I sit here at my computer, hieroglyphic homework completed, textbook introduction chapters read, and sugar from the first bit of chocolate I've had since my arrival coursing through my veins, trying to come up with a clever headline for this post. Since this is a post about my first trip to the Cairo Museum (note I'm leaving it open as I know I shall return for a second, third, fourth...), I considered such tantalizing titles like, "I've Seen Dead People", "Information Not Found", and "Cameras Not Permitted". The reason for the title I've chosen shall become apparent shortly.
Since my arrival in Cairo, I've met a great many students, most of them being from California and studying either International Affairs or Middle Eastern Studies. I had the great fortune of meeting a very nice woman who also shares my passion for Ancient Egypt, and we both expressed interest in going to the Cairo Museum. Little did I realize that I would be awoken the next morning with a knock on my door and an invitation to join her and two other girls to the Cairo Museum. Five minutes later, we caught a cab (which was hit by a car in the roundabout, the cabbie just yelled in Arabic and kept driving) and made our way to the museum. Student discounts meant we only paid half price to enter, and once we were told "no pictures", we headed into the Old Kingdom hall. The first thing on display was the Narmer Palatte.
The others walked by, the large statue ahead catching their eye more than a piece of carved stone in a glass case. I directed their attention to what we had here, one of the first examples of ancient Egyptian writing, something that was over 5,000 years old! Understandably, they wanted to go through the museum fairly quickly, it was hot, and it is said that if a person spent one minute at each artifact on display, it would take them 9 months go see everything. I managed to convince them to slow down, and we walked through the Old Kingdom displays, while I told them what I knew of the items on display, or the hieroglyphics carved on them. Very few, perhaps 1% of the items on display had a tag or some sort of identification, which made the self guided tour that much more difficult. The next room up had a display from the el Armana period, when Akenaten (with his wife Nefertiti and their son - still under debate- Tutankamun) worshiped the sun god Aten and did away with the other gods and goddesses, the first recorded instance in history of monotheism. An unfinished bust of Nefertiti was on display, the more controversial one still in Berlin, as was a wooden coffin inlaid with cold that is believed to be Akenaton's. We turned right, walking past a statue of Ramses II, a room open but blocked from entry, with evidence of a restoration inside near a statue. Some women walked by and asked where the Rosetta Stone was located. I said, with full knowledge, that the Rosetta Stone is in the British Museum (I've seen it, it's a matter of controversy, believe me). They argued with me, saying that perhaps it was on tour (not going to happen any time soon, the British Museum will not allow it to tour for fear it will never return) for it was on their floor plan of the museum. I suggested that perhaps it was a different stone from Rosetta, and I have discovered since then that the stone on display is a smaller model of the real thing, still in it's display case in London.
We made our way upstairs and paid an additional fee to enter the Royal Mummies Hall (really, the only air conditioned room in the place). There lay Ramses II, whose profile I recognized well before reading the display tag, as I also recognized his father Seti I. It was pretty amazing, seeing those bodies on display. I've seen mummies before at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the British Museum, and a couple of museums in Philadelphia, but this was Ramses II! Pharaoh for over 60 years, father to over 100 children, builder of many temples, the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV5), and engraver of his name on other Pharaoh's temples. I just stood over his glass case and stared. One of the greatest rulers of ancient Egypt, and his body is in a glass case on display for people to pass by with nary a thought. Someone asked, no one in particular, what the ancient Egyptians would have thought if they knew their leaders, their gods on Earth, had been taken from their tombs and displayed in such a way, or worse - like unwrapping the mummy then discarding it (as happened in other museums in the past). The ancient Egyptians believed that when they went to the West (died), they would live an eternal life and whatever they put in their tombs, whether it was a picture on the wall, sculpture, model, or actual item, would be with them. Their immortality rested on their name being remembered (which is why when someone did something bad, or didn't fit in with their concept of order in the world - like a female Pharaoh, their name was erased). It's been over 3,000 years since Ramses II, Seti I, and the other walked the Nile, and they are still remembered. While the conditions aren't ideal, they are no longer in their tombs, surrounded by the amulets and writings to bring them health and life in the afterlife, they are still remembered and honored. Their names live on in stories, fictional or not. They are, in a way, immortal. So I stood there and paid a silent homage to the kings of ancient Egypt, and I left the room with more respect for their memory.
Upstairs also holds the treasures of Tutankamun, discovered by Howard Carter in November of 1922. I had not seen so much gold before in my life. The craftsmanship displayed by the various pieces on display were amazing. I had been to Philadelphia when the traveling Tut tour made it's stop last year, but it was just a small taste of what goodies lay in Cairo. Some pieces had obviously been repaired, they were over 3,000 years old, but so much was in tack and flawless, it was amazing. There was so much on display, so much buried for a Pharaoh who ruled for just over 10 years. Even if he did return the previous gods and goddesses to their formal glory, his tomb was packed full of items to make his afterlife more comfortable. If this was for one king, I can only imagine what had been buried with other Pharaohs. The gold, stolen by thieves in antiquity, must have been melted down to be easily sold, but what of the other items. The wooden bows, gilded beds, marble statues, and amulets had to have found their way to another in a similar state in which they were buried. Some has been recovered, but I wonder what else the sand holds, in areas not frequented by kings. I feel as though there is so much left to discover, we're still at the surface.
We left after spending 3 hours at the museum, hungry, hot, and (for me), anxious to learn more. I feel as though each place I go and each thing I do reinforces my belief that this is where I belong, this is where I'm meant to spend my career and mind. I can't wait to bring Andrew and introduce him to the wonder that is Egypt.
Now, for some pictures outside of the museum. More pictures can be found here: http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/andymom2/AUC%20-%20Cairo%20Egypt%20-%20August/
( Click for pictures )
Needless to say, I'm looking forward to it!</p></td>
