Met returns stolen Egyptian art

by Sean McLachlan on

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced this week that it will return a fragment of Egyptian sculpture to its homeland. Unlike the bust of Nefertiti or the recently returned frescoes that the Louvre gave up, the Egyptians weren’t calling for its return for months or years. In fact, the Met bought the item from a collector with the specific intent of repatriating it.

The move is being seen as an olive branch offered by the Met’s new director Thomas Campbell, and another victory for Egyptian head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, who’s been getting tough with museums who own stolen Egyptian artifacts.

The artifact is a fragment of a naos, a shrine in the holy of holies of an Egyptian temple. It was dedicated to the 12th dynasty pharaoh Amenemhat I, who ruled from 1991 to 1962 BC, and was taken from a temple at Karnak, shown here.

History and art buffs face huge temptation when they enter an antiquities shop. Beautiful works of art and evocative everyday items from ancient civilizations are available for purchase, but this history and art buff has always resisted temptation. Much of what you see is either fake or stolen (witness the large numbers of Iraqi and Afghani artifacts on sale these past few years) and purchasing them encourages the destruction of irreplaceable archaeological sites by artifact hunters.

Once in Palmyra, Syria, a guy tried to sell me some “Roman” coins made of aluminum! Unfortunately the fakes are not always so easy to detect, as there’s a major worldwide industry making new things look old. Even if they are real artifacts, there’s a good chance they were stolen sometime in the past.

So congratulations to the Met and Dr. Hawass for a job well done. It’s a shame the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities is such a mess, but Dr. Hawass is working on fixing that too.

Photo courtesy of mikescrivener from the Gadling Flickr pool. Check out his really cool series from Egypt here.

Cycling the Silk Road

by Kraig Becker on

Cycling tours have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially amongst adventure travelers who are looking to explore the world from the seat of their bikes. One of the leaders in organizing these kinds of adventure cycling trips has always been Tour d’Afrique Ltd, the creative minds behind such epic rides as their namesake Tour d’Afrique and the Vuelta Sudamericana. The company has even launched a website called DreamTours that allows us to design and plan our own cycling adventures, leaving all the logistics to their travel experts.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep us happily peddling our way around the globe, the Tour d’Afrique team is busily preparing for another long distance ride for 2010 that will cover the entire Silk Road, starting in Istanbul, Turkey and ending in Xi’an, China. The ride will cover more than 6650 miles over 16 weeks time, crossing through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as riders follow one of the most famous and important trade routes of all time, a route that was also explored by such historical figures as Alexander the Great, Marco Polo, and Genghis Khan.

Some of the highlights of the journey will include passing through an amazing variety of landscapes, from including snow capped mountains and desolate open plains. Travelers will get the opportunity to camp below sea level in the arid deserts of the Xinjiang Province in western China, while also ascending to dizzying heights as they climb along the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan, which rises well above 15,000 feet, offering a challenge for both the heart and the legs. The ancient cities of Samarqand, Bukhara, and Merv will be stops along the way as well, offering refuge from the road and a chance to explore marketplaces that have been bustling with shoppers for centuries.







All told, this cycling tour will put riders in the saddle for a total of 92 days, covering an average of roughly 70 miles per day. There will also be 22 rest days, and one day of travel by ferry across the Caspian Sea, bringing the total number of days on the Silk Road to 114. That’s quite a commitment for any traveler, but fortunately the route is broken down into seven stages, so even if you can’t make the full ride, you can still have the opportunity to experience part of the adventure by riding one of those sections instead. The cost for the full trip is €8500, but the company is currently running an early-bird special that cuts €400 from the price when you book the trip before November 15th. Pricing for the individual stages can be found on this web page near the bottom.

The Silk Route Tour is an amazing cycling tour that combines culture, history, and adventure into one spectacular trip that is sure to be a life altering experience. The ride gets underway on May 22nd of next year, so get training now and prepare to join in on this once in a lifetime experience

Edgar Allan Poe travel for Halloween weekend

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though Edgar Allan Poe’s funeral do-over in Baltimore was a couple weeks ago, there are several locations where it’s not too late to pay tribute to this literary master of horror. Poe, a traveler himself, moved between Boston, Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia and Baltimore, plus a few towns in between. Because several of the Poe-related landmarks still exist, it’s possible to follow his trail from his birth to his death.

Given that this is the 200th year of his birth, why not pay Poe tribute by heading to one of these locations for a Halloween weekend remembrance?

Bring a copy of his short stories or poems with you to add to the ambiance. Make sure “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” are among them: some of the stops are where they were written.

First stop, Boston:

  • Poe was born on Carver Street where an historical marker denotes the location of his birthplace. Poe was born to actor parents January 19, 1809
  • Fort Independence at Boston Harbor, now a state park, is where Poe enlisted as a private at age 18 in order to support himself. This was after he dropped out of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the next stop on this Poe tour.

Virginia was an important state at various points in Poe’s life.

In Charlottesville:

  • At the University of Virginia, you can visit Poe’s dormitory room at 13 West Range. It holds artifacts like the quill pen Poe might have used. His top hat and green coat are part of the Poe legacy the university has maintained.

