Yasmeen was slowly getting ahead of me as I tried to fend off the traders. When she found Abdul’s stall she turned and smiled at me and I was left to the mercy of the other stall holders. After 15 minutes of their haggling I decided to wait at the front of Abdul’s stall in the hope they would leave me alone. I looked inside for Yasmeen but couldn’t see her. The stall was only small and I had been watching the front - I knew she hadn’t come out yet. I went further in – there was a curtain and I tweaked the edge to peer behind it. There was no further merchandise there – it just led out to another lane. Obviously Abdul had taken Yasmeen to another place to show her his antique. I had an uneasy feeling – all the guide books warn you about going off with one of these stall holders to see other merchandise. It is a common ploy to take you out of view and rob you. Yasmeen of course would know this – but she would also have understood that a valuable antique would not be readily on display.
I walked through the curtain and out into the other lane. There were fewer traders here. I called out her name, as well as Abdul’s but there was no response. I made my way up the lane. Then I heard what seemed to be a muffled scream. It was Yasmeen, I was sure. I bounded forward and around the corner – just in time to see her being manhandled by two men in Egyptian costumes. “Yasmeen” I cried, “Yasmeen”. “Help me Ramy” she screamed before one of the men slapped his hand over her mouth. I found energy I didn’t know I possessed as I ran towards her. They went around another corner and I tore around it blindly. There were no stalls down here and suddenly there was Yasmeen, still held by one of the men, looking at me with terrified eyes over his hand, which was still tightly over her mouth. Before I knew it a foot had been thrust out in front of me and I went down like a sack of potatoes. One of the men grabbed me and tied my hands behind my back with cord. I could see they had done the same to Yasmeen. “What is going on?” I demanded to know when I got my breath back “What do you want from us? If it is money, take it and let us go” I said. They were dressed in traditional robes and had the mask used to keep the sand out of their nose and mouth pulled across their faces. All we could see were their eyes.
“We don’t want you at all” said one of the men in reasonable English. “We want the girl, but you have seen us taking her and now you will have to come along as well”. They put gags in our mouths and pulled us around another corner where there was a car waiting. They opened the back doors and pushed us in, one of the men getting in with us and the other jumping in the front. A blindfold was put over my eyes but not before I saw the same being done to Yasmeen. Then we were speeding away from the markets, completely confused and very, very frightened. All the horror stories of tourists disappearing in Egypt flashed through my mind. Were they going to kill us?
When the car stopped we were pulled roughly out of the vehicle and pushed forward. The ground was uneven and I stumbled several times but the hand holding my arm yanked me upwards and stopped me falling. I could hear Yasmeen quietly sobbing. We were guided through a doorway and our blindfolds and gags removed. “You can scream all you want” one of the men said “no-one can hear you now”.
I looked around. We were in a small house, very rough and ready. They pushed us down on to two chairs in the middle of the room and tied us to them. Then they tied our feet. It was beginning to look very nasty. I could see Yasmeen was terrified but there was nothing I could do. “What do you want from us?” I asked, trying to sound as if I was in charge. The smallest of the two guys pointed at Yasmeen. “You” he said “are going to tell us where your father got his latest antiques from.” “I don’t know” Yasmeen replied “I hardly every go to the shop now, I have a job as a tour guide.”
This answer obviously didn’t please him because he struck her on the face. “Don’t give me that” he countered “We know they are genuine and no-one has seen anything like them before. He must have found another tomb – one that has not been raided. We want to know where it is”.
Yasmeen looked shocked and I felt sure she had no idea what the guy was talking about. “I ….I don’t know…” she stammered. “He has never said anything about it. I’m sure if he had discovered something he would have told me. He has never mentioned this to me” she stressed. The man hit her again and I could see a large purple bruise already forming where he hit her the first time. I had never felt so helpless in my life. Not to be able to defend the woman I love was the most helpless feeling in the world.
“For goodness sake, Yasmeen” I hissed at her “tell him what he wants to know”. “I don’t know anything” she replied, the tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t tell them something I don’t know”.
