The Destiny of Amalah (30 page)

Ellora spent her last night with Amara and Michael, the three of them talked for a while and then Ellora went to bed early. The friends were going to leave Amalah early in the morning and they would have a long day ahead, and “besides,” she thought to herself. “This will be the very last night I will spend in my own bed for a long time.” And as such, she intended to make the most of it.

Rakan and Kalon spent a quiet night with their father, the three of them watched the sun set and then spent the evening having supper and reminiscing about old times. Like Ellora, the two sons retired early, and Rakan and Kalon spent time talking among themselves in their room before they blew out the lamps and went to sleep.

The morning came and all six were awake and dressed before the sun rose. They were all eager and excited about the day and they did everything in lightening speed. Ellora awoke, washed and dressed and made her way to the balcony for breakfast and to her surprise, Amara was already there.

‘You’re up!’ Ellora said clearly surprised.

‘Of course,’ Amara replied ‘There is so much to do today and I wouldn’t miss having this breakfast with my sister for the world,’ Amara said happily.

‘I’m so glad,’ Ellora said sitting down to join her sister.

‘Good morning dear sister,’ Amara said, pretending to begin again.

‘Good morning,’ Ellora replied smiling.

‘Why you truly do look like a traveller,’ Amara said, appraising her sister’s attire.

Ellora’s outfit consisted of a plain beige cotton top, a belt with webbing and cotton trousers. Ellora had black cotton shoes with leather soles that had black ribbon wraps that tied up to her shins.

‘I feel like a traveller too, not to mention excited, scared and giddy,’ Ellora said gaily.

‘The time has finally arrived for you,’ Amara said.

‘Yes it has.’

The two women ate their breakfast and chatted and when they were finished, Ellora made her way to the stables to where her horse was. She made sure he had been fed and watered and brought him around to the front of the palace where she securely tied him to the visitor’s pole. She went back to her room and brought everything that she was taking to the front courtyard where her horse was quietly grazing. She placed the saddle on him and then carefully placed what she had packed behind the saddle. By now, Amara had made her way to the palace doors and watched her sister at work.

‘There are people who can do that for you dear sister,’ Amara said, as she walked towards her.

‘I know there are but I like to do things for myself, besides I’m going to have to do my bit when we start travelling, so I may as well get used to taking care of things right away.’

‘Very well,’ Amara said. She was proud that her sister was so independent at such a young age.

Ellora went about fixing up her horse and while she was working, the others began to arrive. Rakan and Kalon were the first to arrive, with Garrick and then; Rufus arrived. Shortly afterwards, Rufus was followed by Kenaz and Waldon with their parents.

The boys arrived on their horses and each horse carried them and their load, and even though the loads were heavy; the horses were quite comfortable with the weight. Amara, Michael and the others had chosen the horses well; they were extremely strong, young and every horse was easily able to carry their weight and a person.

The six greeted each other, the Empress and each other’s parents excitedly. They all stood in the courtyard and as the minutes passed by, a cheerful banter and a sense of nervousness and excitement filled the air.

Soon the friends were joined by: Gaerwen, Thaddeus, Raynor and Häkan and some of the palace staff; including the cook, who gave them all a small tin of biscuits and goodies and wished them a good journey. The time to leave soon came and the six said their individual goodbyes to everyone who was there, leaving their closest relatives until last. They were the ones they wanted to spend the longest time with and they were the ones they wanted to have their last memories of before setting off.

The parents and Amara hugged their offspring and children tightly and did not want to let go, but they eventually did and the children kissed their parents goodbye one last time.

Rakan and Kalon called Ellora, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz over to where they were and they quickly went over their immediate route and checked that each one of them had packed their individual and collective essentials and when they learned that they had, Rakan smiled a beautiful wide smile to himself and the others.

‘This is it,’ he said, the smile unable to leave his face. ‘We are really going.’

The friends went to their horses and mounted them; they, the parents, Amara and everyone else waved and said their final goodbyes to each other and then the horses began to move. They began in a slow trot as the parents, families and friends continued to say their goodbyes; some were already crying and others felt their eyes fill up as their children headed away from the parents, relatives and the palace, for what would be the longest period apart.

The six now had their backs to the crowd of friends and family who had gathered to see them off and their horses took them further and further away from their parents, relatives and the palace as each second passed by. Every now and then, one of the six would turn around and wave and the crowd would still be waving back but after a few minutes, the relatives became small spot figures and were eventually out of sight. They headed east towards east Santeb at a steady pace and when the palace was truly out of sight, they all knew that their travels had truly begun.

In their lifetime the six had seen much of Amalah but not all of it and as such, they spent the first month riding through what you would now call Europe. They rode and slept and ventured through the lands, meeting and greeting with people on the way who were more than happy to spend time with the young people. Their first stop was Germany and then on they went to: Poland, Belarus, the Ukraine, Belgrade and Bulgaria but then – before one my interventions and your own attempts at renaming – they were called different names.

They were bedazzled, and enlightened and over awed by everything they saw and experienced. They met an array of people, experienced so many different cultures and languages and as they travelled, they took in the architecture – which at that time – was very rudimentary but showed signs of what designs were to come. They took in the clothes, the homes and the animals that were specific to each place and they were amazed by the similarities and the differences between Amalah city and the rest of Amalah.

When the friends ventured further and west into Santeb, it was there that they truly saw a different world. It was Anatolia then; encompassing Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and some of southwest Russia.

