In November and December of 1971 I was fortunate enough to travel to Egypt (and returned in the spring of 1973,too). It was a time when the Russians were there and consequently there was essentially no international tourism at all. My party rented a house near the Giza complex for 2 months, and we more or less had the run of the Giza plateau for the whole time. But we spent a lot of time in the heart of Cairo, too. The memories are bringing a smile to my face.
We only went into the Egyptian Museum for one day, but what a day it was. I still have many memories of the museum, and one significant memory is the Tut Room. All the items depicted here were in that room - and, to be honest, it was NOT a whole lot more organized than what these photos show. There were things EVERYWHERE, and the majority was not displayed well, by modern standards. We were able to spend about 45 minutes in with Tut's artifacts, and in that time NO ONE else came into the room, though a guard was present. It was as if the room was our own private playroom. ...Very fond memories...
I don't know what it is like now, with the huge tourism boom that has occurred over the last 30 years, and recently the Arab Spring demonstrations right out front of the Museum in Tahrir Square. But at that time, westerners simply were not going to Egypt, so in the two months we never saw ONE western tourist. I almost dare not go back, because we had so much latitude in everything we did. And one of those was that we could touch each and every part of the Tut room's exhibits. I think hands-on makes the memories more tangible.
I was only 22 on that first trip, so I hardly even knew what I was looking at. Such a trip today would be very different in that regard - but I would bemoan the restrictions and the crowds, and probably the limited amount of time each group gets to spend inside the room.
The entire museum was like that room, back in that time. So many things on display. It was a feast for the eyes. Items were very nearly by cheek and by jowl - so close that many were touching other objects, and many behind others. I tell people that there was more in any 10 foot-square area than could be really looked at in a day. When I went to the Field Museum in Chicago, I was so disappointed that the exhibits were so spare - with often only one item in a 10-foot square. Hahaha - in the Egyptian Museum, I'd tell them, you'd find 100 or 200 items in that same space.
We also were then able to go inside the Sphynx enclosure and could have even climbed on the paws, but we never thought it was wise. I DID meditate one night between the paws, facing the tablet that is up against the breast. Why? Heck, why NOT?
It was so different then from what people experience today. I will always feel grateful that I got to go when I did, before the tourism took over.
Very interesting, thank you.
ReplyDeleteErik.
Where's the grain?
ReplyDelete/ducks
Looks like a self storage lot.
ReplyDeleteIn November and December of 1971 I was fortunate enough to travel to Egypt (and returned in the spring of 1973,too). It was a time when the Russians were there and consequently there was essentially no international tourism at all. My party rented a house near the Giza complex for 2 months, and we more or less had the run of the Giza plateau for the whole time. But we spent a lot of time in the heart of Cairo, too. The memories are bringing a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteWe only went into the Egyptian Museum for one day, but what a day it was. I still have many memories of the museum, and one significant memory is the Tut Room. All the items depicted here were in that room - and, to be honest, it was NOT a whole lot more organized than what these photos show. There were things EVERYWHERE, and the majority was not displayed well, by modern standards. We were able to spend about 45 minutes in with Tut's artifacts, and in that time NO ONE else came into the room, though a guard was present. It was as if the room was our own private playroom. ...Very fond memories...
I don't know what it is like now, with the huge tourism boom that has occurred over the last 30 years, and recently the Arab Spring demonstrations right out front of the Museum in Tahrir Square. But at that time, westerners simply were not going to Egypt, so in the two months we never saw ONE western tourist. I almost dare not go back, because we had so much latitude in everything we did. And one of those was that we could touch each and every part of the Tut room's exhibits. I think hands-on makes the memories more tangible.
I was only 22 on that first trip, so I hardly even knew what I was looking at. Such a trip today would be very different in that regard - but I would bemoan the restrictions and the crowds, and probably the limited amount of time each group gets to spend inside the room.
The entire museum was like that room, back in that time. So many things on display. It was a feast for the eyes. Items were very nearly by cheek and by jowl - so close that many were touching other objects, and many behind others. I tell people that there was more in any 10 foot-square area than could be really looked at in a day. When I went to the Field Museum in Chicago, I was so disappointed that the exhibits were so spare - with often only one item in a 10-foot square. Hahaha - in the Egyptian Museum, I'd tell them, you'd find 100 or 200 items in that same space.
We also were then able to go inside the Sphynx enclosure and could have even climbed on the paws, but we never thought it was wise. I DID meditate one night between the paws, facing the tablet that is up against the breast. Why? Heck, why NOT?
It was so different then from what people experience today. I will always feel grateful that I got to go when I did, before the tourism took over.