Travels in an antique land: Mud-brick, mud-brick, glorious mud-brick

It was only during my third trip to Abydos that I became aware there was more for visitors to see than the temples of Sety I and Ramesses II and the Osirion. Like many other tourists, I had been on long day-trips from Luxor and, among other constraints, time is such a major factor in how much you can see when you have just a few hours. I knew that Abydos was one of the oldest cities in Upper Egypt, holding great significance throughout Egyptian history as a place of pilgrimage. I also knew that there were monumental royal graves further out in an embayment of the low Western Desert, but I had always assumed, correctly as it happens, that visits to this area required special permission. A