What a day in Cairo

One can't spend a week in Cairo and not see the pyramids. I also went to the Egyptian Museum today. It was all worth the effort.

The Egyptian Museum has more everyday objects from the ancient Egyptians than any other museum that I've seen. They also have a large collection of mummies, papyri, statues and monuments from the old kingdom, and most of the stuff from King Tut's tomb. It was fascinating. I learned a lot of things that I did not know. For example, dwarves were honored in Egypt and held important positions.

I saw this statue in the museum. This man married a normal size woman. The small figures below him are depictions of his children.

I got to see some famous artefacts that I have seen in magazines and on TV, like this:

Cameras were strictly prohibited, so I could not take any photos of it myself. But there are plenty of photos of it on the Internets, because it is an iconic piece, and I got to see it in person. King Tut was buried with an impressive amount of bling, and photos of many of the pieces I saw today are here - http://www.touregypt.net/museum/tutc.htm. 

Ate lunch at a place called Andrea. It was very good. 

You can watch the women make bread in this old stone oven.

Then, went to see the pyramids. I have no words...but I do have photos. Check out my album on Flickr. 

Adventures at the Smithsonian this week

Looked at a lot of military uniforms in the military history section, and First Ladies gowns at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I would have spent more time in there, but that exhibit is very popular and was very crowded, as you can imagine. My favorites were Martha Washington's 1780s gown, Dolly Madison's 1810s gown, Helen Taft's embroidered Chinese Robe and inaugural ball gown.

Also saw THE Star Spangled Banner - the original flag that inspired the words to the song. It's huge, kept in a dark room (for preservation purposes), and awe-inspiring. The flag-maker, Mary Pickersgill, was paid $405.90 - more than most people made in a year at the time - a good living for a seamstress. Good story on: How the Star-Spangled Banner was Made.