In Richmond:

  • St. John’s Church, 2401 East Broad St., Richmond. The church graveyard is where Poe’s mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe is buried, as well as Thomas Willis White, his boss when Poe worked at the Southern Literary Messenger.
  • Elmira Shelton House, 2407 East Grace Street, Richmond. Even though Poe courted Shelton for several years until and she agreed to marry him, they never did have the wedding. He died in Baltimore 10 days before the ceremony was to take place. This was where Shelton lived when Poe came back to Richmond.
  • Talavera, 2315 West Grace St., Richmond. Once the home of writer Susan Talley, a friend of Poe’s sister, this is where Poe gave a reading a few weeks before his death. He and his sister Rosalie visited this house often.
  • Poe Statue on the grounds of Virginia’s state capitol building in Richmond.

In Petersburg:

  • The Hiram Haines House at 12 Bank St. in Petersburg is where Poe spent his honeymoon. Back then the building was a coffee house

Other Virginia locations are covered in Poe Revealed where I found the above information. This site is an unusual glance into American history, as well as, an interesting round-up of Poe inspired places.

Next stop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

  • Head to Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site. This house is where Poe lived and wrote for part of the seven years he lived in Philadelphia. While he was in Philadelphia, Poe penned: “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” among others.

Last stop, Baltimore, Maryland.

  • To orient yourself to Poe’s life in Baltimore–and elsewhere, start off at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. He lived in the house from 1883 to 1885 before he moved to Richmond. One of the more unusual displays at this museum are several of the bottles of cognac that have been left on Poe’s grave over the years. This mysterious “Poe Toaster” started paying respect in 1949. Three red roses are always included in the offering.
  • For a real creep-out part of the tour, stop by Church Hospital, formerly Washington College Hospital. This hospital is where Poe died after possibly being drugged and beaten. His death wasn’t easy. According to the description of physician’s notes, he wandered in and out of consciousness making morbid outbursts each time he was conscious.
  • At the Enoch Pratt Free Library, you’ll find several Poe artifacts, letters, poetry and photographs. The collection also includes a lock of Poe’s hair and a piece of his coffin.
  • As an end point of this Poe tour, linger at Poe’s grave in the graveyard at Westminster Hall. The hall is a converted Gothic style church. Of course Poe would be buried next to a Gothic church. The gravestone is not the original and its location is approximate to where it is thought he was buried. When Poe died, he didn’t get much of a send off. Only 10 people (or less) attended his funeral.

Baltimore has been making up to Poe by throwing Nevermore 2009, a year-long, city-wide festival of events for the 200th year of his birth.

Istanbul’s hammams becoming more popular

by Sean McLachlan on

In Ottoman times they were the daily ritual of the wealthy and middle class. Hammams were a place to unwind and socialize while getting clean. But in the twentieth century with the rise of internal plumbing and changing attitudes, the traditional hammam declined. Many decayed or were converted to other uses.

Now hammams are becoming popular again. Turks are once again interested in their Ottoman past, and with the recent death of the last heir to the Ottoman throne, that nostalgia will probably increase. Cagaloglu, built in Istanbul in 1741, is on sale for $16 million. Another one in Istanbul’s Aya Kepi neighborhood, dating to the 16th century and built by the famous Ottoman architect Sinan, is on sale cheap for $3 million, but needs extensive remodeling. At the moment it’s being used to store lumber! Hopefully someone will buy this historic building and reopen it as a hammam. There’s also been a spate of new building, with hammams appearing in shopping malls and hotels.

While the big historic ones in Istanbul are impressive, going to a small-town hammam in Cappadocia was one of the more memorable experiences of my month in Turkey. It was so small, in fact, that they didn’t have separate men’s and women’s sections. Men and women went on different days. The smaller crowd made the whole experience more relaxing and the tellak (masseur) sure knew his business. As I lay on a warm stone bench he squashed me into the rock, kneading my muscles until tension fled in terror. The best feeling was when he stopped! It was only then that I realized how relaxed I was.

Lounging around a hammam is a great way to spend a couple of hours. So if you’re headed to Turkey, try a hammam. The small-town ones are more sedate and less expensive, but the big popular ones in Istanbul need support too.

Get out and go: Events around the world (October 28-31)

by Brenda Yun on

It’s time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly spooky selection of happenings. It is Halloween weekend after all. If you’re close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!

  • Denmark – Since the first Music Harvest in 1985, the festival has presented contemporary music from the USA, Russia, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Finland, Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic countries, as well as from Denmark. The event takes place in Odense. It begins Wednesday, October 28 and will continue until November 7.
  • Cambodia – Coronation Day a major religious holiday all over Cambodia and commemorates King Norodom Sihamoni’s Coronation. This event takes place this Thursday, October 29th.
  • Ottawa – One World Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers and the public to exchange ideas and information about issues of social justice, human rights and the environment. The event begins Thursday October 29 and continues until October 30.
  • Hong Kong – Wine and Dine Festival is part of the a range of food and wine events in Hong Kong. The event begins this Friday, October 30 and continues until November 1.
  • Las Vegas – The Professional Bull Riders Finals take place this Friday, October 30 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The event is followed by the National Rodeo Finals later in the year and will continue until November 8.
  • Transylvania – Halloween in Transylvania is a special event that will be held this Saturday, October 31,. The festival includes tours, shows and celebrations that follow the footsteps of Bram Stoker’s novel character, Count Dracula.

If you make it to one of these events, let us know how it was. If you know of an even that’s coming up, please let us here at Gadling know and we’ll be sure to include it in the next “Get out and go” round-up.

‘Til next week, have a great Halloween weekend.