Egyptian Dreams

I had wanted to travel to Egypt for as long as I could remember. In life we tend to put off things like travel until later. Someone I knew suddenly died and after that I said, life’s too short, we’re going to Egypt as as soon as we can. I contacted George at Bravo Charlie Expeditions who has planned trips for me in the past to Kenya and Tanzania. George was able to plan the trip for us and this past Christmas our family traveled to Egypt. It was magical and I think I will do a few posts on Egypt because it’s Egypt and one post simply won’t do.

We spent a couple of nights in Cairo and visited the Egyptian Museum. This was the old museum. They are building a brand new 1 billion dollar Grand Egyptian Museum aka GEM which will open this year. I am slightly disappointed that we were’t able to visit this incredible new complex which will be the largest archaeological museum complex in the world for over 100,000 artifacts which overlooks the Pyramids of Giza. That said the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC) is extraordinary. It is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East, housing over 170,000 artifacts. It has the largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world. The Museum’s exhibits span the Predynastic Period to the Graeco-Roman Era (c. 5500 BC – AD 364). You have never see so many Egyptian artifacts that you can actually reach out and touch, yes touch. I didn’t touch anything because I was afraid to. I cannot even begin to explain what it is like to see King Tut’s Treasures up close. Of course they are protected behind glass and you cannot take pictures in the room with his treasures. That said we were also able to see King Tut in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings and I will include a photo of King Tut in another post. There is so much to take in as you walk around. One of the things I found very interesting is that ancient Egyptians thought about death, a lot. All of the pyramids and tombs were built to make sure that they would be ready for the afterlife. This extreme planning was not so great for those who were still alive when a Pharaoh died, like servants, horses and pets. If you have ever gone on The Mummy ride at Universal Studios here is a line that resonates when you visit Egypt, “Death is only the beginning.” Here are a few of the photos that I took while I was in the museum.

A ka statue is a type of ancient Egyptian statue usually carved from wood or stone intended to provide a resting place for the ka (life-force or spirit) of the person after death. The ancient Egyptians believed the ka, along with the physical body, the name, the ba (personality or soul), and the śwt (shadow), made up the five aspects of a person. After death, the ethereal aspects of the soul were believed to be released from the body, free to roam the earth, but required the physical body or a surrogate, such as the ka statue, to return to as a permanent home. This is the ka statue of the Pharaoh Hor in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

We also visited the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) which is home to the Royal Mummies Room which took about two years to prepare for. They had a parade of Mummies through Cairo when they brought them to the new museum which actually happened on my birthday April 3, 2021. Parade of Mummies Take a couple of minutes to watch the video. The hall includes 22 mummies 18 Kings and 4 Queens that were found in the cache of Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri which is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor. Yes, Luxor is a real place not just a casino in Las Vegas, someone actually said that. The mummies are displayed in glass cases with devices for measuring humidity, temperature, and pressure, to preserve and protect them from any damage. You are not allowed to take photos in this area and it requires a separate ticket. It is extraordinary to see. Here are a few of the photos I took in the main hall of the museum.