A Trip to the Museum

OK it’s school holidays so what do you do to get the kids off of those pesky bloody screens?

Easy. Take them to a museum and they will be so bored by the end of the day that even their lovely iPad or phone screen will not be able to tempt them. Well that last bit is probably not true but still… Off we went to check out a touring exhibition all the way from ancient Egypt.

Modern Egypt actually but the exhibits were all related to the period when that ancient civilisation was ruled by the one they call the greatest pharaoh of them all – Ramses.

Ramses The Great Exhibition

He was actually Ramses II (or 2nd) but is commonly referred to as Ramses the Great. He reigned supreme for an incredible 66 years from 1279 – 1213 B.C. He was born in 1303 B.C ! Now that was ancient.

Bear in mind that this reign was a thousand years before Cleopatra. Her who had a bit of hanky-panky with Julius Caesar when the Romans were big. Or was it Caesar’s sidekick Marc Antony? Or both? Ah well, that’s another story and a completely different period in Egyptian history.

Ramses the Great was known for building many of the amazing temples in Egypt. Including the Valley of the Kings and (my personal favourite) Abu-Simbel. He lived to the ripe old age of 90 – which is utterly incredible all those years ago. During that time he had 7 wives and fathered more than 160 children. Add to that all the building and wars he fought, Ramses was a very busy little pharaoh. Ramses was so old when he died that his son who took over was already in his 50s.

There was plenty of gold on display as well as busts, statues and coffins of other pharaohs. There were also quite a few mummified animals. Apparently that was big business in ancient Egypt especially for pets. A bit like dog walking and pet pampering services today I guess… 

Finally we got to see Ramses actual coffin. I was expecting a heavy gold casket but it turned out to be made of cedar wood. Inscribed on it are text written in Hieratic – this was the Egyptian’s form of writing that came after Hieroglyphics. Interesting stuff. 

There was plenty more, this was just a snippet. If you get the chance then go and see this exhibition at the Australian Museum near Hyde Park in central Sydney. Or look out for similar touring exhibitions of ancient Egypt wherever you live…

And out…

At the end of the exhibition there was the compulsory shop with all sorts of “Ancient Egyptian” souvenirs. But just before that there was time for a pose. He has been “walking like an Egyptian” for a while now. Not sure where he got it from as he was unaware of that Bangles song. He can’t even remember. 

Despite being a bit bored by the time we reached the exhibition shop, Daniel even managed a joke: 

Dani: Hey dad. What’s the best restaurant in ancient Egypt?
Me: Dunno.
Dani: Gordon Ramses

Pretty good one that eh?