“Very well” said the smaller of the two men. “Mosi, work on the boyfriend. Maybe when she sees you inflict pain on him she will be more co-operative”.
Mosi crossed the floor towards me. He wasn’t very tall but he was very stocky. Although his face was covered he obviously had a large nose because it protruded through the cloth. All I could see of his face were his eyes, which were brown, small and piggy. I could see the punch coming but there was nothing I could do to avoid it. It half lifted me off the floor, together with the chair, and I yelped in pain.
“Leave him alone” cried Yasmeen. “I’ve already told you I can’t tell you anything. Why didn’t you ask my father, or my brother? Why are you asking me – you must know I don’t work in the shop.”
“Because you were much easier to grab” replied Mosi. “Your father and brother are in the middle of Cairo – someone would have seen us. But you move around in many areas so it was much easier to grab you.”
“Very well” said the smaller of the men. “We will take them to the cave and leave them there overnight. Maybe by morning she will have remembered something.”
They undid our feet and untied us from the chairs. Pushing us in front of them we went outside. It was easy to see why no-one would hear our screams. The little house was in the middle of nowhere. We walked for about an hour, Yasmeen stumbling occasionally on the rocky terrain. As we came to the top of a hill I could see where we were heading. Across the next valley on the next hill there were many caves. Again no-one would hear us scream and a feeling of dread descended on me. We were taken to the far end of the hilltop and up a steep track. The cave they had selected had a small opening and we were taken deep into the back of it then pushed into the blackness. As we fell to the ground there was a loud clang and a rudely improvised steel gate was locked on us, just inside the opening. From the outside it could hardly be seen and crude though it was I was quite sure I would never be able to force it back open. We were told to back up to the gate and, to our great relief, they untied our hands. We rubbed our sore wrists and I pulled Yasmeen into my arms.
As their footsteps faded into the distance Yasmeen and I looked at each other helplessly. They had left us a pitcher of water but no food. Things were not looking too good. “Oh, Ramy” Yasmeen wept “what are we going to do? I honestly don’t have a clue what they are talking about. I can’t believe that if my father had found something he wouldn’t have mentioned it to me. They must have the wrong family. How can we convince them?”
“We can’t” I replied gloomily. “They’ll be back in the morning to beat us again. We could die up here and no-one would know what became of us.” We lay down, wrapped in each others’ arms. It had been a long day and night was starting to fall outside. “We had better try and get some sleep. Maybe we will think of something in the morning” I suggested. Although we had not been given any food, fortunately neither of us was hungry, we were too stressed to feel like eating.
It was a long night for both of us. We eventually fell into an exhausted sleep, only to wake a short while after. I knew Yasmeen, like me, was remembering all that had befallen us – how our lives had changed since we set off so happily the day before with plans to explore the Valley of the Kings. The rest of the night passed restlessly as we drifted in and out of sleep, each time we woke the painful realisation of our situation e
nveloping us.
As light again returned to the outside world we were able to make out more of our surroundings. The back of the cave was very low and only about 8 foot away. I went over to explore but could see only a wall of rock – no other opening. We had no option but to use the back of the cave as a toilet. Whilst we were petrified at the thought of our captors returning, we also knew we would be glad to see them for food and water and to know that we had not been abandoned.
It wasn’t long after daylight that we heard footsteps and our captors returned. We could see they had water and some bread and cheese with them but they did not hand either to us. “Back up to the gate so we can tie your hands again” instructed Mosi. We did as we were told, hungry by now and hopeful of receiving the bread and cheese. Also our water had almost run out and we knew how thirsty we would be in the heat of the day.
Mosi unlocked the gate and came inside. The smaller of the men remained outside and closed the gate behind him. “Now, lady, are you ready to tell us what we want to know or do we take up where we left off yesterday?” “I can’t help you” Yasmeen replied “I do not have this information”. Mosi hit her hard and she fell backwards to the ground. With his back to me it gave me the perfect opportunity to land a hard kick between his legs. Rather than fell him though, the blow had the effect of turning him into a raging monster and he knocked me to the floor and started kicking me. “Stop it” cried Yasmeen. “He can’t help you, he knows nothing – he doesn’t even know my family”.
