Season's Greetings from Luxor!

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! Buon Natale! Feliz Navidad! Kullu sana wintu taibeen!

Whatever your language have a joyous, peaceful and wonderful holiday!

Love, Marie

Beautiful Darkness! Blessed Light!

May your celebration of this season of holidays draw deep from the abundant joy, fierce hopes, and enduring traditions of all of our ancestors...

New Discoveries at Karnak Temple

I wondered why Steven Stanek from National Geographic was seen last week in the CH library in the company of my boss, Dr. Raymond Johnson. This article (click on the title) explains everything.

Here's a portion of the interview with Dr. Johnson:

W. Raymond Johnson, an Egyptologist at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago who has visited the site, said the discovery shows the expertise of ancient Egyptian builders.

"Being good engineers and practical, [ancient Egyptians knew] that to build something so big so close to the Nile, you have to have reinforcement in front of it. … It stopped any erosion of the Nile River bank."

The find sheds new light on the ancient city of Thebes, of which Karnak was the religious center, he added.

"We've assumed the ancient landscape in Thebes is relatively unchanged, and we have to completely reevaluate that now," Johnson said.

"It really gives us pause when we make certain assumptions and then find out they are completely wrong."

That's my boss!

Zombies in Upper Egypt!!

Our friend Renée Friedman at Hierakonpolis has struck again! She has a wickedly developed sense of the absurd, and this article is a case in point (click on the title of this post).


Here is Renée talking to the group from Chicago House about the restoration of the mudbricks of the Fort at Hierakonpolis.


A view of the Fort...

In Memoriam - Washoe (1965-2007)

I was saddened to read of the death of Washoe, the chimpanzee who learned to use American Sign Language under the tutelage of cognitive researchers R. Allen and Beatrix T. Gardner. This occured while I was in college and I was fascinated by the whole experiment due to its linguistic and philosophical implications. I even wrote a paper for my "Philosophy of Man" course. I felt a real psychic link with her and with Koko the kitten-loving gorilla who learned more than 1,000 sign language words during research at Stanford University. Rest in peace, sweet Washoe...and may you find Heaven to be a place where you can tickle and be tickled to your heart's content...

ICanHasCheezburger Factory Strikes Again!

For those among us who are guardians of the people's right to look at anything they damn well please on the Internet! (Click on the title to see what I'm talking about...)


In LOL-Kitteh Speak...Miz Otizz her sez "K, weyz 2 go!!"

Face to Face with the Boy King

Click on the title to read about a first-time likeness of the face of Tutankhamun created by archaeologists. The likeness will go on display with his mummy later this year.

A "Fruit"ful Discovery in Tut's Tomb

This colossal statue of King Tutankhamun (at 17 ft. 4 in., the tallest ancient Egyptian statue in the Western Hemisphere, and weighing in at approximately 12,000 pounds) can be found at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago. I took this photo during my Egyptology tour of Chicago in early August. The statue was discovered near Medinet Habu (west bank at Luxor--ancient Thebes) in the Temple of Aye and Horemheb in 1930.

Below are two photos showing, somewhat poorly I'm afraid, the placard attached to the statue. (If you click on either of them you will open an enlarged view which, of course, is much easier to read.) It's a fascinating story!

The story of the recent discovery of eight baskets of doum fruits (from the doum palm) in Tut's tomb is available by clicking the title of this post.

Nefertiti Staying Put?

Further "Tales of Zahi Against the World"! Germany has decided not to allow the famous bust of Nefertiti to return to Egypt for a three-month exhibition--and now Zahi wants the bust back for good. (Click on the title of this post to read the full article.) Below is a shot of a copy of the original bust costumed for Christmas. This replica sits on top of the piano in the tea room at Chicago House.

Tut-Tut-Tut-ing Along...

This is moi in front of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. I was lucky enough to be invited to view the tomb on a special pass issued to the young daughter of my friend Lisa Giddy in the Spring of 2005. Chloe was allowed to bring 5 people along with her. The truly wonderful part of the experience was that we were the only people in the tomb! Amazing!!

Click the title of this post to read an article about the latest Tut discovery.

X(ray) Marks the Spot...

An interesting NYTimes article about using a CAT scan to find out more about a 2000-year-old mummy. Not that such a procedure is uncommon, but that it's a collaboration between a museum and a hospital is a bit unusual.

This photo (l.), which I took at the Field Museum in Chicago (Aug. 5, 2007), shows how some amulets would be placed on a mummy. Below is a mummy which is displayed in the mastaba-tomb of Unis-ankh, also in the Field Museum.

More to come from my Egyptology tour of Chicago with Glyphdoctors' Nicole Hansen...

"Toe" the Line?

Click on the title for the latest info on ancient Egyptian prosthetics! Sorry, but I don't seem to have any photos of mummy toes to illustrate this post ;-{

Daddy Dearest?

Click the title of this post to see the latest from Zahi (via National Geographic) about the mystery mummy in KV55.

[This not-very-sharp photo of a bust of Akhenaten is one I took in the Egyptian Rooms at the Louvre Museum in May 2005.]

Palace of the Legion of Honor (San Francisco)

A Day in the City
Originally uploaded by Gibna Kebira.

Well, I'm chuffed! This photo has been selected for inclusion in the entry about the Legion of Honor in the Schmap San Francisco Guide (online) 3rd edition.

Mummy Dearest...Revisited

Click the title of this post to see an "opinion" about the latest Zahi extravaganza!

Hatshepsut's Mummy Found?

Head Shot
Originally uploaded by Gibna Kebira.

This is a photo I took at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri. Check out the latest buzz about her mummy by clicking on the title of this post.

A (soon-to-be) Published Photograph!

This photo of the Travertines at Pamukkale, Turkey will appear in "Bluelist 2008"! I've just signed an agreement with Lonely Planet Publications--and they're going to pay me for its use!!

Settling In

I'm back in California testing my newly acquired sheesha (shisha) or water-pipe or hookah or narghile packed with inaugural mint tobacco! I've usually smoked the ubiquitous apple sheesha (can refer either to the water-pipe or the tobacco) but I've branched out...

Now for a nice cup of helba tea (aka fenugreek, often served in Egyptian cafés as a companion to the sheesha)...

Moi et Champollion

Moi et Champollion
Originally uploaded by Gibna Kebira.

I'm on my way back to California via Paris. We spent the day yesterday in Père Lachaise Cemetery, and I made a point of paying hommage to "decoder" Champollion (you know–the Rosetta Stone, hieroglyphs...). I think it's also great that he was a municipal librarian. Only the best and the brightest!

Easter Greetings!

Easter Greetings!
Originally uploaded by Gibna Kebira.

Wishing you "new life" and an abundance of joy!