Byzantine: The Betrayal
Walkthroughby Dan Kennedy
July 2002

Introduction

Byzantine The Betrayal, from Discovery Channel Multimedia, is an effective and entertaining whodunit adventure game set in Istanbul, Turkey.  As an investigative reporter, you must find the persons responsible for smuggling valuable and historically significant Turkish antiquities out of the country, and for the murder of your school chum Emre.

Like the Tex Murphy games, Byzantine does an admirable job at combining a number of gameplay styles and environments into a compelling experience.  FMV sections featuring a mostly Turkish cast are interspersed with photographic-based first person exploration, and a virtual reality simulator.  Each gaming style is effectively integrated into the story, and help to vary the gameplay.

Given the source, the game is expectedly rich with historical and cultural information about Turkey and its people, and takes you on a comprehensive tour of Istanbul as it stands today.  

Drawbacks include the somewhat raw FMV scenes, and the uneven pacing of the game, which careens between patient exploration of a historical environment, and “do this in 2 seconds or die”-type encounters.  All in all, it’s a valiant effort from a company without a great deal of experience producing adventure games (regrettably, the Discovery Channel didn’t produce any similar games after Byzantine).

Call of the Wild

The intro movie begins with an e-mail message from your old friend Emre Bahis, imploring you to come to Istanbul immediately.  Apparently he’s got a story that will virtually guarantee you, an investigative reporter, a Pulitzer Prize.  The remainder of the movie shows your arriving in Turkey, interspersed with shots of Emre madly trying to escape his apartment before the police arrive to arrest him (although he does have time to neatly fold his Levi’s up over his Doc Martin laces).

The game begins as a police detective (Akalin) intercepts you as you arrive at Emre’s apartment.  Select any of the conversation paths – either way, the detective lets you know what a shady character Emre is, and bristles at your multiple cancelled visas.  He ends by suggesting you stay in Emre’s apartment – a capital idea, since there is much to examine before you set off on your investigation. 

Begin by examining the three items in your inventory, shown at the bottom of the screen: your passport, visa/press pass, and a bunch of items sent to you by Emre prior to your arrival.  Examine the items by clicking on them to pick them up, and then clicking on the magnifying glass on the left edge of the inventory bar.  While examining books and papers, look for a “medallion” icon over on the right side of the object – this allows you to flip papers / pages.

The items sent by Emre include a letter, a postcard (showing three landmarks of Istanbul: Topkapi Palace, the Suleymaniye Mosque, and Sultanahment Park) and a newspaper article.  The materials suggest that the “Diadem of Constantinople” has been stolen from an archaeological site, smuggled out of Turkey, and sold on the black market to an American collector.  Emre believes he knows how this smuggling operation is carrying out the thievery, and thinks that someone named KLIO is the key.  When finished with the documents, find the downward pointing icon in the bottom right corner of the screen, and click to return to the apartment view.

Apartment Hunting

Byzantine allows for 360 degree panning (you can also look up or down as you do so), and a magnifying glass icon indicates when a particular spot or item can be viewed in close-up.  In addition, the icon turns light-yellow when another inventory item can be applied to a particular hotspot.  Starting in the kitchen / dining room, the following items can be examined:

·        A photograph of Emre, and the stereo, both located on a dresser to the right of the windows

·        The view out both windows; as well, a stained glass man can be examined on the left window

·        A drawing on the table to the left of the windows that shows the following 6 x 4 grid:

·        A wooden box to the left of the drawing that holds a sketch of a roman bust.

Enter the living room – if you’ve been wondering what that background ringing sound was, its Emre’s telephone.  Turn towards his desk, and click on it to step behind.  Click on the telephone once for a close-up, and again on the receiver to answer it (if the phone isn’t ringing while you are looking at it, continue examining items, and return to it once it starts ringing again).  Emre is on the line – he implores us to leave, and mentions the name KLIO again.  Just ignore him and keep examining the apartment.

Pick up the Polaroid camera located at the left end of the desk, note the unplugged power cord on the desk, and then click on the portfolio in the centre.  Grab the photo of Emre with an unknown lady (KLIO?), and then turn over the next photo to reveal a third one with 7 coloured shapes on it; note the order of the colours (red, green, purple, yellow, orange, dark blue, light blue).  Back away from the portfolio, and then from the desk view as well.

Facing the desk again, click on the wooden trunk located in front of the desk.  Inside, click on the wooden box – the close-up view shows the same seven coloured symbols from the photo as buttons on the top of the box.  Click the seven buttons in the order shown in the photograph.  The box opens to reveal a drawing of some sort of optical scanning device.  Back away, and return to the room view.

Looking For Clues

There are a number of items you need to look at that are scattered about Emre’s living room.  At some point Emre will call back and beg you to leave immediately for your own safety, but take your time to look at all of the clues and documentation found in the apartment.

Facing the bookcases behind and to the right of the desk:

·        Find the hotspot above the desk to the left of a lute hanging on the bookcase.  Find the book titled “The Art of The Carpet” on the shelf and click on it to reveal a key hanging behind the book.  Take the key and back away.

·        Click on the shelf located below the lute for another close-up.  Click on the black book located immediately to the right of the thick red one – the book contains background information and photographs of Topkapi Palace.  It’s an interesting (if not essential) read, but at the very least take a look at the pictures since you’ll be visiting the palace during the game.

·        On the same shelf, find the Roman Engineering book and click on it – there doesn’t appear to be much more that a diagram of a roman hoist.  The only thing to do here is to remember where you saw this picture – so you can return to it when needed.

·        Back away again, and then click on the bookshelf to the right of the lute.  Click on the book titled “The Secret History” to read the words of an author with an obvious hatred for the Emperor Justinian and his wife.  Again, this isn’t essential reading, but it does help to fill in some details about historical figures you will encounter during the game.

·        On the same shelf, click on the “Turkish Teasers”, and grab the note hidden inside the book – it contains a rhyme about two girls sleeping.  Answers to the two visible riddles in the book can be read by clicking on the paper tabs at the bottom of each page.

·        Across the room, click on the picture on Emre’s desk to see a shot of him with an older heavy-set man.  Now click on the second drawer from the bottom to open it up.  Click on the pictures inside the open drawer to see a few sights of Istanbul.    

Click on the curtain hanging on the wall to the right of the dresser to get a close up, and again in the lower left corner to reveal a “secret” back door to Emre’s apartment.  Click on the doorknob to go out into the back hallway, and spin around until you are facing the downward stairs.  Click twice to descend the stairs, and emerge by Emre’s front door.  This back exit may come in handy in a pinch.

Re-enter Emre’s apartment building again, and you find yourself back in Emre’s kitchen.  Now turn around, exit the door to the left of the table, and find yourself in the courtyard again. This time, find and click the “map” icon on the passageway leading to the street (located to the left of the apartment doorway).

Emre’s Embers

The screen switches to a map of Istanbul, with locations that are available to be visited marked on the map.  Besides Emre’s apartment, we can visit the three city landmarks shown on Emre’s postcard: Topkapi Palace, Suleymaniye Mosque, and Sultanahment Park.  Let’s start with Topkapi Palace since we’ve already had the chance to leaf through a book about the landmark back in the apartment.  Click on the Palace’s label to proceed there.

We get a short introduction movie, and find ourselves in front of the palace.  A woman standing by the front door appears to be waiting for someone.  Note that the cursor turns lighter when over the woman – this means we will have to show her something from our inventory in order to engage her in conversation.  Since this may be the woman in the photograph we obtained from Emre’s briefcase, grab it from your inventory and click on the woman (note the photo glows when over the woman, indicating this is the right choice).

We learn that her name is Nuray, and she has been working with Emre as a research assistant (in fact she was supposed to meet him here).  Choose conversation paths 1 (Why do you think…?), 2 (Where do you think he is?) and 2 (Why was he meeting you here?) to learn the most information, including the fact that Emre’s uncle Mehmet owns a carpet store in the market.

After Nuray leaves the scene, click to the right of the main doors of the palace, and read the poster here.  It seems that the palace is closed to the public due to the discovery of a new tunnel below the floor.  Back away and try the doors – locked tight.  Find the map icon on the right side of the screen and leave the palace location.

You can try visiting Sultanahment Park, but there really isn’t anything there to see, other than a few buildings in the distance.  Turn towards the fountain, access the map again, and go to Memhet’s rug shop.

All in the Family

After the intro movie plays, we see the heavyset man from one of Emre’s photographs arguing with an Italian-looking man.  The man rushes off, and Mehmet invites us into his shop.  Enter through the doorway, and look around in the entrance-way.  There is a bunch of papers and other items located just to the left, but nothing can be taken in the close-up view (you thief!).  Try picking up the rolled up rug on the stairs (just to the left of the papers) – a voice tells us that the rug is not for sale.  Enter the main part of the shop by heading to the right of the papers and other items.

