A Relaxing Sunday of Discovery

DH and I had a lovely Sunday relaxing and watching a lot of National Geographic television. We got totally pulled into shows on what caused the death of Tutankhamun, what items truly were in his tomb and whether they were his or were hand-me-downs from other tombs, and also a wonderful two hours on locating the burial place of Genghis Khan and the history of China's First Emperor and his huge tomb. It was a day of relearning old facts and discovering new ideas. So fun! 

This death mask of Tutankhamun is the best known
of his artifacts. It features 20 pounds of gold and uses
lapis, turquoise and red carnelian (or agate) for the
colorful bands. It's had a rocky history but
hopefully will now be protected. 

Because I've been studying Egypt and the Pharaohs for what seems like my entire life, I couldn't miss new shows about Tut, but I had forgotten that Egypt was building the "Grand Egyptian Museum" which will open sometime in 2018. When? Well, that seems to be anyone's guess. The old Cairo museum is being emptied and everything on display, including a lot that had just been in storage because of lack of space, will be now displayed on exhibit within the bright, climate-controlled conditions of this new museum which is tucked into the Giza plateau. 

The Grand Egyptian Museum is located just 2 kilometers
from the Pyramids, on the Giza Plateau. It is expected to
have a provisional opening in May, but a firm date is still
unknown. Last week a huge statue of Ramses was moved
to it's new home in the Grand Egyptian Museum. 

Of course Tut is a major draw. Just that death mask would be enough to pull me there. But add in the more than 80% of the items from his tomb that have never been seen since their initial removal, and Egypt will set a magnet up calling me there. Of course that's all kinds of dangerous too, but I might take the chance within the next ten years or so. I've seen a lot of artifacts and several exhibitions on Egypt here in the USA; even followed one specific exhibit from Milwaukee to Denver to see it for several days in a row. I've flown to various cities to see Ramses and other Pharonic exhibitions and have loved each one. Spending a long time in the Grand Egyptian Museum should be phenomenal. 

The current Cairo Museum was built in 1902 and houses 120,000
artifacts, most of which are in storage. It desperately needed 
either an upgrade or full replacement, but Cairo is massive, and
finding room for a new building within the city was impossible.
Placing it closer to the Pyramids will increase tourism and it allowed
for a large, expansive building with climate-controlled storage for
the historic artifacts of this amazing region. 

So I'm dreaming once more - about travel, about Tutanhkamun, and about art - because it all comes down to the art. This coming Sunday won't be as relaxing. I'll be watching Super Bowl and trying to not eat too much during the game. But even if I do, there's always the pool waiting for me on Monday morning. Enjoy your day. I'm going to pepper this post with some photos, and then head out to swim my mile.