At least we can live in hope- you mention that your friends think Greece and Rome superior to Egypt, and while that opinion used to be universal, when the great bust of Rameses II first went on display in the British Museum, Egyptian objects began to be discussed by critics as actual *art* for the first time ever. Perhaps with time and effort popular opinion can be changed.

When I referred to the negative side of the promotion of Egyptian treasures, I was thinking of some of the critical reports I’ve heard from the exhibition at the O2, for example this from the Times:
‘From an introductory voice-over by Omar Sharif through the sort of piped music that accompanied a Liz Taylor Cleopatra to the Pharaoh’s Palace lounge bar at the end of the exhibition, designers shamelessly camp up the Egyptian mood. Mostly it’s tacky. Forget the hushed atmosphere of a scholarly institution. Think: Tutankhamun goes to Hollywood. This is a rapaciously commercial show. It charges you £20 a pop and shamelessly peddles the most ridiculous King Tut tat in its shop.’ I haven’t seen it for myself, but I don’t think that’s the sort of message that should be promoted in connection with these magnificent artifacts. I will try to go with an open mind though and I’m certainly excited to get to see the antiquities once more without having to travel all the way to the Cairo Museum again. I know that despite the surrounding trappings that the objects will speak for themselves. They cannot help being eloquent voices for their distant civilization, I just hope that other people will be able to hear their message above the commercialized din.

“The sad thing I find is that I can no longer imagine an Egyptian revival of such magnitude ever taking place again, or at least not one that would be taken seriously and valued for the elegance and energy of its design. The media, movie-industry, and disappointingly even the way Egypt and its treasures are promoted, have all contributed to some people’s view of Egypt not just as a stereotyped land of gold and mummies, but have also added tacky, over-the-top, crude, and laughable overtones to the way it’s perceived. Sadly some of the crasser examples of Egyptomania can also be said to have contributed. Despite the general public’s fascination with Egypt, their exposure is superficial, with few people able to tell the difference between crude inaccurate Egyptian-style reproductions and the real artistry of the originals.”

That is exactly why I do not feel comfortable telling people how much I love ancient Egypt. I just know that my friends see it a laugh, a cliche, as being tacky or strange, a laughable civilisation full of cat-worshipping death-obsessed curse-loving weirdos who did nothing but create what are really just glorified sandcastles (with the help of whipped slaves, of course!) for no purpose other than to celebrate the death of a tyrant or the worship of a terrifying death god. Nothing like the noble Greeks and Romans, they would say…but I’m pretty sure that the Greeks got a lot of inspiration from Egypt-I’m sure that Greek contact with Egypt gave their civilisation a boost (even though Egypt was on the wane at the time).

I fear that many see Egyptian design and inspiration as being naff, camp or kitsch, but I think real Egyptian art is some of the most beautiful in the world, right up there with other well known works of art. I disagree with the quote in the article saying that Egyptian art is ‘overgilded and overdone’, I think Tut’s treasures are truly a sight to behold, and I do think they are tasteful…more than can be said for a lot of replications of these treasures.

A lot of people have no idea how much we owe to ancient Egypt and just what a great civilisation they were even if you strip away the bling and the glamour. For example, they treated women a lot better than other cultures of the time. Their religion was sophisticated and not all of it was morose and death-obsessed (look at Hathor’s festivals of drunkenness!) and they certainly weren’t into evil rituals, slavery and curses, not in the overblown way that modern culture perceives it anyway. They also had medicinal knowledge which is surprisingly advanced and only now are we beginning to understand just how scientific it was, and it wasn’t all spells and prayers.

Although I’m not sure by what you mean by the way Egypt promotes it’s treasures as being detrimental. Are you referring to the way they promote themselves to tourists, advertising etc? Or the way that Egypt is forcing to reclaim the antiquities in other countries and possibly even copyright them? Or the way documentaries are done with too much sensationalism? I myself think that the construction of new museums there is a very good thing, although I don’t agree with everything Hawass says or does or how often he gets himself on TV, I do think it’s good to see him promoting the proper scientific study of Egypt and encouraging Egyptians to respect their past.

It feels a shame not to be proud of telling people that I’m fascinated by a culture so fascinating and even more interesting than the movies would have it, because the modern perception of Egypt is so negative or the way that Egypt is treated as nothing more than ‘a country which is just one big cliched tourist trap’.

btw sorry about the essay I just wrote there. That’s how passionat I am about Egypt. But there’s one more thing. Go to see Tut with an open mind. Ignore the negative reviews. Look past the gloss and glitz. It is really fascinating. There may be gold there, but it is beautifully crafted, and there’s nothing more wonderful than seeing these antiquities for real, in the flesh.