Mehmet provides commentary for several of the items in the shop; the comments are activated by clicking on that item:

·        The red-green carpet located straight ahead;

·        Another carpet located to the right of the red-green one (lying flat on a surface) – it’s his brother’s carpet and is not for sale;

·        A set of antiques located to the left of the red-green carpet (particularly the jewellery on the left, and the axe on the far right); and

·        A small picture of Ataturk hanging on the wall above the antiques.

Mehmet is standing behind you -  click on him to initiate a conversation.  Choose conversation path 1 (Looking for Emre..), 1 (I am Emre’s friend), 1 (Is he in trouble?) and 1 (Has he been here?).  You won’t get much out of Mehmet, but its nice to meet some of his family.  Exit the room to the left of Mehmet, and leave the shop via the door.

Soft Shoe

Your next destination should be the only one that you have not visited yet – the Suleymaniye Mosque.  After arriving at the mosque, pan to your left until you spot the two gentlemen standing behind the display of souvenirs and other wares.  The younger man tells you that all faiths are welcome at the mosque.  Show him the photo - he knows Emre and Mehmet quite well.

Choose conversation path 3 (I am looking for a package…), 1 (Have you seen him?), 1 (Do you recognize this woman in the photo?), and 3 (No).  Emre has been here very recently, which is a great sign. Attempt to enter the palace – the old man will stop you and make you take your shoes off.  Now you can enter the mosque.

Inside the mosque, pan to your left until you see a large wood box-like item in front of you.  This structure can be viewed in close-up, but nothing can be manipulated.  Back away from the box, pan to the right, and move towards the far wall with the two green lights on it.  At your new position, you can click for a close up of some wood furniture to the right of the large windows (in the corner).  The small table on the right has a book discussing the history and architecture of the mosque.  A small door to the left of the table can also be viewed, but not entered.

Back away, pan to the right, and examine the large wooden staircase here – unfortunately there’s a heavy rug covering the entrance.  Back away, pan to the right, and move off to the right of the small platform supported by columns.  From your new position, pan around to face the windows, and then click on the door to the right of the windows – this takes you out onto a balcony with a beautiful view of the city.  Once you are ready to leave, pan to your left, find the hotspot, and re-enter the mosque.

Walk towards the large chandelier, and return to your original position near the wood box.  Spin around to face the open doorway in the distance and move towards it.  Before exiting the building, click on the small door to the left of the main entrance, and walk up the spiral staircase for a nice view of the mosque interior.  Walk back down the stairs, and exit the building.  Pick up your sneakers from the shelf, and then click on the curious pink sneakers nearby.  It turns out that the shoes are Emre’s – even better, the gentlemen ask you to return them to him.

Have a close-up look at Emre’s shoes – there is a claim check hidden inside the right shoe directing us to the Hotel De Londres.  Return to the map view by exiting the mosque area, and go to the Hotel (its position is close to Emre’s apartment).

Mixed Bag

We find ourselves in a lounge-type room inside the hotel.  Move towards the back of the room, and turn to your right to face several radios on a bureau.  One of the radios can be viewed in close-up, but pushing the button on the front doesn’t do much.  Back away, and pan to the right to face the coffee table – click on the trunk behind it to see some Turkish folk-art (there’s nothing in the trunk though).  Continue panning to the right, click on the bar, and again on the bar’s surface to see some Turkish currency.  Back away, turn around, and return to the front of the room.

Spin around until you spot the desk clerk, click on him, and give him the claim check.  He returns with a battered knapsack.  Examine the knapsack – it contains a betting form from the Nargile Bar (with Mehmet’s name written on it), a strange looking piece of equipment, and a pass to enter the Basilica Cistern.  This last item must indicate where Emre wanted us to meet him.

Examine the machine again, and try pressing the “Power” button.  It looks like the equipment needs to be recharged.  Didn’t Emre have an unplugged power cord  on his desk?  We’d better return to his apartment to recharge the equipment.  Back away from the clerk, exit the hotel to his right, and return to Emre’s apartment.

Assault and Battery

Enter Emre’s apartment, and go into the living room.  This is a good time to save your game, as we have a timed sequence coming up.  Click on Emre’s desk, and then, while holding the equipment, click on the end of the power cord.  The machine quickly powers up, but you hear a bump and a thump in the background – someone is entering Emre’s apartment building.  Once the machine has completely recharged, back away from it, and then again from the desk surface.  Quickly click on the curtain covering the secret back door, uncover the doorknob, and click there to go out into the hallway.

You have about 10 seconds to complete this sequence of moves, starting with clicking on the power cord – it’s actually plenty of time to get out.  If you mess it up, Carlo (the villain) comes into the living room and kills you with a dramatic flourish straight out of a twenties silent movie.  Once in the hall, you will automatically turn around and peer back into the doorway – the same man (Carlo) who was earlier arguing with Mehmet outside his shop is yelling at another man, and then they both leave.

Take this opportunity to examine the piece of equipment again.  It now will turn on, but asks for a password to continue.  You can try a few words and phrases, but they probably won’t work.  Turn it off and put it away for later.

The danger factor is definitely increasing – time to meet up with Emre at the Basilica Cistern.  Exit the apartment, go to the map view, and click on the Cistern location.

Watery Grave

After the introductory movie, you are standing at the top of a staircase leading down into the site.   You will have to show your pass to the guard standing to your right, so grab it and click on the guy.  After he lets you go, click on the counter just to the left of where he is standing, and pick up a pamphlet about the history of the cistern for some background information (you will also find a picture of the “weeping” column in the back).  When finished with these materials, turn to your left and descend into the cistern.

At the bottom of the stairs, move off to your left, and then follow the walkway around a turn to the right.  You can now view the “tear” pillar over to your left – click on it to get a closer view.  Back away, pan back to the right, and move forward.  From your new position, you can pan to the left, and click for a close-up of a small block column across the water.  Return to your original position, and move forward again.  Follow the walkway around the turn to the left.

From your new position, pan to the left and click on the statue’s head for a close-up.  Back away, and find the hotspot on the walkway just to the right of the head.  It appears that someone has cut a hole in the concrete and then resealed it with mortar.

Before going further, save your game again – another timed sequence coming up.  If you keep panning to the left, you will see a lump of something on the walkway ahead (to the left of the other statue’s head).  Click for a close-up – its Emre, but he appears to be dead!  Shocker!

When you back away from Emre, Carlo sets upon you.  You only have about 3 seconds to grab your Polaroid camera from your inventory and click on your attacker with it to temporarily blind him.  [Note: perform the sequence with the Polaroid visible in your inventory bar on the screen.]  You must immediately click to move forward past Carlo, or he will recover from the flash and kill you.  Even after taking one step, you must keep moving – Carlo follows you after about 5 seconds and attacks you again (you can see him if you turn around).  One more click forward and you will encounter the confused Cistern guard who watches Carlo run past to freedom.

Bringing Up the Dead

You are immediately questioned by our friendly neighbourhood police detective Akalin.  In order to learn as much as you can about the case, and not anger the detective, choose the following conversation path: 1 (I saw who did it), 1 (I saw him at Mehmet’s…), 1 (What is going on?), and 1 (Someone just killed my friend).  After the detective is done with you, head over to Mehmet’s rug shop to try to learn more about why Emre was killed.

Enter Mehmet’s shop, and walk into the back room – Mehmet automatically engages you in a conversation about his brother’s death.  You can use the following conversation path, although any will do: 1 (Afacan?), 1 (Emre was asking questions…), 2 (I think I know who…), and 1 (It was the man…).   Mehmet eventually stops you, mentions that he and you have much to discuss, but asks you to leave so he can close the shop and go home be with his family.  He also gives you a photograph of him and Emre either during the conversation, or afterwards as you leave.  Comply with his wishes, and leave the shop.

From the map view, select a neutral location (such as Emre’s apartment, or my personal favourite – Sultanahment Park), and examine the photograph Mehmet gave to you.  Flip the photograph over by clicking on the top-right corner – again the word Afacan shows up here.  Could this be the password to the electronic device?  Examine the device, and input “AFACAN” into the password prompt.

We’re in!  We see some sort of virtual building layout, and then seem to access a system at Istanbul University, only to have our access quickly terminated.  Return to the map view, and make your way to Istanbul University.

Virtually Topkapi

After the intro movie, you find yourself outside the glass doors of a small computer lab.  Proceed through the door, and click on the girl seated at the computer to speak with her.  She is quite dismissive of you, since she has her own nerdy problems to deal with.  Show her the electronic device – she’ll be very interested to talk to you then!

The girl’s name is Sharife, and she has designed a computer database that assembles historical facts and pictures into virtual reality simulations of historical sites.  Someone has been tampering with her program and files, and she thinks that the scanner in your possession was used to do this.  For the conversation, you can choose the following path (although any path will do here): 1 (Belonged to Emre Bahis), 3 (What did you find on the hard drive?), 1 (Are you KLIO?), 2 (Why were the police…), 1 (Journalist), 1 (OK, tell me…), 2 (Emre told me to find…) and 1 (What exactly is KLIO?).

 To demonstrate the success of her KLIO conceptual database, she asks you to don the VR viewer and visit the 16^th century simulation of Topkapi Palace.  Take the visor and away you go!

