What Not to Wear - Egypt

Now here is a title that illustrates my fashion do's and don'ts for Egypt witnessed today at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Cairo currently is full of Aussies and Americans with a smattering of Germans, French and of course, Egyptians. All the guidebooks like Lonely Planet, Cairo Guide to Egypt, Fodor's, etc. talk about the big cover up and modesty especially during the month of Ramadan, a period of one month of fasting and other deprivations like no smoking, no sex, etc. And here's the kicker - at the Egyptian Museum, I noted a great number of female tourists wearing sleeveless tanks with low necklines, shorts, tight shirts so lots of bare skin not to mention the bending over to see the mummies more closely as the guards got to see cleavage front and side and well outlined buttocks not to mention camel toe though I didn't actually see the latter. My best shot was of an Aussie girl (but she was probably German) who handed me her camera without conversation so I could take her picture outside. I've posted her photo that I had quickly snapped prior to this - I like to take photos of tourists taking pictures of monuments or other scenes. I thought she was the quintessential "what not to wear" model for Ramadan disrespect. No underwear, maybe a thong beneath the shortest shorts I have seen in a while. Oh yeah, and an all over tan from what I could see.

But mainly, I was enjoying the mummies wrapped in a variety of things upstairs in the mummy room which I paid the student price. Now this is in addition to the cost of entering the museum which currently is 100 EGP for adults ande 60 EGP for students with an International Student Identity Card - Ok so I have an International Teacher Card but it looks the same and besides most guards can't read English - sweet! It is estimated that it will cost 500 million USD to build the new Egyptian Museum which may not happen in my lifetime. I so enjoyed seeing Hatshepsut's mummy - It is thought that she died between the ages of 45 to 60 - she was obese, probably diabetic, with bad teeth. Her mummy, along with that of her wet nurse, was discovered in KV50 - her original tomb was KV20. And with the discovery of the late 19th century mummy cache which was the work of 21st dynasty priests who moved many of the royal mummies so that they would escape the fate of others before them whose tombs and mummies had been desecrated and destroyed, a boxs containing some items marked with her cartouche was found to contain part of a tooth. When the mummy was research by Zahi Hawass he matched the broken tooth with what was remaining in her mouth and voila! the identification was a done deal.

What I didn't know was that her husband, Thuthmosis II was her half brother He in turn, fathered a son by a minor queen, Isis and this son was Thuthmosis III. So when Thuthmosis II died, Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh for nearly 22 years (21 years, 9 months) while Thuthmosis III was at first, too young to rule by himself. Tut was ruling ostensibly by himself from the age of 9 but of course he had help from the priests of Amun Ra recently restored to power. He of course, comes after Hatshepsut. To gaze upon the faces of Egyptian royalty is always a treat for me. In the mummy room are Seti I (father of Rameses the Great), Rameses II, Mereneptah, his son who ruled after his father died, Thuthmosis I (Hatshepsut's father), Thuthmosis II, III and IV, Ahmose father of Amenhotep II and a few Egyptian women. The most shocking one is Seqenenre II who must have died horribly in battle - he has big head wounds and his eternal grimace can be seen eternally - pharaohs went into battle with their troops unlike our presidents, who though they are chiefs of staff, don't go on the frontline like the Egyptians did. Unfortunately, all visitors have to check their cameras before entering the museum, no exceptions, darn. I would have loved to have taken my own photos of the great mummies. I bought some second rate B&W photo postcards of a few of them just to give an idea. Maybe I'll take my photos of the photos to add to this entry.

I had such a wonderful cab driver today - I asked him for his number so I can call him when I need a ride. This was my first metered taxi - when I saw the fare, I couldn't believe it - less than 6 EGP from Zamalek to Downtown to the Egyptian Museum. Yesterday, I had the unmetered black and white cabs and gave 20 EGP for a similar distance. Well, I was still jet lagged and hungry and tired but now I know. Go for the solid white metered taxis. Plus the taxi I took today was new, didn't smell like cigarette smoke (can't smoke during Ramadan) and had fabulous air conditioning. Life is good today.

Shayma just called me - she was at an Iftar with some friends and family. I had sent her an email this morning since I was feeling better than I have since I arrived. And Carol, if you are reading this, the walking definitely helps. I managed with the help of my small compass to walk back from the Egyptian Museum to my place. Pretty easy, follow Corniche el Nil to the 26 July bridge, cross the Nile and veer left to Marsafy Street. I still get just slightly lost for the last bit but found it just fine. There is a sign for the All Saints Cathedral just up the street that I use as my signpost.

Before coming home, I stopped at the No Big Deal Cafe for an early dinner, chicken kebab with rice and yogurt for around $8. High cost by Egyptian standards but the menu is in English. This is the cafe where I had such good breakfasts at last year and now they have some new art. Looking foward to tomorrow.