The town itself was teeming with life, filled with the buzz of conversation, crowds hurrying in all directions, loud cries, and a myriad of sounds merging into a strange symphony. The side streets and every available space were crammed with all manner of stalls, drawing crowds of people. Yet everyone almost instinctively parted before the passing unit. Darius even had the impression that everyone present was doing their utmost not to look in the direction of the soldiers.
He, too, quickly gave up looking around, for from the height of his bess’s saddle he could see little more than the tops of heads in the jostling crowd. He suspected that a leisurely stroll through Bushtabhar must have been an interesting experience. He had no desire, however, to find out if that was actually the case. He had a job to do, not time for sightseeing. And this heat, too. He grumbled to himself. The sooner we get out of here, the better.
They found themselves in front of the citadel quite unexpectedly. A winding alley, covered with coloured sheets of fabric, suddenly opened out onto a square, on the other side of which rose a hill topped with fortifications. A narrow path wound its way uphill to an open gate. As they drove up it, they had the chance to take in a slightly better view of the city, which from this perspective revealed a somewhat different side of Bushtabhar. Whilst from the opposite shore of the lake they had seen the harbour, the most important buildings and houses stretching far in both directions, from this vantage point they had the opportunity to see what had previously been hidden from their view.
The citadel, the temple and the governor’s palace were situated on the town’s main square, which was rectangular in shape and had its shorter side facing the lake. The entire area was planted with tall date palms providing at least some shade. The fortress had been erected, as it were, at the northern end of the square, the temple roughly halfway along the eastern edge, and the palace
