As I've shared with some of you, having experienced museums as "babysitters" growing up and then working as a museum professional through college, I'm not as enthusiastic about museum tours as some, but the Cairo museum is a classic, and it's about to be replaced by an ultramodern structure out on the Giza Plateau, about a kilometer from the pyramids.
The building is classic - begun in 1897 (the year my grandmother was born) and completed in 1901. Big old glass cases with typed 3x5 cards as labels house some of the greatest treasures of the world, ranging from the oldest historical documentations carved on stone plaques to the remains of full-size wooden funerary boats and tiny stone and ceramic amulets, to the solid gold equipment around the mummy of Tutankhamen. The exhibit halls are grand, several stories high, with skylights and frosted windows providing natural light, and house fans keeping the air moving: only the mummy rooms are air conditioned.
Our guide was enthusiastic and a wonderful teacher, making, as one retired middle-school teacher said "it all come alive." His obvious love of the material made the even less-than-exciting displays truly worth experiencing.
I could see lots of opportunities for research, but was hampered by the lack of dates on the labels. Old Kingdom? New? When were these metal arm gauntlets made? Roman times or earlier? What about this wonderful funerary jar that looks like a dancing bear? Ah, it was in King Tut's tomb... Check out the elongated skulls on these mummies! Not all of them, but enough to be noticeable. And no, Akhnaten was not 14' tall - his sarcophagus is barely 6' long, and it's shaped like a normal man, without the exaggerated hips of the carved images.
3 hours later we emerged into a fairly cool late afternoon and headed out to our bus. There's 16 of us, including our guide and government-appointed "escort", both of whom are very patient with this herd of cats.
The bus took us into the heart of Cairo, where the streets are a thousand years old and the mosques are even older. We will see a bit of the great mall: the Khan Khalili, while heading to an old coffee shop, famous as a writers' hangout for a couple centuries. The door is barely identifiable, but Sara, the trip's organizer, knows it well. The doorman lets us in and we take over one whole wall of benches, low tables, and chairs. Turkish coffee, tea, Koffee Arabica, and an odd beverage made of tomato broth with chickpeas in the bottom of the cup are the highlights, with a small tray of bhaklava and related pastries to share.
When we finally emerged to tour parts of the market, the sky was dark, but the streets and shops were very well lit. As in most hot countries, life begins at sunset - well at least the shopping does. :)
"Scarf?" "T-shirts?" "Spend your money here!" "Christmas ornaments - I have beautiful Christmas ornaments!" "Come and look - it's free!" "No? How can I take your money?" Such were the words coming at us from all sides as we wandered down the narrow lanes. But Sara had a particular place in mind, a shop up above the street, on a terrace over a courtyard, that she discovered 20 years ago - with an owner she trusts: Jordi's. It's maybe 10' wide and 25' long, with a long counter down the middle and 5-6 customers already in it... another 15 of us? You've got to be kidding!
But we dutifully eased our way in, checking out the tourist items, which are, after all, very nicely priced. He offered us tea, which most of us refused, but a few of us found pretties to take home to friends and family and then got out of the way so others could explore.
Out in the market again, our guide takes us to his favorite spot: a tiny little courtyard with a beautiful old mosque - and a clear view of the ancient cobblestone street.
The building is classic - begun in 1897 (the year my grandmother was born) and completed in 1901. Big old glass cases with typed 3x5 cards as labels house some of the greatest treasures of the world, ranging from the oldest historical documentations carved on stone plaques to the remains of full-size wooden funerary boats and tiny stone and ceramic amulets, to the solid gold equipment around the mummy of Tutankhamen. The exhibit halls are grand, several stories high, with skylights and frosted windows providing natural light, and house fans keeping the air moving: only the mummy rooms are air conditioned.
Our guide was enthusiastic and a wonderful teacher, making, as one retired middle-school teacher said "it all come alive." His obvious love of the material made the even less-than-exciting displays truly worth experiencing.
I could see lots of opportunities for research, but was hampered by the lack of dates on the labels. Old Kingdom? New? When were these metal arm gauntlets made? Roman times or earlier? What about this wonderful funerary jar that looks like a dancing bear? Ah, it was in King Tut's tomb... Check out the elongated skulls on these mummies! Not all of them, but enough to be noticeable. And no, Akhnaten was not 14' tall - his sarcophagus is barely 6' long, and it's shaped like a normal man, without the exaggerated hips of the carved images.
3 hours later we emerged into a fairly cool late afternoon and headed out to our bus. There's 16 of us, including our guide and government-appointed "escort", both of whom are very patient with this herd of cats.
The bus took us into the heart of Cairo, where the streets are a thousand years old and the mosques are even older. We will see a bit of the great mall: the Khan Khalili, while heading to an old coffee shop, famous as a writers' hangout for a couple centuries. The door is barely identifiable, but Sara, the trip's organizer, knows it well. The doorman lets us in and we take over one whole wall of benches, low tables, and chairs. Turkish coffee, tea, Koffee Arabica, and an odd beverage made of tomato broth with chickpeas in the bottom of the cup are the highlights, with a small tray of bhaklava and related pastries to share.
When we finally emerged to tour parts of the market, the sky was dark, but the streets and shops were very well lit. As in most hot countries, life begins at sunset - well at least the shopping does. :)
"Scarf?" "T-shirts?" "Spend your money here!" "Christmas ornaments - I have beautiful Christmas ornaments!" "Come and look - it's free!" "No? How can I take your money?" Such were the words coming at us from all sides as we wandered down the narrow lanes. But Sara had a particular place in mind, a shop up above the street, on a terrace over a courtyard, that she discovered 20 years ago - with an owner she trusts: Jordi's. It's maybe 10' wide and 25' long, with a long counter down the middle and 5-6 customers already in it... another 15 of us? You've got to be kidding!
But we dutifully eased our way in, checking out the tourist items, which are, after all, very nicely priced. He offered us tea, which most of us refused, but a few of us found pretties to take home to friends and family and then got out of the way so others could explore.
Out in the market again, our guide takes us to his favorite spot: a tiny little courtyard with a beautiful old mosque - and a clear view of the ancient cobblestone street.
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