Here is where the groups part ways. Those who are on the way to the Kal-Kadath dream tour connect at this airport. They are escorted to the next flight by the sleep-­deprived stewardesses and continue their journey skyward.

The buses going to the Lost Cities usually depart from a parking lot near the building. That night the tour guide arrived to greet his group and lead them to the transport. The guide was a heavy-set, bearded man in military gear. The middle of his forehead was adorned with an odd mark. It might have been a tattoo, a strange symbol inked into his skin. My eyes started to hurt when I looked at it.

In his group there was a child, a blond boy of about ten. Children are allowed on any Abaddon Travels trip, but anyone under the age of eighteen must have an accompanying adult with them at all times. The guide caressed the boy’s head, his long nails sinking into the blond locks. The boy turned pale, his eyes filled with confused fear. The parents – an accountant-­type man and his wife, a tall, birdlike woman – watched the kid expectantly; evidently the boy was supposed to make the next move, whatever that might be.

The kid’s jeans darkened as he pissed himself. A pool of urine gathered beneath his quivering legs. The tour guide burst into laughter just as the urine reached his boots. The parents laughed with him as if it were a good joke. Then their fellow passengers joined in, they all stood around the boy cackling with laughter as the urine kept pouring out of him. He was crying now, frozen in the circle of adults laughing at him.

Anyone planning to take their children on this trip should be prepared for experiences of this kind.

Passing through customs and visa checks is relatively quick. We were warned that border guards can select anyone without any reason or justification and abuse them as they wish. Strip- and cavity searches are the least of your worries. Don’t forget that the guards are not only guarding a country; they are guarding a religion and a sacred, holy place. Keep that in mind before joining the trip.