Major new exhibition at British Museum: Egyptian Book of the Dead

by Sean McLachlan on


For four thousand years it was the cornerstone of Egyptian religion. It started as a few prayers said in prehistoric times before a body was laid to rest in the desert next to the Nile. As the civilization in Egypt grew the prayers and spells became more elaborate, as did other rites for the dead. They were written inside pyramids and other tombs. Eventually the various rituals and spells were gathered together to create what we call the Book of the Dead. It’s made up of numerous chapters in no set order. Individual chapters or groups of chapters were written on tombs, sarcophagi, and rolls of papyrus. The book survived, with various changes and variations that Egyptologists are still puzzling out, until the Christian era.

One of the foremost institutions for collecting and studying the Book of the Dead is the British Museum in London. Now the museum is opening up its archives for an exhibition of its amazing collection of this esoteric masterpiece. Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead features items rarely if ever seen by the public, including the Greenfield Papyrus, the longest scroll of the Book of the Dead at 37 meters. Other items like sarcophagi and tomb figurines will give a complete view of the ancient Egyptian cult of the dead.

The papyri are elaborately illustrated with scenes of the gods and the toils a spirit must go through in the afterlife. In the above scene Anubis leads Hunefer, a dead scribe, to a scale, where his heart will be weighed against the feather of truth. A wicked heart will be heavier than the feather and the monster Ammut, crouching below the scale, will eat it. This image is from the Hunefer Papyrus and will also be on display at the exhibition.

For a taste of what you’ll see, check out the online scan of the complete Papyrus of Ani.

Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead runs from 4 November 2010 to 6 March 2011.

[Photo courtesy Jon Bodsworth via Wikimedia Commons]

Driving from London to Cape Town for charity

by Kraig Becker on

When it comes to epic road trips, it’s tough to beat the one that Mac Mackenney, Chris Rawlings and Steve Mackenney set out on last weekend. The adventurous trio of Brits hit the road in their trusty Range Rover Discovery in hopes of breaking the speed record for driving from London to Cape Town, South Africa. In order to accomplish that feat, they’ll need to reach their destination in less than 13 days, 8 hours, and 48 minutes.

The journey will take the men through three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and into 21 countries, covering more than 10,000 miles in the process. If they hope to set a new record however, they’ll have little time for sightseeing. The three men will take turns driving, and will barely stop at all along their route.

While they are undertaking their Max Adventure for the challenge of it, they’re also looking to do some good as well. Mac, Steve, and Chris are hoping to raise funds for the Help For Heroes organization, a charity foundation dedicated to offering practical assistance to British soldiers that have been injured in the line of duty. The trio hopes to raise as much as £10,000 (Roughly $15,500) during their trip.

You can follow the progress of the expedition on the team’s website, which includes two clocks, one showing the elapsed time of their drive and another showing how much time they have left to beat the old record. After a week of driving, the boys are in Africa and speeding south, but they still have a long way to go before they reach Cape Town.

This seems like the ultimate road trip to me. Lets grab some drinks and munchies and load up in the Land Rover!

Name That Poop! Test your animal tracking skills

by Annie Scott on


So, you think you’re a decent animal tracker? Well, then you must know a lot about a certain off-color subject: poop.

Sorry to get scatological, and I hope you’re not eating, but let’s put your excrement identification skills to the test with a little Friday diversion: Name That Poop. Check out the pics below and their descriptions. The answer key is at the bottom, and the animals are spelled backwards to keep you from accidentally cheating.

Here’s your hint: these were all taken in Zambia in South Luangwa National Park. Good luck!Exhibit A:

Small, dark brown pellets.

Exhibit B:

Again, these are small, dark brown pellets, but this animal uses their dung to mark their territory. The entire pack will “go” in the same place, resulting in a large pile like this.

Exhibit C:

Wrinkly poop.

Exhibit D:

One of my safari guides jokingly referred to this mystery animal’s dung as “muffins.”

Exhibit E:

Here’s another hint: you can tell this poop came from either a carnivore or an omnivore. How? That white powdery color comes from ground up bones.

Exhibit F:

This extra white poop comes from an animal who clearly eats a lot of bones.

Exhibit G:

This animal actually beats his/her own poop into the ground with his/her tail. A local legend says that it’s to prove to God that he/she hasn’t been eating any fish. The story goes: the animal felt there were too many animals on land and asked God’s permission to live in the water. God said “You are too big, you’ll eat all my fish.” The animal swore he/she wouldn’t, and to this day he/she spreads out his/her own dung on the ground to show God there are no fishbones.

Answer Key:
A. Ukup
B. Alapmi
C. Olaffub
D. Elephant
E. Noil
F. Aneyh
G. Oppih

How did you do? Tell us below!

[Photos by Annie Scott.]

This trip was sponsored by Abercrombie & Kent and Sanctuary Retreats, but the ideas and opinions expressed in this article are 100 percent my own. In fact, I bet this is probably not what they expected me to write.

Marriott Cairo to renovate main palace

by Grant Martin on

Gadling Labs spent a good chunk of time in Cairo this past September so we perked up when we heard about an update to our favorite Marriott. The hotel, splayed on the central island of Zamalek, is a calm, warm slice of history in the stir-crazy beehive of Egypt. Apart from two looming towers and a massive courtyard, the hotel is centered around an ornate, historical palace, originally built in 1869 to house guests for the Suez Canal opening.

That palace is the focus of the big news this fall, as the Marriott has just announced a comprehensive renovation to the building as well as several other changes to the property. Big improvements will be made to facets of the palace, which includes over a dozen meeting rooms, the Omar Khayyam Casino, a dozen places to eat and drink and a battery of shops — all while keeping the historical angles of the property well-preserved.

In addition to the main palace improvements, a swath of rooms in the west wing will be eviscerated to make space for a larger, more comprehensive spa facility. Those updates are scheduled to finish some time in 2012.

All total, the full renovation should add a great deal of improvement to an already outstanding property on the banks of the Nile. We can’t wait to get back to check things out.

The inside of a sausage fruit

by Annie Scott on

If you’ve ever been to Africa, you’ve probably seen the sausage trees (Kigelia pinnata). These trees, which you can see in the video below, bear dozens of large, fleshy “sausage fruits.” As you can see at right, the sausage fruits are actually pretty large. They’re a favorite snack among hippos, especially in the dry month of October when there’s little else to eat.

When you gaze up in uncomfortable wonder at the big, weird, bulbous fruits, it’s hard to imagine what they look like on the inside. Are you ready to find out? Then watch the video below, wherein my Sanctuary Retreats guide John cuts one open for us to see. It’s surprisingly not that easy to get into (I had assumed they were mushy). Hippo teeth may not be made for bone-crushing like a lion’s, but their jaws are strong.

Don’t mind the man with the enormous rifle; if you’re on an Abercrombie & Kent game drive and decide to get out of your safari vehicle and explore on foot, he comes standard. We are told he’s never had to use the rifle to protect visitors, but having him there makes you feel a bit safer when you see lions across the plain.

[Photo and video by Annie Scott.]

This trip was sponsored by Abercrombie & Kent and Sanctuary Retreats, but the ideas and opinions expressed in this article are 100% my own.