Around the time the “fasten seatbelt” signs blinked off, Carter began reading the research material he’d downloaded to his laptop in Dogu. Flight attendants supplied him with a steady stream of caffeinated beverages and snacks.
He was still reading when the pilot came over the intercom to announce that they were preparing for landing at Addis Ababa.
Chapter 30
Carter and Jayden deplaned the much smaller prop plane they had transferred to in Addis Ababa after a two-hour flight onto a scorching hot tarmac at Yohannes IV Airport. Carter had learned during the plane ride that the hottest temperatures on Earth had been recorded in Dalol, Ethiopia, a location only about one hundred miles to the east. Situated near Ethiopia’s northern border, the town of Axum was home to a population of about 58,000, and lay at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Neighboring countries included Eritrea to the north and east, Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the distant south, far south of Addis Ababa.
The airport was about four miles outside the actual town of Axum, and with ground transportation yet to be arranged, the treasure seeking pair shuffled across the baking tarmac along with their couple of dozen fellow passengers and entered the small terminal. The sign reading “Yohannes IV International Airport” above the entrance was written in both English and Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language that used symbols as opposed to any sort of alphabet that would be familiar to westerners. Carter had the feeling that he and Jayden were only two more in a long and storied line of enraptured visitors who had sought the truth about some of humanity’s most revered artifacts in this very place, the home of Queen Sheba, the rumored resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.
As they walked through the moderately crowded terminal, Carter couldn’t help but keep his eyes peeled for anyone who looked like they might be tailing them. They were using their genuine IDs to travel under, and he knew that Daedalus would likely know what those were because of the fact they were both in the same business. With no luggage to collect, they breezed through and out onto the sidewalk fronting the airport without having noticed anything suspicious. While not as ubiquitous as at a major airport, taxi cabs were not hard to come by, and it wasn’t long before Carter and Jayden occupied the back seat of one driven by an Ethiopian septuagenarian.
The man spoke English, and when he asked where they’d like to go, Carter asked him, “What’s the most popular church nearby?”
The man nodded as though the request was not unusual whatsoever. “That would be Axum Tsion Saint Mary.” He pronounced “Tsion” with a silent T. “I will take you there, only a few minutes.”
As they rode through the town, Jayden wanted to know why they didn’t start with the church that was famous for supposedly housing the Ark of the Covenant, St. Mary’s of Zion Church, also in Axum.
“Let’s see what an ordinary church looks like first. Pretty much every church in Ethiopia has a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, so let’s see what those look like. Also…” Carter nodded to the cab driver, who had turned on the radio to a music station playing reggae. “It’s probably best not to let anyone know where we’re going if we can help it.”
At this Jayden laughed before turning to look Carter dead in the eye. “Are you serious? We came all the way to Ethiopia to go to some tourist trap that the whole world knows about?”
Carter shrugged. “I’ve been researching this town and its history. As you’ve no doubt already seen, this place is associated with the Queen of Sheba.”
“I picked up on that,” Jayden said, pointing out the window to a billboard reading, Queen of Sheba Authentic Ethiopian Restaurant. “Was she even real, though?”
“Debatable. She’s in the Bible. Anyway, the Queen of Sheba Palace that’s here in town is, according to Ethiopians, where Sheba left from to go to Jerusalem.”
“And that’s where she hooked up with King Solomon, right?” Jayden gazed out the window at a mural of the Ethiopian flag — the bright green, yellow and red bars with an insignia in the middle, a star and rays.
“Right. They hit it off and she had a son with him, that’s Menelik, who was born in Ethiopia. He became a king here, and sometime later went to Jerusalem to visit his Dad. He brought the Ark of the Covenant back with him to Ethiopia.”
Jayden unwrapped a candy bar and started eating it.
“You’re supposed to save those in case we end up out in the field somewhere with no food.”
Jayden shot him a sheepish grin. “Gotta be honest. Not sure if my stomach is gonna be down with Ethiopian cuisine.”
Carter sighed as the driver pulled up to a complicated-looking intersection to wait his turn to cross. “You were okay with Iranian nomad cuisine, but you’re worried about Ethiopia? Anyway…”
“So Sheba’s son, the king, brought the ark back here. To this Church of Zion?”
Carter shrugged. “Well this particular chapel didn’t exist way back then, of course. But supposedly that’s where it ended up.”
“So we’re just going to waltz in there and ask to see it?”
Before Carter could answer, the cabbie pulled over to the side of the road and informed them that they had arrived at Axum Tsion Saint Mary. Carter paid the driver in local currency, including a decent though not memorable tip, and they exited the cab onto the sidewalk. In front of them lay the church, a large single-story building with a high ceiling. They walked up a short flight of steps and entered the place of worship.
Inside was grandly decorated, with lots of space around the pews. It was quiet, with no conversation taking place or music being played. At the front was a large multi-level stage area, including a music stage with an organ and harp, and a pulpit. Only a few people occupied the pews here and there, maybe a dozen altogether. Carter and Jayden were able to walk freely up to the stage and climb the steps to the top level and highlight of the church, a full-scale replica of the Ark of the Covenant.
“So this is it,” Jayden said, unimpressed. “A gold box. A lot bigger than I imagined, though.”
“This is one of the many replicas,” Carter said, while they stared at the model ark. It was no small container, measuring approximately ten feet by six by six. Two poles were run through two rings on each side of the ark, making it possible to be carried by several men. Two cherubs knelt on top of the rectangular container, their wings touching at the very peak of the piece. The entire work, including the poles, was covered in what was meant to look like gold, but which was plain to see was in fact gold paint, chipping and peeling in some spots to reveal the plaster of Paris and wooden scaffolding beneath.
“So inside it would be the Ten Commandments, right?” Jayden clarified.
“On the two stone tablets, correct.”
“You think they’re in there?” Jayden raised his eyebrows while gawking at the fake yet nevertheless impressive ark.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. This is just a replica. Let’s go to the other church now.”
Jayden turned and looked out on the rows of pews. “Sure you don’t want to stop and pray first?”
Daedalus sat at the coffee table on the balcony of his hotel suite overlooking the capital city’s hustle and bustle. He was hoping for a relaxing late morning with time to think and plan, but already the messages and voicemails flooded in — and to his priority phone and email address, not his regular avenues that everyone had. It was an address and smartphone number he only gave out to certain key associates. He had just picked up his cup of black tea when his smartphone chimed to inform him a new email had been received. He set down the tea and picked up his device. Upon seeing that the email was from his lab technician whom he had put in charge of testing the timber samples from the lake, Daedalus eagerly opened the email. Finally, the lab results!