I'm so ashamed. I got bored in the Egyptian Museum. I can hardly face myself right now. I was supposed to be in geek heaven, and now my credentials as a nerd are totally compromised.
I think part of it is I didn't have the time (or space for books in my suitcase) that I would have liked to do proper research before I came, so I didn't really know what I was looking at. The other part is that it was literally just laying out everything they have - 1000 scarab-shaped seals, 250 sarcophagi, dozens of real and fake cat mummies...It was kind of overwhelming.
There were some highlights, though. There was a way larger than life statue of a seated king and queen that was really impressive, and some fresco work that looks as new as the day it was painted, even 30+ centuries later. There were a couple intriguingly lifelike statues (including one that looked like the bald guy from Whose Line Is It Anyway), which was a nice change from the idealized look where everyone has the same face and body, just a different cartouche.
Tomorrow I'm going back to see the royal mummies and the King Tut exhibit, so that, at least, should be really cool. I'm hoping that unlike the rest of the museum, the mummy room will be climate controlled with something a bit less harsh than sunlight for illumination - as much for my own sake as for the mummies, who don't like humid tourist-breath or sunlight.
I got my shwarma! It was delish. And yay sandwich for 3 Egyptian pounds - for those of you not up on the exchange rate, that's approximately 50 cents.
Ok, off to do some serious laundry.
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3 comments:
Kate,
First, what is Shwarma? You know Aldo loved Rachel Ray and I love food so food references and "delish" is just what he wants to hear. Go to the museum, and at least act like a nerd! You are publishing to the world and need to top your brother as principal "geek, dweeb AND spaz" in the family. Don't let us down, you can do it.
Stay safe, stay sober and have fun.
Dad and Dugan
Sober is no problem - it's Ramadan, so you can't even find food during the day, much less alcohol at night (it's prohibited by Islam anyway, but some people don't worry about it outside the holy month).
The Cairo Museum obviously hasn't changed a bit since 1965. It was hot, dusty and chaotic then. Evolution takes a while. Enjoying your blog site and travels. Hope to talk to you sometime about all the places you've visited.
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