The Throne Room simulation allows you to pan 360 degrees, similarly to the real-life game locations, and the inventory bar functions the same way (except that items do not get taken into the real world) but there are a few differences here.  For one, the cursor is different – the four-point arrow will pulse when movement in a particular direction can be achieved.  A magnifying glass indicates a close-up is possible, and a blocky diamond signals an auditory message can be triggered. 

You can exit the simulation by pressing the “System Exit” button.  Additional “detail” information scrolls up the screen when items are moused-over (this can be shut off using the details button).  It can also be difficult to locate the “back away” cursor on the close-up views – try placing the cursor in the bottom right-had corner of the view screen to get it to pulsate.

The following items can be examined in this room:

·        Note the doorway that looks as if the computer is missing some simulation pieces.  The informational text lists these areas as “Data deleted – needs replacement”

·        A burlwood trunk located to the right of the missing doorway can be viewed.

·        Inscriptions carved above two doorways can be heard by clicking on them.

·        A small table with a ceremonial jug on its surface (to the right of the trunk) can be examined.

·        The throne area (see below for more details).

Throne for a Loop

Facing the throne, click above the bench to hear a passage about the death of the brothers of Mohammed the 3^rd.  After, click on the seat of the bench to pick up the letter located here.  Examine it closely - it’s a note to Suleyman from Ibrahim, a trusted servant, explaining the rules of a game he has sent.  Back away, and click on the game located in front of the bench.

You must place the 10 remaining stones on the game board so that 6 lines of 4 stones are formed.  Remember the drawing we copied down in Emre’s apartment – it is useful here.  Use the diagram below to recreate the triangle in our original sketch on the game grid, and then create a second triangle with the remaining pieces.  Your final shape should look like the one below, and you should only need the 12 pieces to complete it.  The shape will glow yellow when you have the right match.

Back away from the table, and click on the bench again – now there’s a strange gold cylinder and another letter on the throne.  The letter is from Suleyman back to Ibrahim, thanking him for the game, and telling him to give the cylinder to his wife Hurrem when he returns.  Place the cylinder into your inventory, and back away.

Another part of the room can be accessed by moving to the left of the throne.  The following items can be examined in this portion of the room:

·        A passage is read aloud as soon as we make the move.

·        An ivory bookstand is located on the table to the right of your initial position – on it find a picture book with four drawings.  Clicking on each drawing triggers a passage explaining something about the life, loves and family of Suleyman.

·        The pillow and brazier located across from the bookstand can also be viewed.

We can’t go any farther here since the doorway into the rest of the palace is missing from the simulation.  Hit the “System Exit” button to exit KLIO’s Topkapi simulation.

You immediately launch into another conversation with Sharife regarding the simulation.  Choose the following conversation path to agree to collect the missing data using Emre’s scanner:  2 (More simulations), 1 (Section missing), 1 (Anywhere else?), 1 (Scan?), and 3 (I’ll take scans).  Since the Topkapi palace is closed, Sharife mentions that we need to find items from the 16^th century Ottoman Empire during Suleyman’s reign.  Exit the computer lab and return to the map view.

Scanning the Museum

Take Sharife’s advice and begin your search at the Archaeological Museum.  Upon arrival, you have a choice of three directions to explore – a small door to the left, some statues straight ahead, and the main museum to the right.   Begin by panning to the left and finding the open doorway, and click to get a close-up.  Note the “headphone” cursor on the right side of the screen – click it to hear a portion of the cassette tour of the museum, presenting historical and cultural information for selected items.  In this case, the voice indicates that Ottoman Empire-aged tiles may be present in the left building.

Click on the doorway to enter, and again to access the interior displays of tiles and ceramic dishes.  Once inside, pan to the right and find a semi-circular section of tile mounted on the wall.  Click to get a close-up – the voice-over mentions both Suleyman and Topkapi.  Click below the headphones icon to get an even closer view and take out your scanner – unfortunately the scanner fails to light up, indicating that you can’t upload this particular item.

Fortunately, once you back away from the piece and turn around, there’s a similar tile hanging on the wall on the other side of the room.  Click to examine the tile, listen to the tour voiceover, and then pull out your scanner and press “ON” to upload the tile image.  Back away, and return outside.

There are several sculptures to examine that are located between the two buildings – find the magnifying glass icon and click to move closer.  There are three sculptures to examine – the column to the left, the human statue in the centre, and a crypt to the right of the statue.  Only the crypt can be scanned, and when this is attempted, the scanner tells us the item is from the wrong historical period.  Back away from the sculptures, and enter the main portion of the museum to the right.

There are two items to view in the lobby, and three available directions to proceed in - left, right, and up the stairs.  Both items (a display case and a bust) are located to the left of the staircase.  Both items (a display case holding a copy of the Turkish Act of Antiquity in the upper right corner, and a bust of the museum’s founder) can be examined but are unimportant to the story.  You can proceed up the stairs, but a locked door awaits you at the top (we will have to come back later).

Back in the lobby, choose the left passageway – there are several items to see in the room ahead, but nothing to scan here, including a bell, a sculpted torso of Artemis, an altar, and several tombstones hanging on the wall.  The tour voiceover supplies some great historical and cultural information.  After viewing the objects, return to the museum lobby and proceed down the right passageway to the Alexandrian Hall, containing sculptures related to Alexander the Great.  There are a number of busts and pictures of Alexander the Great, and several Greek statues (including a hermaphrodite and a satyr) around the room.  Again, nothing here can be scanned.  Exit this room, return to the lobby, leave the museum, and return to the map view.  

Saving Suleyman

Any ideas as to where we could find further Topkapi-aged items to scan?  How about the Suleymaniye Mosque, which is named after Suleyman himself!  Head back to the mosque location, and enter the building directly (don’t worry about your shoes this time).  Once inside you will immediately spot the young guy who was outside the doors during your first visit.  Engage him in conversation to learn a little more about Emre and Mehmet using the following recommended  (but not required) conversation path: 1 (Emre’s dead), 1 (What do you mean?), 2 (Have you spoken…), 1 (Did you think…), 1 (Who would…), and 1 (Emre and Mehmet together).

Once he leaves, turn towards the wooden box to the left, and click on it for a close-up.  The light colour of the icon indicates that we can probably scan this item – take out your scanner and upload the image.  Once completed, back away, pan to the right, and move towards the wall with the two hanging green lights.  Click to the right of the windows to get a close-up of the corner, and click again on the oblique view of the wooden doorway on the left.  Take out your scanner and click on the bottom panel of the door to upload this image.  That’s a little more like it!

Back away, return to the spot near the big wood box, and make your way back out of the mosque through the open doorway.  Return to the map view, and select Istanbul University as your next destination.

Enter the computer lab again, and hand the scanner to Sharife, who will transfer the images into KLIO.  Now find the VR helmet located to the left of Sharife, and click on it twice to re-enter the Topkapi simulation.  The three images that you have successfully scanned are in your inventory along with the items that you collected during your last visit.

Face the missing doorway, select each of the three pieces in turn, and click on both the doorway and the piece over the doorway to determine whether any of the scans is a successful match.  One of the wood panels from the mosque (the one without the knob) is used by the computer to recreate the doorway; however, neither of the other two pieces can be used for the tile above the door.  We’ll need to find another location to recreate that tile piece.  Exit the simulation, and return to the map view.

Under the Rug

One thing’s for certain - Mehmet is deeply involved with this mystery.  Since he mentioned that he wants to discuss things further, it’s a great time to return to his shop to do so.  Unfortunately the shop is closed and locked when we arrive.  Don’t we have a key in our inventory – one that was hidden in Emre’s bookshelf?  Use the key to open Mehmet’s shop, and step inside.

Now is your chance to check out that stack of papers and bric-a-brac by the door.  Pan to your left a bit, and look down.  Hunting with your cursor indicates that a pair of scissors and a pencil can both be taken from this spot.  Back away, turn to your left a bit more, and click on the carpet that Mehmet told us earlier was “not for sale”.  Click on it to move it aside, revealing a blue duffel bag underneath.  Take the bag, and examine it – there are several useful items inside, and each needs to be examined once they are out of the bag.

First out is a odd-looking ring with a bug on it.  Next is a note from Emre to Mehmet indicating that there is something (the “key” to Artemis) hidden on the rug that Mehmet indicated was Emre’s, located in the other room.  Next we find a pamphlet for the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, and a book describing the Aya Sofya – an ancient Istanbul church.  Lastly, a red notebook at the bottom of the bag looks empty – except that there appears to be something imprinted into the first page of the book.  Take out your pencil and click on the page to reveal the writing:  “Nargile – Fri. Eggplant, Tuesday Oranges.”

Proceed into the backroom of Mehmet’s shop, and turn to the right to face Emre’s rug (it’s the one lying on top of some sort of table).  Click near the bottom right corner to turn up the rug and expose the label.  Get out your scissors, and cut the tag off by clicking on it.  Inside, you’ll find a disk with a sun emblem on it.  Place it in your inventory, and make your way out of Mehmet’s shop.  At the map view, note that we have a new location to check out – Aya Sofya.  The Nargile Bar can also be visited, but since we know that Mehmet’s troubles with gambling started there, it may be wise to stay away until we know more about it.  Proceed to Aya Sofya.

