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Night Location: Cairo, Egypt
Mummysode of the Day: Mum was not confident that she could not cross the pool of waist deep water while wearing her glasses on her head. Amber offered to carry them across the pool, Mum said "I'll just go in like this," and then proceeded to face-plant into the water. Turns out her natural instinct that her glasses were not safe was spot on.
Following an epic 10 plus hour sleep we experienced a truly exotic buffet breakfast. On offer were banana fritters, diplomat's pudding (bread and butter pudding), falafel, apple compote, made-to-order poached, scrambled or fried eggs, omlettes, french toast, apple strudel, pastries, beans and 'foul', the National dish of Fava beans with garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, black pepper and cumin.
After this feast, we set out for the excursion to the Cairo Museum. We couldn't be luckier with respect to our guide who has not only studied tourism for over seven years but is also a practising archeologist. We did not fully comprehend how valuable this would be until we were standing in front of the first red granite sarcophagus and he was able to read the hieroglyphics and then translate into English.
It is difficult to describe the magnitude of this museum. Apparently if you were to stand in front of each antiquity for one minute it would take you three months to get though the museum. On display there are roughly 2.1 million objects and in storage over 4 million.
Highlights of the museum include:
1. A black granite sculpture of an old kingdom pharaoh flanked by two goddesses. His left foot was forward, an icon of pharonic symbolism. All statues of pharaohs, male and female, are represented with their bare foot stepping forward, symbolising their power to go from life to death to the afterlife.
2. Two lion-headed sacrificial alabaster tables. The alabaster table-top was designed so that the blood of the sacrifice would drain into a large cup. This was important as if a drop of blood fell on the floor of a temple, it was believed that the temple was cursed and therefore a pharaoh was required to build a new temple.
3. A 2x2m diorite block carved into the statue of a pharaoh. At this point we learned how the ancient Egyptians sculptured stone. Limestone was carved with sandstone which was carved with granite which was carved with basalt which was carved with diorite which was carved with diamond. According to our guide the diorite came from Tanzania and the diamonds used for sculpting purposes from South Africa. The head of this statue remained intact even after attempts by the Persians to destroy it because the neck was supported by a large falcon showing the technological development of ancient Egyptian sculpture.
4. A room devoted to the mother of a pharaoh containing a wide range of objects that were found in her tomb. On display was her bed with a solid gold headrest, various alabaster bowls and jars, some containing essential oils and make-up powder, and her canopic chest containing the four solid alabaster jars with her organs removed at embalming inside (liver, intestines, lungs and stomach). Her sarcophagus was carved out of a solid piece of alabaster. This particular alabaster is a geological marvel due to its exceptional clarity. We all put ears to the lid and listened as our guide tapped the top. It sounded very musical. To date, there has not been alabaster found like this anywhere in the world.
5. A beautifully painted statue of a prince and his wife with the best example of inlaid eyes ever found.
6. A false door from the wall of a tomb which provided access to the afterlife. Surrounding the door was a biography of the tomb's occupant, including intimate knowledge of the deceased that fortunately only the priests who carved it were able to read. A list of 16 illicit love affairs were included.
7. A huge sculptural representation of the god of the Nile. Two African men were joined at their arms to represent the two African origins of the Nile making the blue and white Nile. From the waist down were depictions of fish, papyrus and water fowl.
8. The room devoted to Akenaten, the adopted father of the famed Tutankhamun. Of particular note was his golden coffin which had much of the gold leaf removed. While in power he abandoned all the ancient gods in favour of the worship of the Aten and this made the priests hate him. Following his death the priests removed his Cartouche (his name surrounded by the symbolic ostrich egg shape) so that his ka (spirit) would not find rest in the afterlife.
9. Walking through the treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb. Amber was particularly enthralled to see objects that she had learnt about and taught. The vast quanitity of golden artefacts was astounding. There was a breath-taking array of jewellery, as well as chariots, several thrones, painted boxes, the canopic chest and shrine and the funerary beds .The intricately detailed, jeweled inlays seen on the Death Mask and Golden Coffin were particularly spectacular.
10. A sugarcane basket ferry with a 5 year old girl mummified. It instantly made us all think of Moses' woven basket, and interestingly our guide said that children were often ferried across the river in these baskets.
11. Comparing a prince and a princess mummy. The people had hated the prince so had thrown away his heart, not crossed his arms to protect his chest and had wrapped him in dirty bandages. The princess, however was beautifully mummified. Her skin had been removed in 3 sections and dehydrated, her muscles had been removed and dehydrated, her internal organs had been replaced with solid gold organs and her spinal cord was a solid ivory replica.
12. The mummified animals. Two massive crocodiles, various cats, dogs, baboons, rams and a goat.
Lunch was a massive treat. Our bus driver drove with immense skill and we were dropped off outside a cafe that under any other circumstances we would have 'kept walking'. Evidently looks can be deceiving as we all had the best falafel sandwich of our lives. We again broke the no salad rule but are still feeling fine. Fingers crossed!
We again spent the afternoon in the pool before meeting up with another couple from our tour for round two of Tex-Mex. Tomorrow we go exploring the pyramids and then onto a sleeper train, so we plan to enjoy our last night not on a rocking bed.
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