Missing in Egypt by Rita Lee Chapman Read Free Book Online Page A

with her handkerchief.   Omar did the driving and he and Pili said very little on the way, both caught up in their private thoughts and their hopes of finding something that would lead us to their father and sister. Occasionally they would make a comment about the road or another driver.   It seemed Omar, being the oldest, was more confident than his brother but I had the feeling that Pili was perhaps the smarter of the two.   Both were very good looking and wore designer jeans and open-necked shirts.   Both had dark, flashing eyes that took in everything around them.   Neither were very tall but they walked with an air of confidence that added height.   Their manners were impeccable and I felt very comfortable with them. I also spent much of the journey lost in thought, hoping against hope that we might find Ramy and that Kareem would somehow be with him.
    We parked at Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb.   We took the photo of Ramy and Yasmeen over to the guards and asked them if they had seen them.   They all replied in the negative.   Pili also showed them a photo of his father, but this brought the same response.  
    We wandered around the tomb.   Pili told me that Queen Hatshepsut had ruled for 22 years, bringing Egypt peace and prosperity.   When her husband, King Thutmosis II died, she became co-regent with her 12 year old stepson, Thutmosis III.   As he approached manhood she declared herself a Pharaoh and insisted on being depicted as a man by adding a beard to her statues, as kings were considered to be demi-gods. “It is generally believed” he concluded “that it was Thutmosis III who had her face damaged or removed wherever possible after her death.”
    We started the trek up the hillside, not knowing what we were looking for or where we should look.   There were little caves dotted around everywhere in the hills, many of which held the bodies of the working class.   We tried calling out, but although our voices echoed around the hills, there was no answering call.   The going was tough and after walking around for a couple of hours we decided this course of action was hopeless.   If Mr Ahmose had been here, he was either long gone, or dead and buried in one of the caves.
    Pili went to speak again to one of the guards to see if there was a road that went behind the tomb.   From the gesturing and pointing it seemed that there was.   Pili came back to the car, his brow and shirt damp from sweat and confirmed that we could pick up a track back from where we had turned off to the tomb.   The track was only dirt and we bumped and bounced along it for about half an hour.   There was nothing to see other than the barren hills and more caves.   We stopped and walked over to a hill with several caves and peered inside them, but there was nothing to be seen.   We called their names but our voices echoed back to us and there was no reply.   Soon the sun was starting to set and we had to admit defeat and call it a day.
    Omar and Pili dropped me off at Hamidi’s hotel.   They stayed for a cold drink and then set off for the return trip to Cairo .   I promised to keep digging and to let them know if I had any news.
    Hamidi was keen to know what we had been up to and was not surprised that our search in the Valley of the Queen’s had not produced any results.   “It is quite a wild and barren area” he told me. “Over the hill from Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb there are many ravines and gulleys where a man could hide or be hidden.   Very few people venture out into that part of the country”.
    The next morning I called around to the Police Station but the news was always the same.   “We have no further leads on Kareem’s disappearance” the Sergeant told me. He was large and sweaty and appeared not to have very much interest in this case.   “As soon as we hear something we will let you know” he said, walking me to the door.   In other words – don’t call us, we’ll call you.
    I phoned