IMPORTANT: Levels 21 through 26, set in Cairo, are interconnected. Some backtracking among them is needed to find all the necessary items. This walkthrough covers what I hope is the most direct route including all kills, pick-ups, and secrets. I have also included a CAIRO OVERVIEW outlining the basic path through the levels. This chart contains minor spoilers, such as keys and puzzle items, so you may want to avoid it unless you get lost/confused. The walkthrough also contains notes on what to do if you missed any crucial items.
LEVEL 22A: CHAMBERS OF TULUN (first visit)
Updated: 5/5/19(†)
Kills: 6 Items: 10 Secrets: 2*
NOTE: The regular pick-ups include the GRENADE GUN if you didn't find it earlier.
You enter this level for the first time through the gate in the northeast corner of the CITY OF THE DEAD.
STREET OUTSIDE CHAMBERS OF TULUN: Turn left and ride down the hill. At the base of the hill, turn right and run over a soldier. (screenshot) There's a sniper on the balcony ahead, so make a U-turn and drive back to the west end of the street to get out of range. Dismount and take him out using the revolver and laser sight, with or without the laser sight bug. (screenshot)
Park the motorcycle just to the right of the entrance to the building. Make sure it's pointing to the east. Later you'll exit the building through the chute above on the left. Positioning the bike this way will allow you to make a quick getaway. Now enter the building. (screenshot)
INSIDE THE CHAMBERS OF TULUN: Go under the arch into the main room. The first alcove on the left contains the GRENADE GUN (or 10 grenades if you already have the weapon). (screenshot) There's a small medipack in the far right alcove. (screenshot)
SIDE TRIP FOR A SECRET: Exit the building through the doorway at the north end (opposite the entrance). Walk to the front right edge of the cement ledge just outside. Jump straight up to grab the ledge above. Pull up and follow the passageway to a crawlspace. Crawl through to the end, turn around, and drop into a small, dark room containing flares, poisoned arrows, revolver ammo, and a large medipack. This is SECRET #1 (56/70). Follow the crawlspace and ramp back to the ledge overlooking the street and hop down. (screenshots)
Follow the street to the left (east). Round the corner then roll and run back the way you came. (screenshot) Shoot the giant beetle that appears on the ground ahead and flies up to attack Lara. (screenshot) This is not necessary, but taking care of the beetle now will save time when you pass through this area later.
NOTE: There are a few interesting openings in the northeast corner. (screenshot) You'll need to upgrade the motorcycle in order to reach parts of that area, so ignore it for now. The steep hill beyond the archway to the north (screenshot) leads to the TRENCHES level. We're not quite ready to go there yet.
THE MINOTAUR: Now you can choose one of several ways of defeating (or avoiding) this level's mini-boss. This section covers what seems to be the designers' intent: trapping him inside the CHAMBERS and escaping before he can get out. There are two alternative strategies in a footnote.
First, make sure that you've left the motorcycle outside the south entrance to the CHAMBERS. Ideally the bike should be parked beneath the chute facing east, as shown in this screenshot. Then return through the CHAMBERS and out the north entrance.
Follow the street to the left (west). As you round the corner, the MINOTAUR spawns just ahead. Note the location of the wooden wheel and door next to him, but don't waste time gawking. He can't be damaged with bullets or explosives. He'll pound his massive hammer into the ground, and the shockwave rapidly depletes Lara's health. So just roll and run/jump back around the corner the way you came. Run in through the back door of the CHAMBERS. The Minotaur should follow. Sprint straight across the room to the other (south) end, and climb onto either of the tall, decorated blocks flanking the doorway. You're safe for now as long as you don't fall. (screenshots)
CLIMBING TO THE UPPER LEVEL: Turn around and take a running jump to the ledge above the archway leading into the main room. Cross the gray ledge to the far left. Take a running jump from the corner of the gray ledge to the alcove on the west wall, above where you found the GRENADE GUN earlier. (Or, take a running jump to grab the horizontal crevice, traverse to the right, and pull up into the alcove.) Walk to the right edge and take a standing jump to grab the ladder-like surface on the square column. Wait for Lara to pull her legs up onto the ladder, then climb around the column to the opposite side and drop onto the ledge. Turn around, go through the doorway on the left, and continue to an opening in the ceiling, where you can climb up to the next level. Follow the passageway to a broad ledge overlooking the main room. (screenshots)
If you don't care about getting every item and kill, you can skip this section and proceed with TRAPPING THE MINOTAUR, below. If you want all the goodies, ignore the lever for now and continue with the next paragraph.