When his anger had subsided Mosi withdrew behind the gate. “”Rashidi”, he addressed the smaller man “what are we going to do with these two now?” Rashidi seemed to be the one in charge. Much taller than Mosi, his eyes – more black than brown – were very unfriendly. “Leave them to think about it” was his response.
With that the men disappeared back down the hill, leaving us sore and bruised and with our hands tied behind our back. With no water or food we were in a sad and sorry state. “We need a plan” I said to Yasmeen after a couple of hours. “We can do nothing whilst we are locked up here. We need to find a way out.”
We sat in silence for a while and then the beginnings of an idea started to form. “What if we said we would take them to this tomb?” I asked. “At least that would get us out of here” Yasmeen replied. “Maybe someone would see us and we can get help”. “Where can we say it is?” “Well” she said, thinking out loud “it would have to be somewhere not too isolated, somewhere I am familiar with so that if we can break free we can find our way out”.
“Well then, it would have to be either the Valley of the Kings or the Valley of the Queens” I suggested. “How well do you know your way around the Valley of the Queens?” Yasmeen thought for a moment. ‘Not as well as I do the Valley of the Kings, because most of our tours go there. But of course, we usually go to the same three tombs although I have occasionally explored further. The Western Valley tombs are the ones less often visited. Perhaps if we suggest it is in this area they are more likely to believe us. But we need to plan this carefully or we could end up buried in the Valley if they realise we are just leading them on.”
She turned to me in tears “our families would never know what happened to us”. “They won’t know if we are killed in this cave, either” I pointed out. “At least if we can get out of this cave we have half a chance.” “What are you doing?” Yasmeen asked. “I’m looking for a sharp piece of rock or shale. Ah, here is one – see how sharp it is on the end? I’m going to put it in my pocket. We can use it to try and cut through our ropes when the time comes”.
I was quite proud of my forward thinking – it was certainly better than thinking about my family and how they would feel if I totally disappeared. In fact, they were probably already a bit worried about me. Since I had met Yasmeen I had been a bit slack in sending postcards or even ringing my aunt and uncle. I had been so wrapt up in Yasmeen I hadn’t thought of anything else. Still, I guess that was a bonus because the sooner they started worrying about me the better!
“When will your parents start worrying about you, Yasmeen?” “Soon. They are due back from their holiday tomorrow. Omar and Pili have probably been in touch with them but it is not unusual for me not to speak to them for a week”. “Do you think our captors will contact them direct?”
“I don’t know what they are likely to do. They are not very educated. There must be someone else involved who can move the antiques if they get hold of them. They are obviously just the muscle – the ones who were told to follow me and grab me and then find out where the tomb is” Yasmeen reasoned. “They said they thought grabbing my father or brothers would be much harder, but by now they must be starting to believe me when I say I know nothing about this. Maybe they will try and blackmail them – offering me for the information on the tomb. I don’t know”.
This seemed to me to be a reasonable line of thought. Maybe we should just wait and see what happens before we try to escape. Perhaps it was not the right time to pretend we know where the tomb is – it might be better to hold this card up our sleeve for the time being.
I told Yasmeen of my thoughts and we agreed to keep our plan as a last resort. We would see what the men did next, maybe even suggest to them they should try and get the information from Yasmeen’s father in exchange for our release. At all times the men had kept their faces covered from us so we would not be able to recognise them. At least that should give us a chance of being released alive.
It seemed an age before the men returned but it was probably only a couple of hours. By then we were very hot and thirsty, not to mention hungry. Mosi unlocked the gate and pushed through a pitcher of water before locking it again. “Turn around and I’ll take off your ropes” he said. As he untied them he said “there will be no food until you are ready to talk” and with that both men disappeared.
