CHAPTER 9One day Hatshepsut returned to the area of Suan, where she had been so idyllically happy with Senmut on the expedition to choose the granite for her first obelisks, but in very different circumstances. In spite of her desire for peace, an incident in Nubia — the m******e of two high Egyptian officials and the small community that served the lonely outpost — demanded a show of military might. As commander of her soldiers she found herself on Sehel Island, south of Suan, waiting to plunge into battle.
Sehel Island was a place of prayers ... the threshold of the Unknown. Around it the white waters of the first cataract swirled. Beyond it the civilisation of Egypt gave way to the barbarian lands of Nubia and Kush.
Hatshepsut, in full military dress, stood beside one of her men as he