Aya Adore

You begin your visit in the entrance hall – listen to the voiceover available by clicking on the headphone icon on the left door, and then proceed straight ahead into the main portion of the church (we’ll explore these other areas a little later).  Inside the main hall, turn around and check out the following items

·        A water container located to the right of the door you just entered

·        A large jug used in the Muslim washing ritual located to the right of the water container

·        Move forward to the right of the water jug and examine the pillar with the small hole in it.  The voiceover tells of the sacking of the church by crusaders in 1203, and of the pillar of St. Gregory, which is said to grant wishes to people with sweaty fingers.  The doors to the left of the pillar both lead back out to the entrance hall.

Walk back into the main chamber, move to the right of the scaffolding, and click on the coronation circles on the floor here to learn about their place in the emperor Justinian’s world.  The pillared structure behind the circles can also be examined more closely.  There is a gentleman standing to the right of the circles – engage him in conversation to learn about his research.  Hillary Peebles is an ancient history professor researching his latest book.  Engage him in conversation, and use the following conversation path to glean the most information from him: 1 (Are you familiar…), 1 (Emre had a book…), 1 (You know Emre?), 1 (What kinds of things…), 1 (Is the Omphalos…), and 1 (Ottoman features…).        

After the professor begs off, continue off to the right of the scaffolding to the back of the church., where you can examine and listen to the voiceovers for the following items:

·        A religious niche built by the Ottomans stands directly in front of you.

·        A balcony up and off to the left.

·        An ornate staircase to the right of the niche.

Return to the coronation circles, and move off to the right of Peebles.  There are several windows on the left side of the screen – the third lets you peek into what Peebles mentioned is the Ottoman library.  Back up, and click on the doorway on the extreme right-hand side of the screen.  Click again on the doorway, and enter the library, where you immediately encounter Nuray.  She’s hesitant to talk about Emre, but try this combination to get some valuable information on their activities: 2 (Emre is dead), 2 (What kind of work…), 2 (What did he do…), 1 (What historical sites…), and 1 (List of sites…).  She runs off to think, leaving you alone in the library.

Spin around and examine the tile located on the working table here – it appears to contain an inscription like those in the Topkapi simulation.  Take out your scanner and upload the image of the tile.  Panning to the right, find the tile up near the ceiling (in the corner) that has a hotspot on it – click for a close-up, and use the scanner to upload an image.  Now examine the bookcase to the right of the table – the middle shelf contains a book that outlines the history and intrigue of Suleyman’s court.  It also introduces some of the personalities that you will encounter, including Suleyman, Roxelana, Mustafa, Ibrahim and Gulbahar.

Exit the library, and make your way back to the front hallway of the church.  Facing the exterior doorway, turn to the left and proceed down the hall here.  You will quickly encounter another doorway, but turn around and look up at the archway you just came through – there’s a beautiful painting up on the wall here that can be examined.  Return to the main doorway again, and this time proceed down the hallway to the right of the main outside door.

This hallway leads up to a set of connected balconies overlooking the church:

·        The first room has a great view of the main church area from the balcony (the windows on the right side of the church can also be examined more closely).  Note the circle on the floor in front of the balcony – the voiceover tells us that this is where the empress would be stationed for ceremonies.

·        Access the next room to the right of the balcony.  There are two items to be viewed to the right of the archway leading into the next room – a glass block in the wall (used for monitoring earthquakes), and a stone crypt in the corner of the room.  A large painting can be viewed to the left of the doorway that you just entered the room through.  Turning to the right, click between the first and second pillars overlooking the church, and click on the headphones in the bottom left corner of the screen to learn about mysterious runes on the wall.  Backing away, click on the wall under the first and second pillars to see an attempt to remove crosses from the carvings here.

·        Move through the archway into the third room  - a window facing away from the main church room can be viewed (nothing!), and two pictures located to the right of the balcony view can be examined.

Make your way back through the rooms to the main entrance hall, and exit the church.  Proceed back to Istanbul University to test out your new scans.

The Fountainhead

Give your scanner to Sharife, and let her insert the scans into KLIO.  Grab the VR helmet, and re-enter the simulation.  Once inside, grab the panel with the inscription from your inventory, position it over the incomplete part of the doorway, and click – the simulation takes it and restores the doorway.  Click on the tile to hear the inscription, and then click on the door to enter the next room.

The room is dominated by a central fireplace, and a royal dais located to the left and right of the flames.  The left dais contains a sword and a writing desk that can be examined more closely, and the right dais has a hand mirror and a lavta (a stringed instrument) to be viewed (you can also strum the lavta to hear its sound).  Both locations also trigger passages about life during the reign of Suleyman.  Panning to the left (past the doorway to the left of the left dais), a shelf contains several other instruments to hear: a zurna (flute) and a bumbelek (drum).

Panning to the left from the shelf, a  water fountain is present along the next wall.  On closer inspection, the water flows from a tap in the wall down into a mechanical flower drain.  A switch to the right of the tap seems to accomplish nothing.  Back away and click below the fountain to view a series of five elegant decorative tiles. There’s nothing happening here, so back up, pan to the right, and exit the room via the door.

Upon entering the Imperial Library, click on the red box item on the table located directly in front of you –this is some sort of decorative clock.  Click on the hands of the clock– they can be moved by clicking again on the numbers around the clock face.  Note the gold buttons below –  the one on the far right appears to be missing – grab the gold cylinder from your inventory and click on the empty spot to insert it into the clock.

It appears that we must set the time on this clock, but without more information, we’ll need to move on.  Back away, examine the book binding and pen to the right of the clock, and then pan to the left to face the wall here.  Click between the two wall panels to catch a glimpse of a room beyond the walls.  Back away, pan to the left, and click on the ablution fountain in the corner of the room.  Click once on the master switch for the harem fountain, and then click above the switch to hear a passage about the palace.

As you continue to pan to the left in the room, you can listen to inscriptions located to the left and right of the doorway.  Find a small table to the left of a brazier with several documents on it – these are imperial decrees of Suleyman: one concerns a dispute over money, the other discusses the fate of some prisoners.  Back away, and click on the table located a little farther to the left.  The close-up view contains some writing implements (box of pens, paper) and a candle.  Click on the candle – oops, we’ve knocked it over and created a pool of wax.  Since there doesn’t appear to be anything else to do in this room right now, back away, and exit via the door.

The Fountainhead

Approach the harem fountain again, and click on the switch beside the tap – this cuts off the water flow into the flower.  Try clicking on the flower now – it flexes but nothing happens.  Back away, and click below the fountain to view the tiles again.  We hear whispers in the background as we look at the five tiles which now bear the images of five prominent figures from Suleyman’s court: Roxelana, Mustafa, Suleyman, Ibrahim and Gulbahar.

The object here is to have the Suleyman tile facing up by itself.  Clicking on each of the 5 tiles causes a set of pre-determined tiles to flip up or down.   Along the way, if you manage to get one of the other characters to face up by themselves, you will hear them recount something about their life in court.  The exception is Mustafa, who I could not get to face upward by himself.

Use the following combinations of tile clicks to hear each of the characters speak; each combination starts from the initial all-tile facing upward position.  To find the initial position, click the centre tile once (or twice).

·        To hear Roxelana, click Ibrahim, Gulbahar, Mustafa

·        To hear Mustafa: n/a

·        To hear Ibrahim, click Roxelana, Mustafa

·        To hear Gulbahar, click Ibrahim, Gulbahar, Mustafa, Roxelana

·        To hear Suleyman, click Suleyman, Gulbahar, Mustafa, Mustafa

Suleyman describes his love for Roxelana, and mentions that “12 is the sun” - an obvious reference to the clock in the next room.  After Suleyman speaks, you are given a cylindrical decorative letter seal.  Place it into your inventory, back away, and return to the library.

Go directly to the writing table, and place the seal into the pool of wax – now click on the wax to read the inscription: “Half of the sun and half is the moon, half of the moon and half is the morning star”.  Back away, and proceed to the red clock.  We now have the three times to set the sun, moon, and morning star buttons:

·        The sun time is 12 (as Suleyman mentioned)

·        The moon time is “half the sun” (6) plus “half” (30 minutes), in other words 6:30

·        The morning star time is “half the moon” (3:15) plus “half” (30 minutes) to get 3:45.

Place the clock hands in the correct positions for each button from left to right, and be sure to press each corresponding button immediately after setting its time.  Click on a clock hand to pick it up, and again on the position on the outer dial to place it there.  Upon completion, a small door on the right side of the clock opens to reveal a golden key.  Place it into your inventory, and grab the glass vessel which has appeared next to the clock as well.

Harem Scarem

Return to the privy chamber, and approach the fountain again.  Place the glass vessel on top of the flower-shaped drain, and then click the switch above to start the water flow again.  This opens a doorway located to the right of the fountain.  Back away, and enter the new doorway.

