Continues fromInside the Pyramids & In front of the Sphinx
It was time for lunch as we finished our visit at the Pyramids. Our travel guide took us to the nearby local restaurant and helped us to choose from the menu. The unfamiliar flavours started rumbling my already churned stomach.
Still, we hadn’t finished our day trip. After the lunch we headed straight to the Egyptian museum containing 120, 000 items from Egyptian ancestry. The museum was very close to the Hotel Nile where we had stayed till the morning.
Built in 1831, relocated to Ezbekeyah Garden, Boulaq, Giza and finally to Tahirr Square in 1902, the museum remains as the largest of its kind in Egypt. Since photography was prohibited inside the museum, we left it at the counter. We passed the entrance adorned with water lilies and Papyrus plants.
The huge hall was full of activity with tourists from various countries and their guides. Before seeing anything I asked our guide for the directions to the restroom. There, I had to climb many wide stone steps on the right to reach the required room. I threw up and felt relieved after that.
Our travel guide has already started explaining by the time I returned. Again, the initial stories went above my dizzy head. He must have noticed that and gave me a riddle to solve about Queen Hatshepsut and her successor. I tried it and failed. He smiled at my confusion, “You’ll learn it before you leave Egypt. Queen Hatshepsut’s temple is in your travel list."
We had finished many artefacts in the ground floor, before our guide led us to King Tutankhamun’s collection. On the way he said as an apology, "It takes days to explain on each artefact in the museum. Sorry that I am showing you the tip of an iceberg."
The first thing I noticed entering the first floor is three huge golden tombs. Our guide explained that King Tutankhamun’s Mummy had laid inside these tombs while discovered from the Valley of Kings. However, many artefacts from the tomb were stolen not late after his burial. What we see as magnificent is only a part of many other things that were stolen apart.
The famous mask of King Tutankhamen sat in a glass chamber next to the tombs. The mask is made of 11Kg of solid gold and believed to represent the actual face of the King. Guides were not allowed inside the chamber of King Tutankhamun’s personal belongings. We roamed the room by our own wondering at the beauty, precision and price with which the artefacts were made off.
As we came out our guide just asked, “How was it?” We were speechless. He told, “The day King Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered, the man behind the exploration-Howard Carter- was also stunned. He heard to be said that of the day of days it was the most wonderful that he had ever lived through, and certainly one whose like he could never hope to see again”
Indeed! Who can have many such days in one life?
After the visit at many artifacts we reached the session that anyone wish to see on their visit to Egypt-the chamber of Mummies. Again, the room was restricted only for tourists and our guide instructed us about them. There were about nine mummies on display including the last found mummy of Queen Hatshepsut.
We entered the room with so much anticipation. Personally, I was imagining beautiful mummies in golden colour. I have never been to a mortuary before and quite shocked by the row of mummies in glass chambers. Mummies of nine Pharaohs over the centuries lay in claret wraps. They looked so ghastly and I didn’t feel like looking at them again. Yet, they were the world famous mummies and we had paid E£250 just for this!
On a close look again, I couldn’t help admiring the medical aids employed in preserving these bodies over the centuries. The teeth of the mummies were white and intact. The black hair of mummies looked black and alive like mine. Yet, I was feeling cold and nightmarish in the chamber of Mummies.
We came out after half an hour spent at the Mummies' chamber. Our museum trip was at the end, leaving out many artefacts, their stories, histories and secrets. As I came out, I looked up at the museum’s roof. “Yes, held your head high. You’ve all rights for it. You not only preserve a culture, become home for wonders and host millions of visitors but; also stood as a mother for a country who constantly admires their roots.”
Afterword: On one morning show of January 2011, I immediately recognized the gates of Egyptian museum at Cairo. Yes, they were the days of Egyptian revolution 2011. The news said that looters broke into the museum and destroyed some artifacts including two mummies. I saw military wagons, black fumes and the burnt out road, where I had once casually walked! There was a pain in my heart for sure... All I could do was to pray for the good people whom we had met in that journey and who never left a contact for us to pursue...
Continues inPapers, Perfumes, Pavement and Passenger
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