EGYPTIAN MUSEUM

Listening to: Cruel Guards - The Panics

Thursday we made our way to one of the world's finest and most important museums. The entry process has definitely changed since I was last here due to an over zealous thief in 1996 who stowed away overnight and stole some treasures (why didn't I think of that). Now you queue for a metal detector and have all bags etc x-rayed. Then queue for a ticket, then queue again for a final X-ray check. Guard almost hyper-ventilated and went into a blind panic when his screen detected scissors in Dave's bag - Ooops!! Suddenly, we were surrounded by armed guards speaking in Arabic but once it was revealed they were part of our First Aid kit, they smiled and were more than happy to let us through except for the X-ray man - phew!!

The museum is impossibly large with too much to see in one day. I remember watching an episode of Getaway and the presenter said, 'if you spent a minute on every item on display it would take you six months to see everything!' - I would believe it.

We headed straight for the Royal Mummies Hall, a new addition and an extra 100 EGP on top of the 50 EGP admission. All up about $100 AUD for the two of us but it's worth every cent!! The Mummy hall houses the remains of some of Egypt's pharaohs and queens from the 17th to 21st dynasties, 1650 to 945 BC. It could be a frightening experience for some, especially children, but for us and particularly me there was nothing disturbing about it. I'm in total awe of this ancient practise of mummification, their culture and knowledge that no-one has ever been able to replicate. I've had to commit the images to memory as all photography is banned. The Theban King Segenenre II died violently and his wounds are still visible. His twisted arms and smashed skull reflect the violence of his death.

Queen Maatkare lies with her pet baboon still wrapped. It was first believed it may have been her child but scans revealed otherwise.

The one that stands out for me was Seti I, one of the best preserved royal mummies as it was the most life-like and impressive of them all...

KING TUT

The Tutankhamun galleries are just to die for. An impressive array of treasures approx 1700 items. My favourite piece, if one can have a favourite among so many fabulous things was the pharaoh's Lion throne, covered with sheet gold and inlaid with lapis, cornelian and other semi-precious stones. The wooden throne is supported by amazing Lion heads and legs. I was blown away by the exquisite beauty of it. And then of course there's the golden sarcophagus cast in solid gold and weighs 110kg.

Tutankhamun's Death mask is made of solid gold and weighs 11kg. It's stunningly gorgeous and was used to cover the head of the mummy where it lay in a series of 3 sarcophagi. The eyes are made from Obsidian and quartz and the outline of eyes and brows are inlaid with Lapis Lazuli.

We were there for a good four hours and only saw a snippet but happy nonetheless for what we did see. We managed a quick wander around the ground floor before closing and were equally impressed with statues of Sekhemet, Rahotep & Nofret, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Ramses II. These are just a taste of how much there is to see. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any statues of my most favourite goddess Bastet, somewhat disappointed, although I did see some mummifed cats.

A Grand Museum of Egypt is planned near the pyramids in Giza somewhere between 2010-2012 and many of the musuem's highlights will be relocated. While the state-of-the-art facility will include climate control, something the present location doesn't have, I think it will be kind of sad to see such an iconic place be moved from Cairo city. I'm very grateful that I've had the opportunity of seeing this place twice and so glad Dave has seen the current Museum which has been an historic landmark since 1902!

Midnight rambler signing off - next instalment Giza...