When the six first arrived in southwest Santeb, the first place they entered, was what you would now call Turkey and the place was truly a feast for their eyes and their senses. They arrived in Istanbul in the early morning, the sun was just rising and bringing with it, more of the arid and relentless heat that was a constant in the region. The friends were greeted by a busy, yet friendly people; who eyed them curiously, knowing that they were far from home.

The friends roamed around the bazaars and watched as more traders arrived, and set up their stalls and they looked on to see them arranging their goods. When the stalls opened the friends watched as people began to fill the streets; those who had come early, had come to try and get the best materials or the best bargains.

The friends observed the early morning customers haggling with the owners, over the goods they wanted; sometimes, they would reach an agreement and other times, they would not but each and every time the customer left one stall, they would go on to another, to see what else was on offer.

As the market owners and customers haggled over the goods that they had, the six continued to watch the locals until they felt comfortable enough to try to haggle themselves and from there, they went to a variety of stalls to look at what they had on offer and to see how they would fare at haggling.

In the markets and the stalls, they saw carpets beautifully made with the finest of materials and the most elaborate patterns crafted in them; rugs and carpets felt rich and soft to the touch and they ran their hands through them, appreciating the rich material. They ventured around looking at the beautifully crafted pottery and iron that had been made into plates, and bowls and vases and they eyed the patterns that the talented craftsmen and woman had created.

‘I have never seen anything like this,’ Ellora said, taken aback but clearly impressed by her surroundings.

‘Nor I,’ Kalon said equally impressed. ‘I wish father could be here to see it too.’

‘He has probably seen the world twice over by now,’ Rakan said clasping, his brother’s shoulder.

‘But not in peace time,’ Kalon replied quietly.

‘No not in peace time,’ Rakan agreed.

The six of them continued to roam around Istanbul and through the market bazaar, and they all agreed that they were definitely having the time of their lives. They spent two months there and whilst there, they spent time sailing along the coast on the black sea; stopping off in various cities and towns or lying on the beach watching the small boats go by and the larger ones sail out to catch the fish of the day before sunrise and then return when their nets were full.

They tried the different foods that Turkey had to offer with relish; they sampled various kebabs which they all fell in love with and were also amazed that fish could be done in so many ways: it was grilled, or baked or smoked in various spices and herbs and it was always so delicious and like nothing that they had ever eaten before.

The people welcomed them into their homes and they enjoyed their hospitality and generosity; often they sat through what seemed to be a feast, marvelling at the meze which they had as starters. No meze was the same and yet they were in many ways distinctively similar and all equally tasty.

When they had seen Istanbul, the six then travelled south to Izmir and then Antalya, exploring the temples and the lands and statues that Anatolia had to offer. They rode past deserts and valleys and mountains, and through towns, villages and cities. They felt truly alive as they took in the splendid yet somehow tranquil scenery that passed them by.

They were all surprised by the geographical diversity there was on offer and Kalon, who was turning out to be a talented artist, took time to draw and sketch the scenery that he loved so much. Not only did Kalon sketch the scenery but he would sometimes try and sketch his friends and his brother. In Izmir they ran around and played in the grassy hills and swam in the warm blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

From Izmir they travelled onto Antalyou before they headed north again but this time to Afyan where they roamed around the citadel that had been built over two hundred years ago and they inspected the flawless steps that were nearly two hundred and thirty metres high and they viewed the temple dedicated to the god they called Cybele.

They rode up and through the mountains that were interchangeable, some of them were made from rock and others, from chalk or grass and marsh, while others ranged from lush green, to granite grey, or chalk white. On they went to Ankara, all the while admiring the societies that they had seen. In the cities they went to the public baths and spas and experienced the great arenas that had been built over time.

As they travelled, they traded for clothes and supplies, caught and cooked their own food – which was mostly from the sea, but for the most part, the people took them into their homes and looked after them.

By day as the sun grew more fierce and the weather became hotter, they ate fresh fruit and light meals and boza – a fermented drink made of wheat or millet; and at night they drank Salep – a hot and sweet milky tea that had extracts of orchid added to it, which helped to keep them cool.

On they went, learning the way of life and history, seeing the sights and being fascinated by the language and the hieroglyphics that were used to communicate that language. They drank out of Rhytons and learned about the people’s zoomorphic beliefs. They learned that the small charms they often saw people wear, which were shaped in the form of an animal, was because people believed that the wearer would be bestowed upon them the strengths of that animal.

They saw the statues that had been made to represent the stern god Tesup and the sun god Hepatu and as they went on to Kayseri and Malatya; they rode by the Euphrates which was nowhere near the size it is today and from there, on they went to Kahramanm, Gazenkep and finally Killis.

There in Killis they decided that they would head into Syria the next day and so they made the most of their last night in Anatolia. They lit a fire talked and told stories, wrote letters to their loved ones and ate a feast in the evening; after which they continued to talk and laugh until one by one, they went to bed. At first light, they rose and packed their belongings; the horses were fed and watered and shortly afterwards, they were on their horses heading towards Syria.

By the time they arrived in Syria it was a hot and dry afternoon and they arrived in the quiet town of Afrin. They set up a shelter from the sun using the tentage they had and remained there until the early evening when the heat abated and a cool light breeze came over them. They left the tentage up and ventured around their surroundings.