Figure 7.32:
Landscape of the dead, landscape of the living. The Beni Hassan Islamic necropolis in central Egypt lies in the desert, just beyond the irrigable land; nearby, the living make intensive use of every parcel of land watered by the Nile River. The mud brick structures are all tombs. Thus, the doubly dead landscape is sacred, whereas the realm of living plants and people is profane.
(Courtesy of Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov.)