Day
20 - Cairo : Egyptian Museum
Close
to the end of the trip now, and I know that once again,
the trip is too short. I wanted to spend more time
at Saqqara, and I really wanted to
spend two days, at least at the Egyptian Museum. But there
was another
magical experience awaiting us at the Museum that no one
could have
predicted.
When we met Eman this
morning she saw our cameras and said, "No
pictures in
the Museum, not for three years now. Too many people and they think the
flash might damage objects." We had kind of suspected this, and asked
if we
could video and she said no cameras at all. The official website still lists
a camera charge, so I had thought that the policy might have been changed.
Then she thought a moment and said "I don't think so, but bring them with
you, you can check them at the entrance and you can at least get pictures
of the outside and of Cairo." We don't really like to leave them in the room
anyhow. We put the Video Camera in the safe and set out.
I dressed up a little in a skirt and a silk jacket because Cairo itself is
just as sophisticated as any European city. When we got to
the Museum Eman said she wanted to try to get us permission to take
photos. I thought this was really impossible, but she said she knew
some of the curators and directors and she would enquire, so we
entered the Museum by the staff entrance. Eman was greeted
with hugs and cries of delight from some of the staff and interns.
She inquired about getting permission to take pictures, and passed
them my card to be sent up to Dr. Sayed Hassan, Museum Director.
Fortunately, I had had the cards made in Luxor as a classy
souvenir, and Ken had one with him. The cards use my PhD title,
so Dr. Joan L. James was seeking permission to take pictures for
her educational website.
At first the secretary and then the assistant told
us that it was really not allowed, but maybe if we wanted to take
only a few (a figure of 10 was mentioned). They had recently
refused requests from commercial advertising companies, and most
people just brought pictures from the Museum gift shop or the official
photographer.
So when Dr. Hassan came out to speak to Eman, she
presented him with a written request for taking pictures.
And he agreed to the pictures! When we asked if he would like
a list of the objects we would like to photograph, he graciously
said, "I will make the permission for one full day, today, until
6:00 PM. Photograph anything you wish." It was like a dream; we
entered the museum through the staff entrance and started taking
pictures.
 After
we began photographing, I understood why they have a general ban
on cameras. The museum has many more visitors than when we
came 20 years ago. And we caused quite a disturbance as we tried
to slip quietly in between the crowds to get pictures. Everyone
was keenly aware that no pictures were allowed, and repeatedly told
us so (as well they should!). So for the rest of the day,
Ken took pictures, Eman flashed the permission sheet, and kept up
a running commentary on the items we were seeing. I did a
general scouting of the objects, pointing out ones that were of
special interest to me and the fans of our websites. I gave up taking
pictures myself. My camera doesn't handle low light, hand
held, no flash photos, all that well, and Eman had her job cut out
for her justifying one person taking pictures.
The objects in the Museum are beautiful, haunting
and awe-inspiring. We did get many of the museum objects on
video the last time we were here, and they are in the museum
section. We especially had many pictures of the Gold items
from King Tut's tomb. This time we really could not get many
of the Tut items, the crowds were too large and our taking pictures
was disturbing the others. So we got some great shots of the
Mask in the Gold Room and some of the objects outside. These will
be added to a new section on the Egyptian Museum on the website.
Statues found at Saqqara - Mryneit and his wife. His titles
were "The Greatest of the Seers of the God Aton", "Supervisor
of the domain of Aton", and "The Priest of the Goddess
Neit".
We hand lunch at the little cafe upstairs over
the book shop/souvenir shop. It's where we ate the last time
we were there. I asked Eman what will
happen to this beautiful old building when the museum objects are moved to
the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Pyramids at Giza. She
said that it will probably become an egyptology research facility
or library--maybe offices for the Antiquities Department,
but she didn't think they were going to divide the collection
between the two museums.
After lunch we went to the Upwawet Exhibit. This exhibit
shows objects dedicated to the earliest form of Seth - Upwawet
from the Nile Delta. Anubis, the jackal deity, was god of
mummification, and Upwawet opened the passage allowing
the soul of the deceased to cross to the afterlife. Eman introduced
us to Dr. Wafaa El-Saddik (General Director, The Egyptian
Museum, Cairo) who was present when we visited the exhibit.
It was a pleasure to meet her.
If I could transport myself anywhere, anytime, I think I would
spend one day a month at the Egyptian Museum. It is amazing, and as our experience this
time shows, always surprising. I was sorry, in a way, that I didn't just
get to stroll quietly around, but who could pass up the opportunity to take
pictures in the Museum with the latest digital cameras. Not I.
Many thanks to the Museum Staff and Eman
Massoud, our guide, for making
this a magical day. I hope our new section on the Museum repays their
trust in
us to use the pictures for the promotion of the Museum.
On the way home, we took a detour and drove out the to the site of the new
Grand Egyptian Museum. There, standing in his protective casing, Ramesses
II stands guarding the site. He was moved from the Cairo Train Station
a
few months ago in a grand ceremonial procession. The Colosial Statue
will stand in front of the new musuem.
At the hotel I tearfully said goodbye to Eman. We had great
guides in
Egypt. Eman, however, was special for me because she was a
"she" and we became friends instantly. She did a terrific
job for us and made the days in Cairo into days of wonder. She works
for Holiday Tours, as well as for other tour agencies.
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