You’ve reached the secret harem passage that has recently been excavated at Topkapi.  Proceed down the stairs ahead, and turn to the right at the bottom.  Take one step forward, turn to the left, and proceed forward.  Next, turn to the right to be confronted by another descending staircase.  Descend the stairs to a landing, but instead of continuing down another flight, turn to your left, and enter a side passage here.  Make another quick left, go forward, turn to the right, forward again, and turn to your right once more.

Descend the stairs ahead of you and enter the private treasury of Suleyman.  That grinding sound you hear is the passageway closing behind you!  (Remember, it’s a simulation, you aren’t going to die!)  Click on the treasures on the table before you for a close up.  Take out the golden key you obtained from the red clock, and position it at the fat right end of the long horizontal pin attached to the front of the chest (the hotspot is quite small, so keep looking for your key to light up).  Click the key, then on the pin, and finally on the chest itself reveal a large ruby ring.

Take the ring, and click on the doorway visible on the other side of the table to move to the other end of the room (the gate behind you has opened again, but we don’t need to go back the way we came).  Ascend the staircase ahead, turn to your right, and continue up the next flight of stairs.  Walk forward, ascend a third staircase, and walk forward once more.  You have now entered the Sweetmeats Room.  You will find a flat, stringed instrument to play (a kanun) located to the left of the fireplace.  After testing out the instrument, back away and find the magnifying glass icon located on a wood wall panel to the left of the kanun.  Click twice, and peruse the maps of Topkapi Palace, and of Istanbul on the flip side.

Turn around and face the door to the right of the fireplace.  Find the small panel on the left side of the door (it’s on the door frame) and open it with a click; another click on the button inside the compartment unlocks the door.  Now click on the door – this completes the Topkapi simulation.  Hit the “System Exit” button near the top of the screen to return to the university.

Sharife immediately engages you in a discussion.  The conversation path doesn’t really matter, but you may want to follow the following selections to learn about the recent excavations, and how to find out more information:  1 (Emre had to have…), 2 (Why does it…), 1 (Could the restoration…), 2 (The simulation said…), and 1 (Is there any way…).  After the conversation, we are introduced to Eskander, Sharife’s benefactor.  He invites us to a drink at the Hotel De Londres, and they both leave for a meeting.

Talkin’ Topkapi

Sharife suggested that the archaeological museum may provide more information about the relics found at Topkapi, so proceed over there, enter the main museum building, and walk up the stairs.  A woman and a man with a big moustache are discussing antiquities, including some sort of head-dress.  Once the man leaves, the woman will talk to you – but unless you get your press pass out and show it to her, she runs into her office.  Either way, enter the office, and show her your pass if you haven’t done so.  She agrees to answer questions for a short while.

Use the following conversation path to learn the most about the Topkapi excavation: 1 (Can I get a look at…?), 1 (Who was that man…?), 3 (How do you determine...?), 1 (Who’s supervising…?), 1 (One of my leads…), and 1 (Is this the first...?).   The man with the moustache turned out to be Jeremy Carpenter, a relic authentication expert.  At this point she dismisses you – exit her office and return to the lobby.

Proceed into the room to the right of the stairs, and pan to the left in here – you’ll spot Nuray doing some research.  Click to talk to her, and follow this conversation path to get her to promise to help: 1 (Did you ever take…?), 1 (What do you know…?), 2 (Did Emre get access…?), 1 (Has anyone mentioned…?), and 1 (Emre believed…).  She agrees to put together a list of sites that they visited together, and will meet you at Aya Sofya later on.  Exit the room, and leave the museum via the front door.

You are immediately accosted by the Turkish police detective Akalin, who suspects that you are involved in the smuggling and Emre’s murder.  Use the following conversation path: 2 (I didn’t kill anyone…), 1 (When can I have…?), 1 (All right, I’ll tell you…), 3 (Emre wrote to warn…), 1 (Emre was killed…), 1 (Emre was working with…), and 1 (Nuray???).  He keeps your passport, but allows you to go.

Cisterns are Doing It For Themselves

Proceed over to Emre’s apartment – Sharife’s been looking for you, and finds you on the street outside the building.  Choose whichever conversation path suits you, and agree to attempt to repair the Basilica Cistern simulation.  Alternatively, you can try this conversation path: 1 (I found Emre’s body…), 2 (Can the missing KLIO…?), 2 (Do you think someone…?), 1 (No one reported…),  1 (The police told me…), 1 (Who else has access…?), and 2 (Let me into…).  Sharife gives you the VR helmet, and leaves.

Before you leave the apartment building, pan to the right to the doorway into the building – there’s a note pinned to the right side of the door frame.  Pick up the note and examine it - a family member named Izzet is desperately looking for Mehmet.   Now pick up the newspaper lying on the front step below the note.  It contains an interesting news story about the smuggling and recovery of the ruby ring, and you can check your horoscope on the other side as well.

Leave the apartment location, and on the map view choose the VR helmet in the bottom right corner to enter the basilica simulation.  The date of the simulation is 532 AD, although the following voiceover describes the discovery of the cistern in the 16^th century.   Walk forward, but there isn’t anything more than construction rubble on the ground here.  Return to your original location (there’s only one way back), and head off to the right of the right-hand workers’ ramp.  Move forward one more step - you can now spot the greenish lines that indicate that the simulation is not complete. You hear the voice of the architect describing the design and construction of the building.

Turn to the right and move forward – a large unfinished section of the simulation is visible.  Pan around until you see the key missing component – a patterned column that looks suspiciously like the tear column from the actual basilica.  We know where to find that scan.  Exit the simulation immediately, and go the real Basilica Cistern on the map view.

Once inside, walk down the stairs, head off to the left, make a right turn, and look over to the left to see the column.  Click to get a close up, take the scanner out and scan away…oops – it looks as if it is too humid down here to get the scanner to work.  We’ll have to find an alternative location.  Back away, turn around, and make your way back out the cistern to the map view.  

Ask the Experts

Perhaps Nuray may be of some assistance.  Go to Aya Sofya, proceed inside the main hall to the coronation circles, and go off to the left and into the library where we saw here during our last visit to the church.  But she’s not here!.  Return to the front entrance hall, and make your way upstairs (go right of the main exterior door).  Enter the second room (accessible to the right of the balcony), and find Nuray admiring one of the mosaics.  She gives us a piece of paper, indicating that it isn’t safe to talk.

Examine the paper – on the other side, she has jotted down the locations that she and Emre had visited and researched, including Aya Sofya, the Basilica Cistern, and the Forum of Theodosius.  Make your way back to the front entrance and exit the church.  Perhaps a quick trip to the Archaeological Museum is in order?  Enter the main building, and proceed into the room to the left of the stairs in the lobby.

Pan around until you spot Hillary Peebles standing here.  Engage him in conversation and use the following suggested conversation path to learn some interesting tidbits: 1 (Is there anything…?), 1 (Have you ever heard…?), 1 (I’m trying to track…), 3 (Do any of the ruins…?), and 3 (Thanks). 

He needs to see the exact column you are interested in, so take out that snapshot of the Tear column that we found in the Basilica Cistern pamphlet, and show Hillary.  He indicates that the Forum of Theodosius is where we will find such a column.  Feel free to ask him any other questions, make your way back out of the museum, and back to the map view.

Running With the Devil

Find the Forum of Theodosius on the map view, and click to travel there.  The columns are located off to your right – find the one you can approach, and click for a close-up.  This is a good place to save your game (trust me).  Take out your scanner, and scan in the column – it automatically uploads into the simulation.

Click away from the scanner view, and Carlo jumps out from behind the column wielding the knife like a sushi chef.  Immediately back away from him (you have about 3 seconds to do this before he gets you).   After backing away, you can either go left towards some empty sidewalk displays, or to the right along the sidewalk ahead.  Follow the sidewalk to the right.  You then get another choice – left towards some grass and more sidewalk, or right towards a small area with a police truck parked behind.  Chose the left option, and find yourself encountering Eskander from the University, who by chance is walking by.

Eskander calms you down, and brings you to the Galata Tower for a drink.  Since you don’t really know this guy, be conservative with your answers to his questions.  Use the following conversation path: 2 (The police think…), 2 (I know who really…), and 1 (Yes).  Eskander advises us to let the police handle it, and invites us to an awards dinner at the Hotel De Londres.  Once he departs, exit the tower (just turn around), and return to the map view.

Before returning to the simulation, hop on over to Istanbul University to check in with Sharife.  Don’t skip through the introduction movie this time – just as you arrive, an agitated and upset Mehmet approaches you and warns you to end your investigation immediately.   After he wanders off, continue on to the computer lab and walk inside.

Sharife is nowhere to be seen – pan to the right of her usual position in front of the computers, and click on the desk in the corner.  You will find a hand-written note on a file of KLIO access records that suggests you have been accessing the KLIO database for months. Someone is trying to frame you.  Eskander?  Back away, and click on the top of the bookcase to the left of the desk.  You can peruse Sharife’s 4-page grant proposal for the KLIO system.  Once finished, back away, and return to the map view.  Click on the VR helmet to return to the cistern simulation.

