# Stay Safe. Visit Egypt from Home (I)

Laura Lai at Louvre Museum in Paris

by Laura Lai/Review

Last post on this ‘Writing Break Blog’ reminded me the emotion of having seen the ‘Rosetta Stone’ found in Egypt by a French soldier of Napoleon and exhibited at the British Museum. Then, I thought to myself that this next entry should also be about a virtual visit, since it is the greatest opportunity of those of us healthy but locked down. And what a better topic during a pandemic lockdown, when we are all told to wear masks, than a virtual visit to Egypt where the most famous mask of the Antiquity was discovered in 1922: King Tutankhamen’s golden mask?

            I have not seen King’s Tut mask, I have not been to Egypt, yet – I haven’t had the means so far, I hope to have them in the future. However, when the limited means allowed, I took a picture in front of … a glass pyramid in front of Louvre Museum in Paris – yes, I’ve seen ‘Mona Lisa’ (and she saw me J!).

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Archeology has recently launched a world appeal to ‘Stay Home. Stay Safe. Visit Egypt from Home’ and put at everybody’s disposal several 3D virtual tours of some archeological sites of Egypt. On this occasion I virtually visited a monastery, a mosque and a synagogue. I have previously visited monasteries, churches and cathedrals, but I have never been in a synagogue or a mosque, let alone the mosque of a sultan.

            Most of the virtual tours are not guided, but there is absolutely no chance for any of us to get lost in the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, for example, during this virtual tour. However, the visit of the tomb of Queen Meresankh III is virtually guided by the queen herself. It looks that in comparison to all the other tombs, hers contain more women – although the society was male dominated – and she also included names of the painter and the sculptor, so that they do not remain anonymous as in most of the cases. All these virtual tours showed that the archeological works are done in cooperation with the American Research Center in Egypt, as well as with Harvard University and Georgia State University. The presentations include interesting information on the non-invasive techniques used to restore the walls.

            A 3D virtual tour takes the visitor to the Tomb of Menna – a person who held important state positions (in the field of agriculture) and who was a scribe. The tomb has lots of references to agriculture – the main occupation of the people along the river Nile – and where the paint needs restoration this is done in collaboration with the American Research Center in Egypt that uses non-invasive techniques (ex. ultraviolet imagining and UV fluorescence). This tomb of Menna is from the 18^th Egyptian dynasty – a period of great religious and cultural progress. It is the time period of King Akhenaton, of Nefertiti, of Tutankhamen, etc.

            A last 3D tour takes the visitor to the tomb of King Ramses VI – a long and very decorated tomb with lots of wall paintings (including the ceiling) that are still visible. He was preoccupied by astronomy and this makes some sense, because the ancient Egyptians were first familiarized with astrology, but it is with the ancient Greeks that it became more popular. It is the ancient Egyptians, who divided the sky in 12 sections and the day in 24 hours. The wall paintings are a rich source of information. For example, many of them present the process of mummification, the weighting of the heart and if it was light (from good deeds) it lived further, while if it was heavy, it was not living further.

            The ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. They took time during their lives to prepare their tombs. Queen Meresankh III, for example, arranged a place where gifts to be brought to her during festivals and a place where her relatives to talk to her spirit. Depending on the way each of us is – and we are all very different – people find this belief as being more or less ridiculous. I don’t; I also believe in the spiritual life after the physical death and I like to keep my mind open. As the spirit does not do any of the things the physics does, it does not need to be burred with such a treasure, but in my Christian religion, 40 days after the burial those who can afford make a big religious ceremony and give as charity table, bed, chairs, plates, food, carpets, cloth, etc – everything that a body would need. I do not know the religious meaning of that, but I personally understand it as a charity blessed by a priest, given in the name of God, in order to remember the defunct.