Egyptian museum transfer
Apr 4, 2021 18:40:42 GMT
Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2021 18:40:42 GMT
I don't know about the rest of you, but I was very impressed by the spectacle that Egypt put on for the transfer of its kings and queens to the new museum in Giza. I found it also noteworthy that there was not a trace of Islam in it, since all such things dated from before the arrival of Islam on the scene -- no woman with any sort of veil and no man with any sort of beard. I would be very curious to know if there was a debate about this, but since the current head of state does not encourage debate, I suppose that it would have only been in whispers.
I was very lucky to have visited the old Egyptian museum since I spent a 3-week seminar directly across the street from it once. Yet some of my colleagues from around the world never went there at that time. Even though I went there alone, I joined other colleagues on excursions that we organised to Alexandria, Fayyoum and the Suez Canal (mostly my Belgian and Swiss colleagues for the first 2 destinations, intrepid women). But I also remember the trip to the Suez Canal with a colleague from Somalia and another one from Dubai, plus the one from Frankfurt. The guy from Frankfurt and I were the only Europeans for this seminar because there had been terrorist attacks a month or two before and all of the Europeans and Americans refused to attend. But in this case, it was the colleague from Somalia who organised everything. We don't always think about which things interest people the most when they are from other parts of the world. The guy from Somalia had stars in his eyes when he talked about wanting to see the Suez Canal. Since he was a child, he knew it was relatively close to his country but he never thought that he would be able to see it some day. This company trip (with a per diem!) would be perhaps his only chance ever.
He negotiated the day with the taxi by himself for 4 passengers, because we all know how this works in these countries. As a Somali, he obtained an excellent price, but you should have seen the look on the driver's face when he saw two Europeans and an Emirati arrive for the trip. Probably one of the only times in my life where my nationality did not make me overpay in a country like that.
We had an excellent day, and I was probably almost as thrilled to see the Suez Canal as my Somali colleague. We went to Port Saïd and walked up the steep embankment to reach the canal level for a good view. We also had an excellent lunch under a trellis of grape vines before returning to Cairo.
I hope I get a chance to see the new museum some day, even though my former company will no longer pay for the trip.
I was very lucky to have visited the old Egyptian museum since I spent a 3-week seminar directly across the street from it once. Yet some of my colleagues from around the world never went there at that time. Even though I went there alone, I joined other colleagues on excursions that we organised to Alexandria, Fayyoum and the Suez Canal (mostly my Belgian and Swiss colleagues for the first 2 destinations, intrepid women). But I also remember the trip to the Suez Canal with a colleague from Somalia and another one from Dubai, plus the one from Frankfurt. The guy from Frankfurt and I were the only Europeans for this seminar because there had been terrorist attacks a month or two before and all of the Europeans and Americans refused to attend. But in this case, it was the colleague from Somalia who organised everything. We don't always think about which things interest people the most when they are from other parts of the world. The guy from Somalia had stars in his eyes when he talked about wanting to see the Suez Canal. Since he was a child, he knew it was relatively close to his country but he never thought that he would be able to see it some day. This company trip (with a per diem!) would be perhaps his only chance ever.
He negotiated the day with the taxi by himself for 4 passengers, because we all know how this works in these countries. As a Somali, he obtained an excellent price, but you should have seen the look on the driver's face when he saw two Europeans and an Emirati arrive for the trip. Probably one of the only times in my life where my nationality did not make me overpay in a country like that.
We had an excellent day, and I was probably almost as thrilled to see the Suez Canal as my Somali colleague. We went to Port Saïd and walked up the steep embankment to reach the canal level for a good view. We also had an excellent lunch under a trellis of grape vines before returning to Cairo.
I hope I get a chance to see the new museum some day, even though my former company will no longer pay for the trip.
