18 - 24 October 2001
Issue No.556
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 18 - 24 October 2001 Issue No.556 |
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Dig days
Sheikh Ali's secret
There are famous names in Egyptology which will be remembered forever. Howard Carter is one of them; his name is indelibly linked with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. But there are others; memorable people, not necessarily professionals, who have made valuable contributions to our field. Some are guides, others guards; others again are residents of communities near famous archaeological sites, such as the people of Nazlet El-Samman at the foot of the Great Pyramid near the Sphinx; or of El- Qurna on the Theban necropolis. Certain Luxor residents are as well known as some of the famous archaeologists.
I have spoken before of Sheikh Ali and his family. He left such an imprint on my mind during the few months I stayed in the Valley of the Kings in my youth, that I hardly ever talk of Luxor without seeing, in my mind's eye, a vision of his strong face with his long moustache; to see him you would think he was a reincarnation of one of the ancient Egyptian noblemen depicted on the tomb walls at Sheikh Abdel-Qurna on the necropolis.
I remember the day I entered the El- Marsam Hotel, where he lived for most of his life, and found Sheikh Ali asleep with a lit cigarette in each hand. I stood in front of him, watching, until the cigarettes burned down to his fingers and he was startled awake by the pain. He recognised me at once and asked if he could bring me a drink. I nodded, and he then got up and went into a room which no one was ever allowed to enter. I was filled with curiosity, and asked him what it contained. He said it was "the secret room of Sheikh Ali," and changed the subject.
People speculated about that secret room. These tales survive until today, but to the best of my knowledge only one other person ever went into it. On the day of the Sheikh's death, his son entered the room alone. Villagers say he found letters sent to his father by women from all over the world, gifts, old bottles of whisky and the Sheikh's gun.
They say that Sheikh Ali married a Belgian woman who used to come to see him regularly over the course of 20 years, but there is no evidence of this. When his first wife proved unable to bear children he remarried -- at the age of 63. His second wife -- the daughter of his cousin, Hussein Abdel-Rasoul -- was only 14 years old. Their children were called Sayed, Zienab, and Hatshepsut.
Sheikh Ali was truly a remarkable character. I visualise him sitting at his table, arm-wrestling with the youthful tourists. His right arm was like iron; it toppled the forearm of every young man. Once, we noticed that he was paying special attention to a German tourist who was staying at his hotel. He offered her a beer, invited her to dinner, and escorted her to the tomb of Seti I. No doubt he told her about his dream of the secret chamber inside the tomb. One night he saw the woman having dinner with an inspector of the Antiquities Service, and in front of everyone Sheikh Ali brandished his gun, shot over the head of the official, and warned: "That lady is my guest."
Sheikh Ali was never, to the best of my knowledge, involved in any antiquities theft. But that he was afraid of something I have little doubt, and sometimes I could see fear in his eyes. Once I asked him, "What do you hide, Sheikh Ali?" But all I got in return was a smile, and then, with a raised eyebrow, the response: "No one has ever asked me that question before!" All I could think of was the secret chamber of Seti I's tomb and what it might conceal. Nor could I dismiss from my mind the fact that Sheikh Ali used to take his gun with him to the roof of his hotel where he slept at night.
Sheikh Ali's son, Sayed, has recently refurbished the El-Marsam Hotel with the help of one of his father's friends from the Czech Republic. Sayed does not permit the sale of liquor. The room with Sheikh Ali's personal effects remains closed. But rumours, forever feeding on the unknown, persist. Is there some document, a letter perhaps, left inside the room that reveals the secret of the burial chamber of Seti I? Some say so. Or is there some other secret? Sayed smiles and says nothing. If there is one, it died with Sheikh Ali.
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