From Deseret News archives:
Experiencing Egypt
5,000-year-old culture has much to intrigue modern-day tourists
Tombs were stocked with writings and symbols indicating life would continue, but they were also stuffed with treasures that were believed somehow would go with the departed. Unfortunately, most golden valuables have been plundered to the point where modern-day archaeologists are happy to find the former because very little of the latter remains having long since been lifted by the tomb raiders.
So, if your intrigue runs to culture study and what motivated this civilization, there is much to be found from the fertile valley of the Nile to the desolate Valley of the Kings. If you are fascinated by riches and wealth, well, there is that, too.
The tomb of the most famous king, or Pharaoh, Ramses II, was discovered in 1881, and although the riches buried with him were long gone, his mummy was found intact and rests on display in the Cairo Museum. He has a very prominent, long, thin, hooked nose set in a long, narrow, oval face with a strong jaw. He was large for an ancient Egyptian, standing some 5 feet 7 inches tall. His mummy's gray hair had been dyed red, and modern technology has proven that in his youth he was a redhead, which was not a common trait of ancient Egyptians.
New discoveries are being made every year in Egypt, and recently around a hundred mummies were discovered in a desert oasis west of Cairo. It is believed that possibly as many as 10,000 more may be found, and excavations could take decades.
But the old monuments offer much to the casual tourist. And the mummies present a preservation of the human body unlike anything found anywhere else in the world.
The Great Pyramids stand today as an engineering feat of epic proportions.
Recent comments
I also enjoyed the article. We are presently living in Mumbai, India...
Anonymous | July 12, 2008 at 11:27 a.m.
I really enjoyed the article. I have been to Egypt several times and...
gary | July 2, 2008 at 6:21 a.m.
I have been to Egypt three times and found the people to be some of...
Memorie | June 29, 2008 at 4:32 p.m.
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