Picking Up the Pieces

Inside the simulation, proceed off to the left, then straight forward, and then to the right.  You should arrive at the missing tear column.  Grab your scan of the column from your inventory, and click on the column – this allows KLIO to extrapolate the remainder of the simulated location .

Pan to the left, and pick up the pile of rope that has appeared on the ground behind you.  Continue panning to the left, and grab an iron implement on the floor here.  Pan a bit to the right again, and return towards the starting point of the simulation.  At your new location, panning to the right will reveal three objects to pick up off the floor here: an angled engineering frame, a wooden rod, and a brass implement.

Keep turning to the right, and move forward another step towards the starting point of the simulation.  From your new location, you will find three wooden supports to pick up – two are located a bit to the right, and the third is right behind you.  Continue on to the simulation’s starting point, and pick up the ropes and forceps on the ground here.  Move forward towards that dead end we visited when we first arrived in the simulation, and pick up the wooden wheel located on the floor at the dead end.

Return all the way back to the tear column, and continue forward to a wall.  Turn around and pick up a square shaped engineering framework.  Turn back to face the wall, turn to your left, and proceed ahead.  Once you stop, turn around and click on the floor in front of the Medusa head.  There are a number of lighter-coloured tiles that must be “opened” using the iron implement from your inventory – take it out and click on the tiles to open them.  We end up with  5 smaller holes that surround a double-sided hole, with a quadruple sized hole located to the left of the others.

Some Assembly Required

We now must assemble some sort of hoist mechanism to lift the stone inside the largest hole to the left.  You may recall that the assembled mechanism was pictured in a book on Emre’s shelf in his apartment.  If you can’t recall that picture, or didn’t sketch it out, you may want to return there now and have another look. If you wish, exit the simulation, go to Emre’s apartment, enter the living room, click on the shelf below the hanging lute, and click on the book titled “Roman Engineering”.  Stare at the sketch until you got it tattooed on your brain, exit the apartment, return to the map view, click on the VR helmet, and proceed back to the assembly area.

Follow these easy steps to assemble your brand new lifting discombobulator:

·        Place the rectangular-shaped engineering frame in the two right-most holes

·        Put the angled engineering frame in the two holes located immediately to the right of the big hole

·        Insert the engineering support with the full circle cut-out in the remaining small hole (at the back between the two engineering supports)

·        Place one of the engineering supports with the half-circle cut out in the “back” part of the double-sized hole

·        Put the wooden rod on top of the two supports already in place

·        Place the wheel on the portion of the rod sticking out at the front

·        Place the remaining support in the front portion of the double-sided hole

·        Grab the ropes and click on the centre of the angled engineering frame to stretch out the cords between the two frameworks

·        Grab the forceps and rope and click on the top of the angled frame to place them above the large hole in the ground

Now that the apparatus has been assembled, click on the large hole on the left to get a close-up of two gold medallions with medusa heads on them.  The object here is to position the medallions, using the bronze implement, to match the poem written on a piece of paper we picked up in Emre’s apartment.  If you have to, exit the simulation, and look through your inventory until you find it – the poem mentions one head on its chin, and one on its cheek.

Grab the bronze implement and click on the upper medallion to insert it into the holes.  Now click on the end of the implement that shows a “hand” cursor (a “pick up” cursor is shown on the other end of the implement).   Keep clicking until the head is upright (on its chin).  Pick up the implement (by clicking on the other end) and place it on the bottom medallion.  Rotate the medallion until the head is lying on its right cheek.  The block below will pop up, allowing access with the forceps.

Back away and click on the hanging forceps to lower and position them around the block.  Now click on the wheel – the hoist will lift the block up.  Pick up the iron implement from your inventory while the block is still being lifted, and immediately after the hoist stops, quickly insert the implement into the lower left portion of the wheel – this prevents the hoist from lowering the block again.  (This may take a few tries, since it doesn’t give you much time).  Click on the hole below the block, pick up the silver fan, and then exit the completed simulation.

Izzet Stradlin’

You can pop by the University, but Sharife is still away, so take this opportunity to track down Mehmet’s relative Izzet at the book bazaar (remember the note on Emre’s door?).  After arriving at the bazaar, you are accosted by a trinket merchant hawking his wares.  Try following the following conversation path: 2 (Sounds like you speak…), 1 (Some of these things…), 2 (That’s a little too steep…), 2 (You know, that’s still…), 1 (I’ll buy it.).  You end up with a useless stone on a necklace (check your inventory), but have earned some personal capital with the seller.

Show the merchant the sun shaped pin – he indicates that it is a Greek design from the Temple of Artemis.  Try showing him the bug-shaped ring – he says it’s a valueless souvenir.  Back away from the merchant, and pan to your left until you see a small table near the corner of a fenced in treed area.  Clicking on the table gives a close-up view of some stained glass men - the same type as those on Emre’s apartment window.

Back away and pan to your left until you see a short man standing beside his books.  Click on Izzet to engage him in conversation about Mehmet.  Use the following conversation path to gain information, and avoid angering Izzet: 1 (I’m looking for Mehmet…), 2 (I saw Mehmet…), 1 (Where do you think…?), 1 ( Did Mehmet’s gambling…?), 1 (What did Emre do..?), 2 (I’m sorry…).

After your conversation ends, click on the book display to the left of Izzet, and click on the newspaper behind Izzet in the close-up of the book display.  The paper contains a story about the recent illegal sale of a silver fan in Vienna – our virtual prize from the cistern simulation.  Find the hotspot on the books below the newspaper, and click on the red book in the close-up view – Izzet mentions that Emre has made notes in the margins, and gives the book to us.  The third hotspot, located on the books near the top of the display allows you to peruse “Presnel Astrono”, containing the constellations and symbols of the zodiac.

Back away from the display, and examine the red book that Izzet has given to us.  Chapter 6 discusses the Ephesian Letters, and Emre’s notes list “Arasta Shop #41”  Is this a new location?  Exit the bazaar location, and make your way to the Arasta Bazaar.

Get Happy!

After arriving at the Arasta, pan to your right, and enter the open doorway.  An extremely enthusiastic shop-keeper greets you - after his introduction, peruse the following locations in his shop:

·        Sneak a peak at the swords on the wall to the left of the shopkeeper (“Not very sharp!”)

·        Click on the hotspot in the upper-central portion of the wall to the left of the swords to view some ceramics (“My grandmother’s favourite!”)

·        Click below the ceramics of the floor to view some novel folding chairs

·        View a close-up of some brass lanterns hanging on a beam up and to the left of the ceramics (“It’s very, very new!”)

·        Click on the small pile of brown bags on the low bench to the right of the entrance, and grab the bottom-left bag.

The shopkeeper examines your selection and offers a price – accept his offer and take the bag of Ephesian letters.  He will ask you a follow-up question – go ahead and admit that you know Emre, and the shopkeeper will tell you what he knows about Mehmet’s exporting practices in Vienna.  Exit the shop, and return to the map view.

You can pop by the University again, but Sharife is still nowhere to be found.  Eskander mentioned something about a dinner in his honour at the Hotel De Londres, so proceed to the hotel to see if Sharife is in attendance.  The hotel’s lounge is empty except for a solitary figure at the bar – the detective Akalin.  Play it straight with him, and you’ll learn some important new information: 2 (I’ve got some more…), 1 (Carlo tried to kill…), 2 (Did you get any…?), 1 (Mehmet’s dead?), 1 (This all revolves…), and 1 (My name is on the…).

After he’s finished with you, exit the hotel and head to the Archaeological Museum.  Enter the main building, climb the stairs, and walk into the curator’s office.  Show her the Roman-themed book from the bazaar, and use the following conversation path: 1 (Where is Ephesus...?), 1(How does Alexander…?), 1 (Do you know…?), and 1 (He’s the consultant…).  Afterward, show her both the sun disk (it’s Greek), and the bug-shaped ring (it’s worthless).

Exit the curator’s office, and return to the map view.  Once more, travel to the University, and enter Sharife’s lab.  She is standing in front of her desk with her back to you.  Speak to her – Sharife’s one word answers indicate she’s been warned about you from others.  Use the following conversation path to convince her to open up the Temple of Ephesus simulation to you: 1 (I’ve replaced those…), 1 (According to KLIO…), 2 (Have you checked…?), 1 (Emre was studying…), 1 (Then I’d like…), 2 (What have you…?), 1 (I’m the only lead…), and 1 (Help me, Sharife).  She relents, and you enter the Celcus at Ephesus simulation.

Temple of Doom

Listen to the voiceover, and then approach the temple.  You will note 4 statues along the front of the building – each can be approached for a closer look.  The statues represent wisdom, virtue, thought, and knowledge (from left to right).  There is also a game located on the steps of the temple, with the object to place three stones of the same colour in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same – a more complicated version of tic-tac-toe.  I did manage to beat the computer once, but I can’t seem to repeat the feat.  Try playing around with this game, but don’t sweat it if you cannot win – it isn’t necessary to advance our investigation.

