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Treasures in a Building & in a Bazaar Egypt, Part 11
(by Patti Day-Miller - August 25, 2010)
The Egyptian Museum was founded by a Frenchman, Auguste Mariette, and first opened in 1863. It outgrew two buildings before settling in this one in 1902. More than 120,000 items of pharaonic antiquities are on display here with another 150,000 items reputedly stored in the basement. (A new, larger museum is being built just a few blocks from our hotel in Giza, and our cab driver pointed out the new construction progress en route to Cairo on our last night in Egypt.)
Ibrihim, our guide, escorted us inside, and took us first to the replica of the Rosetta Stone (original is in the British Museum) and explained its importance as the most significant find in the history of Egyptology. Until 1822, the ability to read hieroglyphic inscriptions had been lost. It was a black granite stele, discovered in 1799 by a French soldier, that held the key. It contained a decree given by the priests of Memphis in 196 BC. The slab held text written in three scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic (a type of cursive hieroglyphic), and Greek. In 1819 Englishman Thomas Young established the direction in which the text should be read and recognized that text inscribed within oval rings (cartouches) were the names of royalty. But in 1822, it was Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion who broke the code by getting that signs could be alphabetic, syllabic or determinative and established that the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone were actually a translation from the Greek, and not the other way around. This allowed him to compile a complete list of signs with their Greek equivalents. His work contributed significantly to a modern understanding of ancient Egypt.
Next our guide took us to several different exhibits in the museum and explained their significance. I wont remember them all, but I will mention a few of the highlights. We saw King Dosers empty-eyed limestone statue that is nearly 5,000 years old. (It was discovered at Saqqara in a small, sealed room next to his step pyramid. Ill write more about the step pyramid in an upcoming article.) At the far end of the atrium are the huge collossus of Amenhotep III and his wife Tiy with their small daughters at their feet. (This pharaohs reign from 1390-1352 BC represented the height of ancient Egypts power and prestige. His rule was marked by great architectural achievements, including Luxor Temple.)
One of the museums most significant artifacts, also housed in the atrium, is the double-sided Narmer Palette, dating from around 3100 BC. It depicts Pharaoh Narmer wearing the crown of Upper Egypt on one side, and the crown of Lower Egypt on the other, representing the first uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt under one ruler. This is the event that the Egyptologists cite as the start of ancient Egyptian civilization, which encompasses over 3000 years of Pharaonic history, consisting of more than 170 rulers presiding over 30 dynasties, during which time almost every exhibit in this building was fashioned. The Narmer Palette is the keystone of the Egyptian Museum.
Another highlight was a statue of Chephren, builder of the middle pyramid at Giza. He is seated on his throne with the wings of the falcon god Horus wrapped protectively around his head. Near Chephren is the lovely wooden statue of Ka-Aper. He is surprisingly lifelike, especially his eyes with their copper lids and whites of opaque quartz with corneas of rock crystal that were drilled and filled with a black substance to form the pupils!
I confess that because of still suffering with my respiratory problem that started en route to NYC, I had little stamina that afternoon (sat on a bench for nearly half of our time there), and did not do the museum justice, but there are two other areas that I want to mention. Though many enjoyed the Royal Mummies Room, I had seen a human mummy at the King Tut exhibit in NYC and opted not do that, but I was very curious about the Animal Mummies room. Animal cults proliferated in ancient Egypt (for example: the baboon and ibis were sacred to the god Thoth, cats sacred to Bastet), and I was amazed to see the many cats, dogs, crocodiles, rams, jackals, and bird mummies.
The highlight for most in a visit to the Egyptian Museum are the Tutankhamun Galleries. There are some 1,700 items on display here, ranging from board games and hunting implements to beds, and of course, the fabulous death mask. The pharaohs lion throne, named after the golden lion heads and legs on each side, is amazing. Covered with sheet gold and inlaid with glass and semiprecious stones, it is dazzling. On the back is a depiction of Tuts wife applying perfume to her husband, under the rays of the sun (Aten). Their robes are in silver and their hair is fashioned from glass. In the same room are nearly 500 golden statues that were placed in the tomb to help the pharaoh on his journey in the afterlife. In another room one views the canopic jars, the stoppers of which are shaped like Tuts head. These jars contained the internal organs of Tut.
The room that everybody wants to see is Room 3, where the central exhibit is Tuts beautiful death mask. Made of solid gold, this mask covered the head of his mummy, where it laid inside a series of three sarcophagi. The eyes are fashioned from obsidian and quartz, and the outlines of the eyes and eyebrows are delineated with lapis lazuli. But just as interesting to me were the two golden sarcophagi that are displayed in this room. The smallest is made of solid gold and the larger is make of gilded wood. The outermost coffin, with the mummified remains of the young king (he died at age 18 due, scientists now believe, following a leg wound, which is thought to have become infected), remain in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
Our exploring time at the museum was over, and then it was aboard the bus for a short ride to Khan el-Khalili bazaar, a huge, multi-block maze with cave-like stalls and narrow canvas-covered alleyways. We departed our bus there and were told to use the minaret of the mosque right across from the bazaar as a landmark to guide us back to that corner for our bus ride back to the hotel.
Founded as a souk (Arab market) in 1382, the bazaar was a meeting point for caravans as far away as India. Silk, saffron and precious stones were just a few of the goods that changed hands here. One can still find those items, but in addition are antiques, belly-dancing costumes, brass work, carpets, copper work, cloth, gold, silver, perfumes, many spices, and many, many touristy items. Traditional Egyptian crafts such as dyeing, carving and sewing are still practiced here today, as they have been for centuries.
Wandering the streets and alleyways of the bazaar was a fascinating journey filled with much color and many aromas ranging from heavy perfumes to pungent spices. On our list were t-shirts for our two grandchildren for which Dave bargained, and we think we got a good price.
Looking at our watches, we realized that it was probably time to head back to the bus corner; so, we looked upward for the minaret, but to our surprise we saw three minarets, and had not a clue, as to which was the correct one. Lost in a maze! We walked one direction for a while, and finally asked a vendor where the street with all the cafes was. He asked, Do you want the corner where the buses are? Yes, we did, and he headed us in the right direction.
After a soft drink at an outdoor cafe with Jessie and Ryan, where a little girl tried to sell us an Egyptian headpiece and someone else tried to sell us some jewelry, we went to our bus corner and soon were riding back at our hotel.
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