Quest for the Ancient Kings - Part 3 - The Egyptian Museum

THE TOUR BEGINS



Our itinerary listed a half day at the Pyramids followed by a half day at the Egyptian Museum. Let me say right up front, that our idea of a half day did not match theirs!


Expecting to head straight to the Pyramids, we donned our Adventure Gear. Kathryn felt a little self-conscious in her Jodhpurs, but I explained that these people are actually still riding horses, literally down the main streets. .
If anyone will understand that these are not just 'silly looking pants', it is the Egyptians. And I was right. Problem is, we didn't go to the Pyramids, but headed instead through the horrific Cairo traffic to the Egyptian Museum.

I have traveled now on five continents, and dozens of countries. I used to think the drivers in Italy held the top spot for least likely to obey the law. But Cairo takes the cake. I don't think there are any traffic laws. I read that traffic lights had only recently been instituted, and they haven't really caught on. I think I saw two on our entire trip. Many of the roads have no lane markings, but it doesn't really matter because drivers pay no attention even when they do. A three lane road might have as many as seven lanes of traffic on it! Horns blare constantly, though it sincerely seems more of a “hey, I'm here” honk than a “Bleep you, asshole!” Dodging among the cars are pedestrians of all ages and sizes, and we were amazed at how close our driver came repeatedly to running down various children.

Adding to the mayhem are donkey pulled carts, horses, and even the occasional herd of sheep.
During the night, only about half the cars seem to have headlights, yet the pedestrian traffic is just as fierce. Buses have a man housed in the doorway yelling where they're headed and people hop on and off without the vehicle ever actually stopping. Despite all this, I only saw one accident the whole time.

THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES

We arrive unscathed at the museum, and while allowed to take photos around the grounds, we must turn in our camera before going inside.
The museum is awesome, housing nearly 140,000 artifacts, not to mention the crowded basements where the exhibits are literally sinking into the floor, requiring excavation yet again! Many of the display cases themselves are antiquated, and fit the feel of our 1930s trip perfectly

We head directly to the Tutankhamen exhibit where our guide Milad proves himself thoroughly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his topic. We see many magnificent pieces, including his throne, the famous gold mask, various beds, weapons, and chariots.
Something I found particularly interesting - In an effort to thwart thieves, the casket was enclosed in a succession of rooms, or crypts, like those little dolls that you open only to find a smaller one inside. Each one was constructed around the one before it, and each was elaborately decorated, even though theoretically they were never supposed to be seen. Though I couldn't take pictures, check GOOGLE images for some close up shots.

Many images captured Tutankhamen hunting with his bow from the back of a chariot, and from the number of chariots entombed with him one might surmise this was a passion of his. For many years, scholars have debated over the young King's sudden demise – was he assassinated, poisoned, etc? Recently, using modern technology, they scanned his mummy and learned he had a broken leg that had developed a severe infection. Some now speculated that perhaps he fell from his chariot while hunting, broke his leg, and died from the subsequent infection.

We visited the Royal Mummy Room, and though I've never been impressed by dried out corpses, Kathryn wanted to go. It's a separate fee, but if my money goes to help support this fabulous museum, than it's well worth it. And we are on a Quest for the Ancient Kings, after all! Here lie about 20 of them; Ramses II was there, having ruled for 67 years! How old was he? His skin was very red, where most of the others were black. One had been bleached almost white. Milad said the different chemicals used in mummification causes the color variations.

We saw so many magnificent pieces that they kind of blur for me. One that sticks out is the unfinished bust of Nefertari, who even in cold marble was truly beautiful. Also a statue of Ramses II that had Horus crouching on his shoulder as a falcon advising him. The significance of this statue arises from the unusual fact that when staring directly at it, you cannot see Horus. This image also appears on the Egyptian 10 pound note.

We saw a statue of a man and his wife where the man sported a 1970's porn-star style mustache! Milad says a mustache is very unusual in Egyptian art. Another statue of note represented a scribe sitting cross-legged with his writing implements in hand. Scribes wielded great power in ancient times, demanding respect even from the Pharaohs. There were rooms in the palaces reserved only for the scribes, where even the King was forbidden to enter.

Upon leaving and while waiting for our van, a cop approached and chatted a bit with Milad. Milad gave him some baksheesh. I had noted this back at our hotel as well, when our driver gave a bit of money to the traffic cop. I asked Milad about it; he said it's just part of their culture, everyone tips everyone else, it's just a way of saying thanks. Interesting.

Climbing into the van, we headed to next week's tale: BACK TO THE PYRAMIDS!