ANOTHER SECRET: Turn right and take a running jump to grab the small ledge that juts out over the west side of the room. (Or take a running jump to the ledge recessed into the west wall, then a standing jump onto the jutting ledge.) Walk to the edge and take a standing jump to grab the dangling rope. Slide to the bottom, pivot slightly to the right, then swing and jump over to the high ledge on the opposite (east) side of the room. This is SECRET #2 (57/70). Kill the giant beetle that flies up from the left side of the alcove. A second beetle, which normally spawns when you reach the south ledge, may appear at this time, so watch out. In the patched PC version of the game, this beetle may be invisible, but Lara will still aim at the empty air where it's hovering so you can shoot it. When the coast is clear, pick up wideshot shotgun ammo and a large medipack. (screenshots)
NOTE: It's possible to take a carefully angled running jump from this alcove to grab the edge of the alcove on the left (south) side of the room. (screenshot) If you manage to do this, you'll need to kill a soldier inside the alcove on the right. Then you can take the revolver ammo he drops and a large medipack on the other side of the alcove. After that, safety drop onto the gray ledge below and make your way back up to the lever. If you don't have the patience for this, it's no problem. Just follow the walkthrough and you'll reach this area soon.
You can't reach the rope from the ledge with secret #1, so instead take a running jump to the gray ledge below on the left. (screenshot) Now make your way back up to the rope like you did before: Cross to the far side of the gray ledge and take a running jump to the alcove between the horizontal crevice and the climbable column. (Or grab the crevice, traverse to the right, and pull up.) Jump to grab the ladder on the square column, climb around to the right, and drop down. Then follow the passageway up to the ledge with the lever. (Check the screenshots for the earlier section if necessary.)
TRAPPING THE MINOTAUR AND TIMED RUN TO THE EXIT: Use the lever to close the doors at the north and south ends of the chambers, trapping the MINOTAUR inside. When the cutscene ends, you have about 2 minutes until the doors reopen. So you may want to save the game here in case you make a mistake and need to reload. (screenshots)
NOTE: If you struggle with timed sequences, wait to use the lever and first swing over to the alcove at the south end of the room. Deal with the enemies and pick-ups there, then drop down onto the gray ledge below the alcove. Make your way up to the lever once more and save again. Then when you attempt the timed run, you'll have less to do. (Check the screenshots in the next section for details.) Or try one of the alternative Minotaur strategies in the footnote.
Now you're headed for the alcove at the south end of the room, high above the entrance and the gray ledge where you just were. So, after using the lever, roll and take a running jump to the recessed ledge on the right (west) wall, then a standing jump onto the thin ledge that juts out toward the dangling rope. Walk to the edge and take a standing jump to grab the rope. Slide to the bottom, rotate to the right, and then swing and jump over to the south ledge. (screenshots)
Kill the soldier lurking inside on the right. Get the revolver ammo he drops. Then roll to face the left side of the alcove. If you didn't meet it earlier in the alcove with secret #1, a giant beetle will fly up from below. In the patched PC version of the game, this beetle may be invisible, but Lara will still aim at it you can shoot it. Grab the large medipack sitting in the left corner. (If you killed the soldier and took the items earlier, you'll still encounter the beetle, since it only spawns after you use the lever.) Drop through the hole in the floor and slide down the ramp to the street below. The motorcycle should be parked here where you left it. (screenshots)
NOTE: If you neglected to park the bike under the exit from the CHAMBERS, you may need to go find it and bring it back here. Then re-enter the building, climb back up to the lever and try this sequence again.
Get on the motorcycle and ride forward and around the corner to the left. Stay close to the left wall here, and accelerate to jump across the deep pit. Then continue around the next corner toward the back (north) door of the CHAMBERS. Dismount and if you didn't kill the giant beetle here earlier, do it now. Vault up onto the ledge. If you've been fast enough, the doors should still be closed and the Minotaur trapped inside. (screenshots)
NOTE: If the doors are open and the Minotaur has escaped, either reload and try again or hop down off the ledge near the doorway. The Minotaur can't climb up or down, so Lara is safe here. Get on the motorcycle and ride back the way you came. When you come to the deep pit, jump across on the left side. (screenshot) Then continue around to the front of the CHAMBERS. Park the motorcycle below the chute, facing east, and re-enter the building. (screenshot) Wait for the Minotaur to come inside and climb onto one of the blocks flanking the entrance. Then climb back to the upper level, as described above, use the lever, and try the timed sequence again.
