travel

Many individuals have fond memories of King Tut’s Gold Mask (also known as the “Funerary Mask” or “Death Mask”), which traveled in the 1970s, and have looked forward to seeing it again in the current exhibition. There has, therefore, been some confusion around the absence of the Gold Mask in Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.

The traffic—a giant organic blob of cars, camels, trucks, pedestrians, herds of goats, minibuses and beep-beep-beeping horns.  Driving in Cairo is not for the faint of heart. No lane markers, random stop signs and traffic lights, and pedestrians taking their lives into their hands by becoming human “froggers” just to cross the street. On our first day in Cairo, we were astonished to drive on the highway alongside two galloping donkeys pulling a donkey cart. That’s right, on the highway.

Last week a team of journalists and museum staff journeyed to Cairo, Egypt for a week of shooting and research to produce a one-hour documentary and newspaper supplement for our upcoming exhibition, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.