Egyptologist Hala Sayed, who is my private guide for the day, explains that ancient Egyptians imagined the afterlife as not very different from life on Earth. “No cherubs, pearly gates or having dinner with Elvis and Jesus,” she says. It’s an early morning in September, and we’re standing on the nearly empty main floor of the neoclassical and sensationally salmon-hued Museum of Egyptian Antiquities on Cairo’s Tahrir Square before the tour buses have arrived to disgorge their passengers. Tombs, Hala explains, were often painted with everyday scenes—people grinding grain, having sex, brewing beer—and depicted the family members and beloved pets the deceased hoped to see again. This prosaic version of paradise was not due to any lack of imagination (these are the same people who dreamed up the wasp-headed, hippo-bodied goddess Ahti) but because “life was pretty good”, Hala says. “Egypt was heaven.”
Denne historien er fra February - March - April 2022-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveller India.
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Denne historien er fra February - March - April 2022-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveller India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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