And yet the entire building lacks air-conditioning, apart from a few rooms protecting extremely delicate pieces (like King Tut’s sarcophagus). This really surprised me, especially since so many objects in the museum are thousands of years old, and conventional wisdom suggests that controlling the climate of their current environment would help preserve them better. I was also struck by the fact that many antiquities were simply placed in glass cases along the walls, with little or no explanation of their origins and significance. Certain pieces, such as anything belonging to King Tut, were exceptions to this, but overall much of the museum’s content was left to my interpretation. Unexpected highlight of our visit to the Cairo Museum: several members of our group encountered Representative Keith Ellison of Minneapolis checking out the King Tut exhibit while on a diplomatic tour!
[A statue of Ramses III]
Another interesting aspect of the Cairo Museum is its location in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the revolution and still a regular spot for protests every Friday. It’s also right beside the headquarters of the National Democratic Party, former president Hosni Mubarak’s political organization. It was burned during the revolution and the abandoned and charred shell of the building still remains behind the Cairo Museum, although thankfully the museum itself wasn’t damaged.
The focal point of the January 25 Revolution, Tahrir Square still plays hosts to regular protests since then. Usually held on Fridays after noon prayers at local mosques, the most recent significant demonstration was September 30, this past Friday. Dubbed “Friday of Reclaiming the Revolution,” at least 50,000 people gathered to protest the continuation of emergency law and reenergize Egyptians in support of revolution. According to several professors from the AUC who lectured us that day, this protest marks a shift in the mood of many Egyptians to a more frustrated attitude at the lack of perceived progress since overthrowing the Mubarak government and uncertainty over upcoming elections.
I have to admit I was tempted to venture off Zamalek Island to witness it myself…but the U.S. Embassy explicitly warned American citizens to avoid Tahrir Square in the event the peaceful protest became not so peaceful. So I ended up supporting the revolution by staying inside, doing laundry and eating Nutella-slathered eesh baladi, a type of local flatbread.
Thankfully the protests remained peaceful, although I found out the next day that Sean Penn, of all people, visited the square to support the demonstrators. Darn it. Maybe next week? I’d also settle for Brad Pitt.
*Catherine O’Connor ’13 is on Global for first semester and J-term. She majors in Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese.