Emissary (Book 1)

Sightseeing

By sightseeing I meant SEX.

What did you expect?! I was a fifteen year old soldier and 'sex' was the only thing on my mind. I haven't had anyone to warm up my bed since we left Cairo and I was starting to feel chilly. Every city had a sex scene and Jerusalem was no exception. Every Sheikh, Priest and Rabbi needed a place to let go after a long day of sermons and butting into people's lives. Where better to relieve some of that stress than the local drink or eatery establishments and that is where we began our search.

"Is this your idea of sightseeing?" Peter mockingly asked.

"Shut up, we have to eat," I replied. True, I was hungry but food wasn't the only thing I was thinking off. If we could find good food coupled with some good wine, 'sex' was usually not very far behind. Well, at least that was my theory.

However we were told it was against the law for Muslims and Jews to sell alcohol in this city. This wasn't the case in Cairo or Dimyata but Jerusalem was a holy city after all, and the law prohibited Muslims and Jews to buy, sell or drink alcohol in any way or form. So we headed towards the Christian quarter of town.

We managed to find the only khan (inn) still operating. It was not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where our Lord Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, was crucified and buried. Of course the church was on top of our sightseeing list, along with the Grand al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the third most holiest sites in Islam, the place where our lord Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, ascended to heaven. But all those had to wait. First we had to find a place to stay which also had what I was looking for, good food, good wine and good looking girls. What else!

"My friend and I are pilgrims from Egypt and we have been trapped in your city. The guards are not allowing anyone out of the gates. We were hoping you could spare us a room for a few days until this unfortunate circumstance is resolved," I asked the Khan's caretaker who looked apathetic to our cause. He probably thought I was pulling his leg and I did look too young to have had the means to pay for a room. He was sitting on a wooden chair, with his legs resting up on the counter, hands on his big fat belly, and about to take a nap before we entered.

He closed his eyes once again and grumbled, "we don't have rooms." There practically was no one left in the city let alone in this establishment. Rooms were probably the only thing he did have.

Suddenly a woman poked her head from behind the kitchen door and said, "don't mind my husband young man. Of course you are welcome to stay as long as you want. It's a silver coin a day which includes a meal served after sunset. Unfortunately food is scarce these days so we can't afford to cook more than one meal."

"Thank you ma'am," I replied, "we couldn't ask for more."

"There are plenty of rooms upstairs," confirming my suspicions. "Choose your pick and join us for dinner when you can. My daughters and I will be serving food in an hour," she added.

I looked at the main hall which also served as the dining area and I counted four girls all of marrying age; two were cleaning the tables, another was sprawled on the floor lazily mopping as she shyly smiled at me. The last was carrying a sack of wilted vegetables and hopping towards the kitchen, giggling along the way. "Are all those lovely ladies your daughters?" I asked praying she would say no.

"Oh nooo, " she replied, "there are two more in here helping me in the kitchen," she answered while still standing behind the kitchen door. I could only see her smiling winkled up sweaty old face looking at me with teary eyes as smoke puffed from behind her head. I hoped that wasn't our food burning in there.

Suddenly her husband stood up, leaned on the counter with his enormous hands resting on the wooden top. "Lets see your silver boy," he growled and I did. I showed him not one, but two silver coins and his teeth lit up like a dozen broken old lanterns about to fall off. "I can see you both look like two respectable young men," he said, "and I hate to kick your heads in if you're not," beaming as he reluctantly welcomed us to his Khan. Then he quickly snatched the two silver coins from my hand, putting them in his pocket before I had the chance to change my mind. I was starting to think this was not the place I was looking for. Oh... was I wrong!