Once you've reached the back door of the CHAMBERS with the Minotaur still trapped inside, sprint down the street to the west and around the corner toward the wheel. Leap up onto the ledge, stand facing the wheel edge-on, and crank it exactly 4 times to open the wooden door ahead on the right. Jump over the wheel, jump up into the doorway, and run forward, letting the door close behind you. (screenshots)
EXIT TO CITADEL GATE: Climb the ladder to the top. The Minotaur will have escaped by now, and will probably be throwing a tantrum on the other side of the wooden door. He's been very naughty, so just leave him to think about what he's done. If you have trouble climbing the ladder because of the Minotaur's percussive hammering, try grabbing the ladder on either side, rather than in the middle, so Lara's feet dangle free. You should then be able to climb to the top with no problem. Follow the passageway to the next level, CITADEL GATE. (screenshots)
NOTE: Several players have asked about the unreachable alcove in the north wall near the wheel that opens the wooden door. (screenshot) As far as I know, it's impossible to get there except by using the Flight Patch or TR Position Editor. These PC save files include one with Lara in this alcove.
REVISTING THE CHAMBERS OF TULUN: You will return to this level three more times during the CAIRO section. The second brief visit, between the CITADEL GATE and TRENCHES is covered in the CITADEL GATE. walkthrough. The third visit, after the TRENCHES, is long enough to have its own walkthrough, CHAMBERS OF TULUN (revisit). The fourth visit occurs during the CITY OF THE DEAD (second visit). Check the CAIRO OVERVIEW for additional details.
*NOTE ON SECRETS: There are 70 secrets in the entire game. These are marked "(x/70)" in this walkthrough. To check your progress in-game, press Pause (P on keyboard, Start on PlayStation or Dreamcast controller) then choose Statistics. At the end of this section, you should have 57/70.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 9/2/12 - Another mysterious update. Details have unfortunately been lost in the sands of time.
5/5/19 - First major update since this walkthrough was created in 1999. This revision includes many new screenshots as well as various other corrections and clarifications.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup and the old tombraiders.com forum, without whom parts of this walkthrough could not have been written, and to Dempsey R., Lyneel, Nathan, Pastelette, Ruud, Sturm, Udham, Zappo3000, and Zomber, who contributed tips for this level. Thanks also to the various players who let me know about the Minotaur-motorcycle bug. I'm not sure who originally discovered it, but the first reference I've found is a 2005 post by robofish on tombraiderforums.com. If you have more information, please let me know.
FYI: This level may be loosely based on the 9th-century Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo. Wikipedia has more information.
ALTERNATIVE MINOTAUR STRATEGIES: If you dislike timed runs, or just want to try something different, here are two different ways of getting past this boss.
(1) Opening the exit without trapping the Minotaur. For this one, you'll probably want to explore in and around the CHAMBERS first, getting all the kills, items, and secrets. Check the walkthrough above if you need help with any of this. Then trigger the Minotaur.
Now, instead of luring the Minotaur into the CHAMBERS, just run straight toward it and jump up onto the ledge with the wheel. While the Minotaur pounds the ground with his hammer, crank the wheel 4 times to open the wooden door ahead on the right. Lara will take damage from the shockwaves, but if you work quickly, and haven't lost too much health already, you may not even need to use a medipack. Once you've cranked the wheel 4 times, jump over it and climb into the doorway. The Minotaur can't reach you here, and the door soon closes behind you. Now climb the ladder and continue to the exit. If the tremors from the hammer keep knocking Lara off the ladder, try grabbing the ladder on either side, so only Lara's hands catch hold and her feet dangle free. You should then be able to climb to the top with no problem. (screenshots)
(2) Using a bug to destroy the Minotaur. This strategy can be used at any time. If you like, you can attempt it right after killing the 2 soldiers at the beginning the level. Then if it works, you can explore freely without having to worry about the Minotaur. If you've already gotten every kill and pick-up, you can still experiment with this just for fun.
Drive the motorcycle around the main building, jumping over the deep pit, as you would when making the timed run. Then park by the north entrance to the CHAMBERS. If this is your first time in this area, you'll need to kill a giant beetle here. Carefully position the motorcycle in the corner of the raised ledge, as shown in these screenshots/video. Make sure there's a little space between the sidecar and the ledge, so Lara will be able to walk to the edge and grab the ledge above.
Now, get the Minotaur's attention and run back to the cement ledge at the back entrance to the CHAMBERS. Jump straight up to grab the ledge above. The Minotaur should approach and start pacing around directly beneath Lara. Traverse to the left a little, and drop down. Ideally you want the Minotaur to try and attack Lara. If he loses interest and runs away, the bug won't work. So pause here just a moment and let him rage. Then run off the edge and get on the motorcycle as quickly as you can. If your timing is good, and the Minotaur hasn't lost interest and run off, the bug should kick in. Because the Minotaur is so close to the front of the motorcycle, the game interprets this as his being run over, and he drops dead on the spot. Now you're free to explore in peace.
You may need to try this a few times before it works. This short video shows the bug in action. There are some additional tips on the page with the screenshots. You can also download a PC save file with the Minotaur defeated. Since you aren't supposed to destroy the Minotaur, I have not counted it as an "official" kill.
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