Of course, no trip to Egypt would be well-rounded without a trip to the Egyptian Museum. I think they were all adequately overwhelmed by the content and chaos. Fortunately, it's still March and the weather is very pleasant. Since the huge, dang place is NOT air conditioned, it can get quite sticky & stuffy in the warmer months. The first time we went to the Egyptian Museum, it was the second week in August. Awful, just awful. There was the crush of tourists, lack of circulating air and general disorganization. The dinky early 80's era electric fans placed about every 50 feet, oscillating weakly and barely stirring the stagnant air. Ugh. Not a place for a claustrophobic like me. The soaring ceilings and immense rooms are occupied by case upon case of dusty, poorly labeled artifacts. That all said, it is still quite an experience to walk among the contents of King Tut's tomb, stare at the painted on eyes of Pharonic style Roman mummies and marvel at the woven baskets that have stayed together for at least a millena. I was able to take them on a well-rounded tour, hitting the best places and skipping the not-so-worth-it areas. (Although, having spent 4 years here, I have been to the Egyptian Museum many, many times. (foreign residents get in free) I don't know if there is a "boring area" of the museum. I love museums.) Then we hit a popular Lebanese restaurant called Taboula and called it a day.
2 comments:
Sounds like a fun day! I miss those blossoming trees, believe it or not!
The sheer quantity of stuff is what makes the whole experience so mind-blowing. It's like an ancient department store... you want one of 'these'? How about in blue? Or in Gold? We have them in small, medium, large and extra large.. do you need a matching set? Absolutely amazing that so much has lasted for so long! Imagine how much has been lost.. this has got to only be a fraction of what is left.
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