in another time

One of the treasures from King Tut's tomb - Small Statue Shrine (1322 B.C.) 

Visual of the day:

I had the experience of visiting the De Young Museum a few weeks ago for the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs special exhibit that ends this month. Most of the 130 displayed artifacts were pretty amazing. It is just very shocking to learn the detail of work that was possible with the type of technology they had three thousand years ago.

This example of the Small Statue Shrine that was found in King Tut's tomb shows the culture, language, style, and story of this young pharoah. The small shrine, no bigger than a tiny shoebox, has movable doors that opens up to a stand for a missing statue that was probably a replica of King Tut. Surrounding this shrine are different images of King Tut with his wife, Ankhesenamun, who is also believed to be his half sister from their father, Akhenaten.

Reflection of the day:

It seems the couple had a good relationship even though they had two stillborn daughters, who were found buried with King Tut. He died before they had any living heir at the tender age of nineteen. I wonder how long they were married and how difficult it was for her to have to marry his successor after his death? Was it possible to have loved her half brother romantically or was it her duty and lack of power to be forced to accept this position?

I'm just glad I don't have to live in those times and we're much more "evolved" and have rights to make our own decisions. We take those basic needs of freedom and rights to speak and act for granted most of the time.

*Many thanks to Tony for keeping me company as we stood in line for 2 hours at 8 am on Saturday for the free tickets that weekend. To Kat for keeping me company during the visit. And Anita for letting me "stand with her" in line.