Egypt - National Museum, Cairo
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Egyption Museum Cairo
The first stop was at the National Museum of Cairo. Marwa warned us regarding the behaviour of the locals, that they are very persistent , even aggressive, trying to sell something, trying to make you to buy something. She said that the only way to get rid of them quickly was not to say anything, not to discuss with them. And she was very right ! I can say that the gypsies are kind and gentle compared with the Egyptians. And I don't want to offend the Egyptians at all. For me at least was a shock to see that. I can't describe their behaviour other than making this comparison. It seems that the nation didn't evolved at all in these 3000 years, like the rulers didn't want them to .... The building wasn't so impressive, especially that around it was under construction, they were working for the metro line. Our guide told us that they are building a new museum, much bigger. It will be ready in a few years and everything will be moved there. Even here it takes you almost a week to see everything and to learn about what's there. And we had 1 hour ! A drop in a glass full of water !
There were statues outside, in front of the museum. And somebody asked if they were copies of the originals. The answer was NO. Everything was original, even outside. We asked if it's not possible to be damaged. The answer was so clear (I think that she didn't realise what that meant ): there are so many and not so much space ! But the new museum will be finished soon ! So we started to visit.
Tutankhamun Mask
At the beginning we tried to be near Marwa, because the stories she was telling were very nice
and interesting, but we realised that we can see more if we (me and Simon) look around more quickly, because the labels had very clear explanations. To be able to see with your own eyes what Egyptians were capable to make 4500 years ago was beyond impressive ! We were happy that we could buy a DVD made by a student, friend of Marwa, with 1530 images about Egypt: Cairo, Giza, Luxor as photography was not allowed in the museum. Finery, gloves ! Sewn gloves, thousands of years ago ! And the earrings, rings, necklaces of stunning beauty ! We saw, of course, the impressive mask of Tutankhamen, 11 kilos of pure gold and precious stones and his sarcophagus.
Tutankhamun Gold Coffin
It's so hard to describe how impressive they were. I think I could stay hours and hours to see them, to admire them, to study them, every detail. It's amazing to see so many shades of blue in paintings and ornaments, shades of red, azure stones ! The chariots, the beds, all covered in gold, same the thrones. And I'm not speaking only about Tutankhamen, there were also A LOT of other Pharaohs, not well known, but with the tombs found intact, with all the treasures ! So much gold and luxury ! And so perfectly made ! Due to the explanations that our guide gave us regarding the hieroglyphs, now looking at the sarcophagi, the mummies, the drawings, we could understand, at least a little bit, the significance of them. It's amazing how evolved they were at that time ! The drawings about field work, about manufacturing the finery, even about how they were making holes for those !
Unfortunately we couldn't see any of the Pharaohs mummies. Marwa said that they are in another part of the museum and to be able to see them you have to pay around 100 euros per person ! Me and Simon would pay no matter what to see them, only because of time you couldn't do it. Our guide admitted that even now it is not known the whole process of mummification that the ancient Egyptians used. So I can consider myself very lucky because when I visited the British Museum in 1974 there was a mummy there very well preserved. I remember that I was very impressed how the skin was, the hair, the fingers, even the nails ! I think that I was looking at it for many minutes.
I realised how harsh thr officials were there. When we finished visiting the museum and wanted to return to our bus, Marwa had an arguement with one of them about where our group could stay and wait for the bus. He even didn't look at her, he shouted at us, like we were a herd. She tried to complain to his superior about his behaviour, but, maybe being a woman, nobody paid attention to her. Marwa apologized to us in his name. She said that they should consider what image Egypt has in front of the foreigners, especially tourists. Our guide showed very good women's empowerment, but unfortunately they are very far from this. At least so I think.
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