people. I like that.’
‘But they eat terrible food…and wear polyester slacks.’
‘Yes, yes. And some towns in Utah you can’t even buy coffee. The drink of the devil.’ Christinequietly smiled. The desert air was warm through the open window of the Land Rover. ‘But I’m serious. Mormons are nice. Friendly. Their religion makes them that way. Why do atheists sneer at people of faith, when faith makes you nicer?’
‘You’re a believer, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m not.’
‘I guessed.’
They laughed.
Rob leaned back, scanning the horizon. They were passing a concrete shack he’d seen before. Plastered with posters of Turkish politicians.
‘Isn’t this near the turning?’
‘Yes. Just up ahead.’
The car slowed as they neared their junction. Rob was thinking about Christine’s belief: Roman Catholicism, she had said. He was still confused by this. He was still confused by a lot of things about Christine Meyer: like her love for Sanliurfa, despite the local, very patriarchal attitude to women.
The Land Rover swerved off the asphalt. Now they were rattling along the rubbled track, in real darkness. The headlights picked out stray bushes, and bare rocks. Maybe a gazelle, skittering into the gloom. A tiny village, illuminated by a few straggly lights, twinkled on the side of a hill. Rob could just make out the spear of a minaret in the shrouding twilight. The moon was just rising.
Rob asked Christine directly: about her attitudeto Islam. She explained that she admired aspects of it. Especially the muezzin.
‘Really?’ Rob said. ‘All that wailing? I sometimes find it intrusive. I mean, I don’t hate it, but still…sometimes…’
‘I think it’s moving. The cry of the soul, imploring God. You should listen more closely!’
They took the second turning past a final, silent Kurdish village. A few more kilometres, and they would see the shallow hills of Gobekli, silhouetted in the moonlight. The Land Rover rumbled as Christine took the ultimate curve. Rob didn’t know what to expect at the dig, following the ‘accident’. Police cars? Barriers? Nothing?
There was indeed a new barrier, set across the track. It said Police. And Keep Out. In Turkish, and English. Rob got out of the car and pushed the blue barrier aside. Christine drove on and parked.
The site was deserted. Rob felt serious relief. The only indication that the dig was now the scene of a suspicious death was a new tarpaulin, erected over the trench where Franz had been pushed-that and a sense of emptiness in the tented area. Lots of things had been taken away. The big table had been moved, or dismantled. This season’s dig was definitely over.
Rob glanced at the stones. He’d wondered before what it would be like, standing amongst them at night. Now, quite unexpectedly, here he was. They were shadowy in their enclosures. The moon had fully risen and was casting white darkness acrossthe scene. Rob had an odd desire to go down into the enclosures. Touch the megaliths. Rest his cheek against the coolness of the ancient stones. Run his fingers along the carvings. He’d wanted to do that, in fact, the very first time he’d seen them.
Christine walked up behind him. ‘Everything OK?’
‘Yes!’
‘Come on then. Let’s be quick. This place…rather scares me at night.’
Rob noticed that she was averting her gaze from the trench. The trench where Franz had been killed. He sensed how difficult this visit must be for her.
They walked swiftly over the rise. To the left was a blue plastic cabin: Franz’s personal office. The door was freshly padlocked.
Christine sighed. ‘Damn.’
Rob thought for a second. Then he jogged back to the Land Rover, opened the car’s back door, and fumbled in the darkness. He returned with a tyre jack. The desert breeze was warm and the moonlight glinted on the padlock. He shoved the jack in the lock, twisted, and the padlock snapped open.
Inside, the cabin was small and pretty empty.
‘But they eat terrible food…and wear polyester slacks.’
‘Yes, yes. And some towns in Utah you can’t even buy coffee. The drink of the devil.’ Christinequietly smiled. The desert air was warm through the open window of the Land Rover. ‘But I’m serious. Mormons are nice. Friendly. Their religion makes them that way. Why do atheists sneer at people of faith, when faith makes you nicer?’
‘You’re a believer, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m not.’
‘I guessed.’
They laughed.
Rob leaned back, scanning the horizon. They were passing a concrete shack he’d seen before. Plastered with posters of Turkish politicians.
‘Isn’t this near the turning?’
‘Yes. Just up ahead.’
The car slowed as they neared their junction. Rob was thinking about Christine’s belief: Roman Catholicism, she had said. He was still confused by this. He was still confused by a lot of things about Christine Meyer: like her love for Sanliurfa, despite the local, very patriarchal attitude to women.
The Land Rover swerved off the asphalt. Now they were rattling along the rubbled track, in real darkness. The headlights picked out stray bushes, and bare rocks. Maybe a gazelle, skittering into the gloom. A tiny village, illuminated by a few straggly lights, twinkled on the side of a hill. Rob could just make out the spear of a minaret in the shrouding twilight. The moon was just rising.
Rob asked Christine directly: about her attitudeto Islam. She explained that she admired aspects of it. Especially the muezzin.
‘Really?’ Rob said. ‘All that wailing? I sometimes find it intrusive. I mean, I don’t hate it, but still…sometimes…’
‘I think it’s moving. The cry of the soul, imploring God. You should listen more closely!’
They took the second turning past a final, silent Kurdish village. A few more kilometres, and they would see the shallow hills of Gobekli, silhouetted in the moonlight. The Land Rover rumbled as Christine took the ultimate curve. Rob didn’t know what to expect at the dig, following the ‘accident’. Police cars? Barriers? Nothing?
There was indeed a new barrier, set across the track. It said Police. And Keep Out. In Turkish, and English. Rob got out of the car and pushed the blue barrier aside. Christine drove on and parked.
The site was deserted. Rob felt serious relief. The only indication that the dig was now the scene of a suspicious death was a new tarpaulin, erected over the trench where Franz had been pushed-that and a sense of emptiness in the tented area. Lots of things had been taken away. The big table had been moved, or dismantled. This season’s dig was definitely over.
Rob glanced at the stones. He’d wondered before what it would be like, standing amongst them at night. Now, quite unexpectedly, here he was. They were shadowy in their enclosures. The moon had fully risen and was casting white darkness acrossthe scene. Rob had an odd desire to go down into the enclosures. Touch the megaliths. Rest his cheek against the coolness of the ancient stones. Run his fingers along the carvings. He’d wanted to do that, in fact, the very first time he’d seen them.
Christine walked up behind him. ‘Everything OK?’
‘Yes!’
‘Come on then. Let’s be quick. This place…rather scares me at night.’
Rob noticed that she was averting her gaze from the trench. The trench where Franz had been killed. He sensed how difficult this visit must be for her.
They walked swiftly over the rise. To the left was a blue plastic cabin: Franz’s personal office. The door was freshly padlocked.
Christine sighed. ‘Damn.’
Rob thought for a second. Then he jogged back to the Land Rover, opened the car’s back door, and fumbled in the darkness. He returned with a tyre jack. The desert breeze was warm and the moonlight glinted on the padlock. He shoved the jack in the lock, twisted, and the padlock snapped open.
Inside, the cabin was small and pretty empty.
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