the king’s immediate family, depicted as the tiny figures clustered around his legs. Jane let most of it wash over her. She wasn’t here for this. She sipped her orange juice and watched those around her, their faces illuminated only by the light from the screens.
‘Most of the masons have departed – the workmen you see now are the artists and painters. Today, we are accustomed to the bare, undecorated stone, but as you can see, when they were built, Egyptian monuments were a riot of colour. Red, blue, yellow, green, white and black.’
The cameras were sweeping across the temple façade, operated, Jane assumed, by the unseen first officer.
‘The Great Temple is dedicated to the gods Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah. The Small Temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor.
‘Unlike the pyramids, these temples weren’t built block by block. They were actually carved out of the living rock. Not an easy task, I think you’ll agree – especially since the early Egyptians had very little iron. Working almost entirely with stone and soft copper tools, they carved this marvel out of the mountainside.’
She took a sip of water. ‘You might ask why here? Well, this site was carefully chosen. Twice a year, on the 22nd February and 22nd October, the sun penetrates the doorway, sweeps deep into the Great Temple and illuminates the statues of Ramses, Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty. The statue of Ptah, however, remains in shadow as befits the Lord of the Underworld. The significance of the dates is unknown but it is thought they could possibly commemorate the dates of Ramses’s birthday or coronation.’
The camera was panning around. ‘As you can see, the Great Temple faces the east and the sun is rising and the work gangs are mustering, so I shall leave you a moment to enjoy this magnificent spectacle.’
Obediently, Luke peered at the screen. The dark shapes he had seen earlier were now revealed as men. Just ordinary men. No supernatural entities of any kind. Brilliant sunshine dazzled his eyes as the Sun God rose enthusiastically into the sky. No jackal-headed god stood atop the mountain, starlight winking off his golden kilt and collar. Egypt by day was a very different place from Egypt by night.
The busy scene was not as chaotic as Jane had first supposed. They were organising themselves, receiving their instructions for the day and being issued with their tools and equipment. Foremen pointed and one by one, the gangs dispersed to their allotted tasks. There were no whips. No one was being flogged to within an inch of their life. The whole scene was one of professional tradesmen who knew exactly what they were doing and were getting on with it.
‘Why isn’t it finished?’ enquired the teenager, twisting in her seat to address the captain.
‘Because, as I just said, it takes them twenty years to build.’
The teenager’s mouth twisted petulantly. ‘Why can’t we see it when it’s finished?’
The captain’s bright smile never faltered. ‘You can. Your parents have only to book a return trip for you to see the completed complex as the Great Pharaoh Ramses himself would have seen it.’