Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

The Prince of Egypt
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Zahi Hawass is everywhere today. In addition to bashing the Seven Wonders online poll, he is heralding the new King Tut exhibit about to open in Philly. The exhibition was controversial when it opened two years ago, largely because of the unprecedented fees and percentage of the gift shop that Egypt kept for itself. In Ft. Lauderdale, the show played at the Museum of Art, who hosted my talk on Tuesday night. Let's just say Mr. Hawass left a strong impression.

Then, on the same day, someone sent me this interview he did promoting the opening of the King Tut show in Philly next month.

Some highlights:

What do you hope people will gain from viewing the exhibition?
When people visit this exhibition, they can understand one important thing: they can know that when people like Egyptians ruled in peace and had a vision of ma'at--justice and truth--they were really able to build an empire. Each artifact can tell us about those great people, and can teach us about the golden age of Egypt, and about the Valley of the Kings. It can tell them how the discovery of King Tut was not the end of archaeology. The tomb of Tutankhamun was in a valley of mystery and secrets; and I believe that it has more secrets to reveal, after KV 63. If people can understand our history, and read it well, it can give us all a good future.
Why is King Tutankhamun so important to ancient Egyptian archaeology and history?
Because his tomb was found largely intact. It captured the hearts of not only archaeologists, but also of the common man. If you try to look at his name before the tomb was found, it was nothing. The discovery opened a new vision into the history of the 18th Dynasty, about the wealth of Egypt, foreign relations, and family relations. It especially made us wonder about the wealth of a tomb of someone who ruled longer that Tut--what would have been buried, for example, in the tomb of Ramesses II?

How is Egypt benefiting from the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" touring exhibition?
This is the first time that Egypt has benefited from such a show. From this exhibition and the other, King Tut II, which will be in the U.S. two years from now, Egypt will receive $100 million. There will be no free meals anymore. Before, Egypt got nothing. Museums always say it is about education, not money. But is not only about education. We need money to build museums, carry out training, do site management, and to save our monuments. No one has helped us, apart from a few countries. King Tut is helping us to restore the monuments of Egypt in a scientific way.

Labels: Biblical Archaeology, Middle East

Posted by B Feiler at 8:06 AM
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