They did not return until the following morning. By this time all our water had gone and we were ravenous. “Are you ready to talk now?” asked Rashidi. “Believe me,” I replied “if we had anything at all to tell you we would do so now. We are hungry, thirsty, dirty and tired. We need a bath and clean clothes. Why would we keep anything from you?”
He turned to Yasmeen. “You must know where your father got the golden collar and jewelled dagger from. Tell me where this secret tomb is and we will let you go right now”. Yasmeen was in tears. “I have no idea –those antiques have been sitting in the shop since I was a little girl. Please believe me, I can tell you nothing about them.”
The two men stormed off, leaving us only a small pitcher of water. We were so dismayed we clung together, crying inwardly, seeking some comfort from each other, some respite from this dreadful nightmare.
3. The Secret Tomb
Later that day they returned. Again our wrists were bound. Then the gate was opened and Mosi grabbed Yasmeen and pulled her out of the cave, shutting it quickly behind her, leaving me on the inside. “Where are you taking her?” I demanded.
There was no answer. Yasmeen was pushed along the path, almost too weak to walk. Alone and angry, I was beside myself with worry and grief. What were they doing to her? Where had they taken her? Would I ever see her again?
It was nearly dark when I heard footsteps returning. I craned my neck to try and see if Yasmeen was coming back to me. To my great relief and joy, she was. The gate was opened and she was pushed in. Her face was streaked with tears but there were no more bruises. Mosi handed us some bread and cheese, more water and another pitcher of water with a bowl and some rags. “To wash yourselves” he said. They untied our hands and left us.
Yasmeen fell into my arms, weeping loudly. “Are you alright?” I asked her gently. “Did they hurt you?” “No” she replied “I am okay. I was just so afraid. I didn’t know what they were going to do to me.”
She had been taken to a house near the bottom of the hill, where there was a phone. Rashidi had told her he was going to ring her father’s shop and tell him he would swap her life for information on the
hidden tomb. After he had told her father he handed the phone to Yasmeen. “Tell him you are okay” he said. “I’m okay, Dad, but please, please do as they say. I am so frightened.” She could hear the emotion in her father’s voice. “Don’t worry, I will do everything in my power to make sure you are safe and soon back home with us” he had assured her.
They agreed to meet early the next morning at the far end of the Valley of the Queens. Yasmeen’s father would drive overnight to be there and Rashidi agreed to have Yasmeen and “her little friend” with him. Once they knew where the secret tomb was located, we would be allowed to return with Yasmeen’s father. He was to tell no-one – if there was anyone else around or any police then Rashidi assured him that we would not live. He was also to bring with him the golden collar and the jewelled dagger.
We tore into the bread and cheese. We were ravenous and very low on strength. The food restored our spirits a little, especially now we had hope that tomorrow we would be free.
It was also great to be able to wash. As I watched Yasmeen undress and bathe herself I realised once again just how beautiful she was. “Now that I’m clean I feel human again” she said, rubbing up against me. “Make love to me Ramy” she whispered, running her hands over my naked body. What was a man to do?
We fell into a deep sleep but were awake as soon as the sun began to lighten the cave. We had tried to save some food for the morning but we were so hungry we had eaten it all. We could only hope that our captors would be in a benevolent mood and bring us some breakfast.
Soon we heard footsteps and, to our relief, we saw that they had indeed brought us some gruel and water. “Eat this quickly” we were told “don’t waste time, we have a long walk ahead of us”.
It was great to walk out into the sunshine, even though our hands were bound again. This time they didn’t bother to blindfold us, I guess because they figured we would travel faster that way and we wouldn’t be coming back anyway. It didn’t really matter, the hills all looked much the same to me and most of the time I was looking at the ground so I wouldn’t stumble. We walked for about an hour and as we came over the last crest I could see the Valley of the Queens spread out below us. Far in the distance I could see the first of the tourist buses coming towards Queen Hatshepsut’s temple which was below us to the right. It was so far away that they looked like toy buses and I knew it would be useless to try and attract their attention if something went wrong. Let’s hope these are men of their word, I thought.
Missing in Egypt Page 7
