The Egyptian Musuem

I'm almost finished the post on the Algeizira Sport's Club - it is jam packed full of sweat, fun and Monty Python. I just need to visit it again to take some photos. I also did some good research on Cairo at night, tonight, so plenty of Egyptian ramblings in the pipeline! I unexpectedly had today off - Ahmed had to go for a medical exam for the army (he has been conscripted) and Omar had to go into the University to hand in a whole bunch of assignments (he is doing his Masters in Software Engineering you will recall). So I carpe diemed (I apologise Mrs van Zyl) and set off for the world famous Cairo Museum. I took one of the "service taxis", the little black and white ones which everyone uses to get around here, into central Cairo.

The Entrance of the Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum is officially one of my favourite places. It is chokka block full of three thousand years of history (about 3100BC to 200AD). That's right, in the third millenium BC the ancient Egyptian were doing some pretty sophisticated things (mainly burying their royalty in an extravagant fashion it seems), while the rest of the world was still getting used to the whole idea of agriculture. There are apparently over a quarter of a million artefacts on display and stored in the basement. I certainly saw a lot in the five hours I spent in the museum today. The collection really is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. To be in Cairo and to not visit the Museum is certainly a crime.

One of the Sphinx that guard the entrance, luckily I got the question right, Dave

The Museum is a rather large building, about the size of the Natural History Museum in South Africa, with a similiar architectural style (well, it was also built by the British, although started by a Frenchman). The first floor is arranged in a series of interconnected chambers and halls, with smaller rooms branching off the main chambers. The arrangement of the artefacts is chronological in a clockwise direction. Ancient Egyptian History is divided in 4 periods (The Old, Middle and New Kingdoms and the Graeco-Roman period), further subdivided into over 35 dynasties, according to the ruling family. I'm not sure if I am going to go into further details, but needless to say all of it was fascinating.

A tablet like the Rosetta Stone containing Hieroglyphics and Greek

Photography inside the museum is banned, although I did sneak one photo of a tablet much like the Rosetta Stone. This particular stone contains a prayer in Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and the same prayer in Ancient Greek. It was stones like these that allow us in the modern world to understand the Hieroglyphic system, which had been lost for 2000 years.

I was particularly interested in the artefacts from the Graeco-Roman period as they represent two very different interactions between Ancient Egyptian society with two societies I am relatively familiar with(I've tried to read about and study them at various times). It is important to note, that while these societies affected Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egypt affected them greatly too.
It was of course Alexander the Great who conquered Egypt in 332BC, but it was ruled by Ptolemy, one of his most trusted generals, and his incestuous descendants. The Ptolemics adopted Egyptian culture and followed most of their customs, while bringing in subtle changes, mainly religous ones. The Romans famously seized control of Egypt in 30BC from Cleopatra. The Ptolemics had ruled as Pharohs, but Octavian who became the Emperor Augustus, saw himself as the successor to the Pharohs, and the Roman emperors hence forth ruled Egypt. The Romans changed Egyptian society dramatically, but still were heavily influenced by their funeral practises.

The view from Central Cairo, the red building on the left is the Egyptian Museum

After 5 hours, I emerged blinking in the afternoon sunlight, my mind buzzing. I then wondered around Central Cairo, doing a rough circuit of the American University in Cairo (ACU), one of the leading private universities in Egypt. It certainly was a bustling city centre, with its own unique touches, like a butcher with his wares hanging in front of his shop, above the pavement. I did do a bit of shopping, but I think I am going to a do a special posting on that.

I think I am going to hit the hay, but as always,

Coming Soon: Egyptian Shopping: Learning to express disbelief in a believable fashion. This one might be a while coming though.