Protecting Egyptian Museum in Cairo

I had a chance to see the Egyptian Antiquities Museum this past December - and it is absolutely amazing. It is not often that one has a chance to see, up close, statues and other objects 3000-4000 years old! Many of these artifacts are in very good condition. And then you have the mummies. It is quite awesome to see the mummy of Ramesses the Great (also, Ramesses II). He was 90 years old when he died - but his mummy still projects a royal elegance. Okay - so may be I was reading too much into it, but it is just amazing to see some of the pharaohs from up so close. By the way, Ramesses II may also have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus (at least according to Brier) - played by Yul Brynner in the Ten Commandments. C'mon - you can't mess with Yul Brynner!

These are not just Egyptian treasures. These are the cultural heritage of the whole world. I really hope that there is no more damage to the museum. It was heartening to see Egyptians from all walks of life coming to form a ring around the museum last Saturday, in reaction to the earlier reports of lootings (see picture below). Unfortunately, some damage was already done.

Mohammed Yahia has recently written about the potential dangers to the museum, and has posted this video of the outside of the museum during the protests:



And below is a clip of Dr. Bob Brier talking about the damage to the museum so far. By the way, Dr. Brier has an excellent course on the History of Ancient Egypt with the Teaching Company. If you are ever planning on taking a trip to Egypt - and you definitely should - go through his 48 lectures, and these will really allow you to appreciate the depth and richness of the ancient Egyptian civilization.