Enter the temple building, turn to your left, and walk towards the window here.  Pick up the scroll and examine it – a dedication decree.  Back away, turn to the centre of the room, and approach the main table.  Several voiceovers are available by clicking on some of the objects on the desk.  Pick up the paper in the centre of the table – it’s a scroll that mentions the possible presence of a gold bust of Alexander the Great.

Back away again, pan to the right, and approach a shelf of scrolls.  There are a total of five voiceovers that can be triggered by clicking on various scrolls – a combination of letters, historical facts, decrees and bible passages.  There are also two scrolls that can be picked up: one in the centre of the top shelf (describing the founding of Ephesus), and another located near the right side of the bottom shelf (a poem).

Back away, and proceed towards the narrow doorway to the right of the scroll shelf.  Click on the top panel of the door for a close-up view.  The simulation indicates that this is an Ephesian letter  locking mechanism – seven disks with different labels are shown on the door (the seven labels are Earth, Sun, Light, Wisdom, Virtue, Thought, and Knowledge – the last four match the statues outside).  We don’t seem to have what this puzzle is asking for, so exit the simulation and return to the University.

Tales from the Crypt

Open up the small bag obtained from the shop at the Arasta, and scan the individual stone tiles using the KLIO scanner.  While you’re at it, try scanning in various other items from your inventory – you’ll find that the images of the bug ring and the sun disk can be added to the KLIO database. Give the scanner to Sharife to upload the data, and return into the simulation.  Return into the temple, and approach the narrow doorway to the right.

Grab one of the scanned tiles from your inventory and hold it over each of the seven disks on the door – you will quickly see that only four of the disks (the ones that match the statues outside the temple) can receive new labels.  Since Sun, Earth and Light are already on the door, you must find the correct match for the Sea, Dark, Year and Truth tiles.  Try matching up combinations that make sense; Truth seems to match up best with “Knowledge”, Year matches best with “Wisdom”, Dark matches with “Thought”, and (by default) Sea goes with “Virtue”.  Place these four tiles on the correct disks, and the door will open.  You are ushered down a staircase and along a passageway to a stone crypt.

Immediately, the simulation warns of instability and anomalous data – clearly there’s a problem with the image here.  Do we recall the location of another crypt in our travels around Istanbul that we could scan into KLIO?  If you said “yes – the Archaeological Museum”, you’re a smart cookie.

Exit the simulation, leave the computer lab, and travel to the museum.  This time, walk to the left of the main building where there are a number of statues present (find the magnifying glass icon between the two buildings again).  The crypt is located to the right of the statue of the human figure – click to get a close-up, and then use your scanner to save the image.

Back away twice, and then pan to the left to see Akalin and Nuray arguing in Turkish.  Once the detective leaves, engage Nuray in conversation, and choose any of the conversation choices.  Afterward, return to the map view, proceed to the University, give the scanner to Sharife, and then re-enter the simulation.  Make your way through the narrow doorway inside the temple down to the unstable crypt.  Use the new crypt image to restore stability.  Now examine the bowl located in front of the crypt.  You should recognize the sun symbol on the bottom of the bowl.

Hard to Miss Artemis

Use the sun disk scan from your inventory on the bottom of the bowl – this activates some sort of sub-simulation devised by Emre.  We are taken to the Temple of Artemis.  Pan around near the floor and spot three whitish items lying on the floor here.  Pick each item up and examine one in your inventory – these are silver ingots with strange symbols and constellations inscribed into them.  In fact, each represents a sign of the zodiac – implying that there are another nine of these ingots to collect.

Enter the main chamber of the temple, and pick up another five of the ingots on the floor in here.  A large statue of Artemis lies at the end of the room, with an offering table in the foreground.  Click on the offering table to see where nine of the twelve ingots must be placed in a certain order.  We’ll need to come back here when we’ve collected all of the bricks.

Exit the main chamber, and continue straight out the front door of the temple.  Another two ingots can be found out here on the front steps (along with some other offerings).  Listen to the voiceover, and then move off to the left of the offerings to reach another part of the temple’s exterior.  One more ingot can be found here on the steps.  Listen to the voiceover, return to the front of the temple, and re-enter the building.

We are only missing one more of the ingots.  Facing the entrance to the main room, pan to the right to the double doors, and then click on the small locking mechanism visible immediately to the right of the doorway.  The “bug-shaped” indentation should look familiar – take the bug ring image out of your inventory and click on the lock to open the doors.  You are whisked up to the second floor balcony.

What’s Your Sign?

Step forward and turn to your left to admire the head of the Artemis statue.  In fact, click on her head for a close-up.  The statue wears a peculiar necklace made up of nine circles – each representing a sign of the zodiac.  Some of the signs are hard to make out, but the one furthest to the right is a crab (Cancer), and the one immediately to its left is obviously a lion (Leo).  The fifth circle along the chain is a scorpion (Scorpio).  Back away, and continue along the balcony over to the other side of the room (it will take you two steps).  You should find the last remaining ingot on the ground here.  Sneak another peak at Artemis’ necklace from this side – the symbol farthest to the left is a fish (Pisces).

Back away, proceed back along the balcony, and return to the first floor.  Take this opportunity to examine some of the ingots – unless you are a master of the horoscope, at least some of the symbols will look unfamiliar to you.  We will need a helpful source to learn more about the symbols.  Remember the horoscope from the newspaper we took from Emre’s front stoop that contained the daily readings?  Exit the simulation, and return to Sharife’s lab.

Examine the newspaper, and turn it over to find the horoscope section.  Copy down the 12 symbols as depicted in the newspaper.  Are there any further clues as to the identity of the nine correct symbols and their order?  Starting with Pisces, move downward through the list of symbols and start again at the top when you reach the bottom of the list – the fifth symbol is Scorpio, the eighth is Leo, and the ninth is Cancer.  This string (which excludes Aries, Taurus and Gemini) probably makes up our set of nine necklace symbol.  You can return to the statue to confirm this if you wish.

Return to the simulation, and enter the main room of the Temple of Artemis.  Approach the offering table, and place the nine symbols in order from left to right:

·        Pisces (looks like a stylized “H”)

·        Aquarius (two wavy parallel lines)

·        Capricorn (a jagged line with several angles)

·        Sagittarius (a line with an arrow running through it on an angle)

·        Scorpio (an “M” with an arrow at the end)

·        Libra (two parallel lines, one of which has a bump in it)

·        Virgo (an “M” that loops back over the right end of the letter)

·        Leo (a small circle with a curving line coming out of it)

·        Cancer (two “6”s lying on their sides)

The three remaining blocks – Aries (a small loop with two curving horns), Taurus (a circle with two horns coming out of it) and Gemini (a four-sided shape with loops at each corner) are not used.  Once the blocks are placed correctly, the statue lifts to reveal the gold bust of Alexander the Great…then the simulation is unexpectedly cut off.  Back in the lab, Sharife is incensed at this hidden sub-simulation, and asks you to leave.

Make your way over to Emre’s apartment, and pick up another newspaper on the front stoop.  The paper contains a story about Mehmet’s death, and mentions you as a suspect.

Under Construction

Time to check out that tip about the antiquities consultant Jeremy Carpenter – head to the Book Bazaar.  Jeremy is standing by Izzet’s booth.  Engage him in conversation by showing him your press pass, and use the following path to avoid angering him: 2 (Just your basic…), 1 (I heard that you…), 1 (You’re a translator…), 1 (Have you…?), and 1 (Thanks).

Now let’s try the other excavation expert in town – the museum curator.  Exit the bazaar, travel to the museum, enter the main building, climb the stairs, enter the curator’s office, and speak with the curator.  Follow this conversation path to learn about the one entity that all of the excavations have in common: 1 (Has anyone recently…?), 1 (What do you know…?), 1 (Have there been…?), 1 (Is there any…?), 1 (Have there been…?), 1 (Who approves…?), 1 (Can I see…?), 1 ( I think…), 1 (Is there one person…?), and 1 (Thanks).

Now that we’ve learned that Gordian Construction has been involved in all of the digs, it’s time to pay them a visit.  Exit the museum, return to the map view, and travel to the Gordian Construction offices – right next door to Carlo’s Nargile Bar!  You arrive in the middle of a narrow street – pan to the left past the white car, and click on the accessible doorway (the one below the poster) in the building here.  The door is locked, so we’ll have to come back later.

Pan back to the right, and find the entrance to Gordian Construction in the peach-coloured building on the other side of the street.  The address (No. 341) can be seen in the close-up view.  Click on the small keypad to the left of the door for a further close-up.  Evidently we’ll need some sort of numerical code to gain access to this building.  Back away, pan left towards the white car again, and click above the car to travel up the street.

That’s the Ticket

One more click in the centre of the screen brings you to the Nargile Bar – maybe we can figure out the Gordian door code here.  Lucky for you the place is empty (except for the guy smoking the water pipe).  The only information that we have about the bar is that you can probably gamble here, and the note from Mehmet’s notebook that we used the pencil to uncover: “Nargile Fri. Eggplant Tuesday Oranges”.  You can sneak a peak at the bar’s preferred pastime if you pan to the right of the counter area and click on a table in the empty part of the bar – dominoes!

Pan back to the bar’s counter, and click on the small rack of dominoes and the lime to examine them more closely.  Is the presence of the lime telling us something?  Combine this with Mehmet’s note, and deduce that the lime is related to the day of the week, and therefore the numbers on the dominoes.  Find the four green numbers: 7, 0, 4 and 9.  This may be our code.  Back away, and pan to the left until you see the small staircase leading down to the basement.  Better save that game now – we’ve got a timed sequence ahead.

Descend the stairs, and then enter the room beyond the wooden door.  We’ve only got 1 to 2 minutes before someone nasty (you know who!) shows up, so act fast.  First, find the second shelf of the bookcase (it should be to the right of your current position) and click for a close up.  Take a baggage claim ticket and a note from the box labelled “Tombeki”.  Next, back away, pan to the left a bit, and try to move towards the other side of the room.  All you get is a close up view of a garbage can.  Pick out two pieces of paper (a used claims ticket and a half-burned note) and back away.

Now turn around and click on the desk behind you.  Click on the blue imprinting machine on the left side of the desk, and pick up the small metal plate lying in front of the machine in the close-up view  Immediately pick it up from inventory, and place it in the middle of the machine.  Now place the blank baggage claims ticket over top of the plate.  Click the left side of the imprinting machine to imprint the plate on the ticket, and then pick up the newly printed ticket.  Finally, pan to the right of the desk, and exit the wood doorway in the wall.

You will find yourself back on the street in front of Gordian Construction.  Take this opportunity to view what you’ve liberated from the Nargile basement.  You’ve managed to create a bogus baggage claims ticket like the one in the trash can.  The burnt note appears to be in Italian, and the final note seems to confirm the code information obtained in the bar.

The Best Laid Plans

Before making your raid on the Gordian offices, return to the map view (pan to your left), and go to the Bazaar.  Show the burned paper to the trinket salesman – his translation includes “must be sure”, “7^th of March”, “journalist” and “evidence”.  Exit the bazaar and return to Gordian Construction.  Click on the doorway again, go to the close-up of the keypad, and punch in “7049” – click on the door to open it, and enter the lobby.  Continue straight ahead, and be sure to save your game before entering the elevator.

Clicking on the elevator door takes you directly into the company board room.  You don’t have much time before a security guard nabs you for arrest, so find the dark portfolio on the right end of the big table.  Click on it to open, and then take the papers located inside.  You can also look at the entries on the left side of the book – The Herodotus Foundation and Carlo Genevese are both definitely involved with Gordian Construction.

Back away, and feel free to examine any / all of the following items - just do it quickly!:

·        Building plans on surface of main table

·        Glass dish on left side of side table (located to the right of the main table)

·        Upper drawer on the side table (contains more building plans)

·        Lower drawer on the side table (contains newspapers)

·        Shelf in the library area to the right of the side table (there are two art doodads to look at here – a cone in a glass container, and a decorative bull).

Exit via the door to the left of the board room table, click forward to enter the elevator, and exit the building through the red door.  Return to the map view by proceeding in the opposite direction from the white car.

Sharife isn’t at the University, so try the Hotel De Londres – and run into Eskander at the bar.  Show him the documents lifted from the Gordian office, and choose the following path to hear who he thinks is the mastermind: 1 (What is Herodotus?), 1 (How did Gordian…?), and 1 (How is Herodotus…?).   Eskander implores you to take these documents to the police as soon as possible.

The police are hanging out at the Archaeological Museum, but following Eskander’s advice is a bad move here – the cops will arrest you for document theft, smuggling, and murder.  Instead, travel to the Galata Tower where Sharife is contemplating life.  Show her the papers, and choose conversation option 3 (I don’t believe…).  Sharife is convinced that Eskander’s computer files will contain enough to prove his guilt.  You are automatically transferred to the University, and enter the Aya Sofya simulation.

[Note: There is an alternative course to follow after leaving the Gordian Construction office.  Go first to the museum and show the documents to Akalin – they aren’t enough to prove Eskander’s guilt, so he tells you to go.  Eskander has now left the hotel, so go directly to the Galata Tower, and use the following conversation path on Sharife after showing her the papers: : 1 (What is Herodotus?), 1 (How did Gordian…?), 1 (How is Herodotus…?), and 1 (So Eskander…?).]

Sofya After Dark

Move forward through the main doors of the church, and then pan to your left.  There is a curious-looking circular panel on the floor here – click on it to travel into a small stone space.  Pan around until you see the barred window overlooking a series of computer generated grid lines – an exit out of the simulation perhaps?  Look upward until you can see the way back up into the church, and click to travel there.

Move forward again towards the business end of the church.  You will encounter a number of voiceovers as you make your way around the church – most discuss the sacking of Aya Sofya in the 18^th century.  Pan to your left, and walk towards the side of the church.  You will find a purple urn on the floor here next to a stone pillar.  Examine the urn and learn that it symbolizes the Empress Theodora.  Turn around and walk back into the centre of the church.  Turn to your left and walk towards the altar area at the end of the room.  You will find an orb (representing the Emperor Justinian) and a chalice (representing the emperor’s Patriarch) on a bench.  Pick both up, and return one step back into the centre of the church. 

Click on the ornate screen, and mouse-over the coronation circle on the floor here.  There seems to be some sort of puzzle to solve.  Return to the centre of the room, and proceed back to and through the main doors of the church.  Facing the outside doors, pan to the right, and spot a helmet sitting on a bench.  Grab the helmet (symbolizing the emperor’s general), and proceed down this hallway to the right.  Inside the doors, pick up the lantern (representing the emperor’s historian) sitting on the floor, and then proceed through the doors to the right.

On the second floor, pan to the left until a large red compass comes into view.  Pick up the compass (representing the emperor’s architect), and then pan around until you find the opening to the balcony room.  Proceed onto the balcony, and pick up the flower and vase (symbolizing the general’s wife) sitting on the top of the railing.  Note the Empress’s omphalos on the floor – the spot where she would stand during the Coronation.

Putting Them in Their Place

By now you’ve probably guessed what must be done – the “objects” must be placed in such a way as to mimic the coronation ceremony.  If you’ve got no idea which objects need to be placed where in the church, exit the simulation and consult “The Book of Ceremonies” from your real-life inventory (that’s the game’s real life, not YOUR real life!).  I believe that the applicable passage is on page three of the book   First the patriarch, general and architect (in that order) stand in the outer sections of the coronation circle; next the Empress stands in her omphalos up on the balcony; and finally the emperor enters the inner portion of the coronation circle.  The historian and the general’s wife are not needed for the ceremony.

Return to the simulation, and proceed over to the coronation circle in the main room.  Place the chalice (bottom left corner), helmet (upper left corner) and compass (right side) around the main circle in that order.  Now walk back to the main doors, proceed up to the balcony, and place the purple urn on the empress’s omphalos.  Finally, return to the main floor and walk to the coronation circle.  You may want to save your game here, as its going to get a little hairy from here on in.  Place the orb in the centre of the circle, and listen to Justinian speak.

The simulation gurgles, and a gold diadem is revealed under the centre circle.  Grab the treasure, but heed the warnings from the simulation that the police are on their way, and that the simulation is collapsing.  You’ve got about 30 seconds to get out, or everything shuts down.  Back away from the circle, pan to the right, and move back into the centre of the room.  Facing the main doors, find the trap-door in the floor we found earlier and click there.

As you move into the stone chamber, the simulation dissolves around you, and the computer places you within another simulation - Eskander’s hard drive.

Ooey GUI

Your final task is to navigate through Eskander’s hard drive and transfer incriminating files out of the system – all in the span of about 2 minutes (the voiceover will start counting down your time left from 60 seconds).  You may want to save your game again before continuing.  From your present location, do the following:

·        Move forward one step

·        Turn to the left and move forward

·        Turn to the right and move forward

·        Turn to the left and move forward

·        Turn to the right and move forward

·        Turn to the right and move forward

·        Turn to the left and move forward

This route takes you directly to the knot - a circular area with models of the treasures that the smugglers have stolen using KLIO.  There is a square opening in the wall directly in front of you – click here to enter a graphical interface of Eskander’s file storage system.

Clicking on the four main directories brings up sub-directories of files.  Since the incriminating evidence would mostly be transactions between Herodotus and Gordian, click on the KNOT directory, and grab the “Transaction” files from the box that pops up.

Now to transfer the files out of the system.  Holding the files, click on the interface port located directly above the “EXPORT” label in the bottom right corner of the screen.  Choose your outgoing destination by clicking on the “Computer Lab” label (located below and to the right of the interface port) – this will light up some blinkers around the name.  Finally, click on the interface port again to send the files out of the system.

 Sharife retrieves the files and gives them to Akalin, who proceeds to the Hotel De Londres and arrests Eskander as he accepts his big award.  Busted!

GameBoomers Walkthroughs and Solutions