Egypt's Tutankhamen exhibition is coming to Bahrain next year. Egypt has accepted in principle Bahrain's offer to host the Golden Pharaoh display in April, Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities secretary-general Zahi Hawass said yesterday. He said Bahrain would be the first country in the Arab world and North Africa to hold an exhibition of Egyptian antiquities.

The exhibition will run for several months in Bahrain, he told the Egypt State Information Service.

It is currently in the US, but will move to South Africa before travelling to Bahrain, said Mr Hawass...

'King Tut' coming to Bahrain, Gulf Daily News, Bahrain, Vol. XXIX, No. 232, November 07, 2006....

cf. Previously: 'King Tut' set for Bahrain.

Before a single ticket is sold for " The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt" at the Portland Art Museum, staffers had to clear a series of hurdles nearly as long as the Nile. (OK, maybe not quite that long.)

First, Portland had to compete with several other museums to host the show, which began at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., one of its organizers. The five-year, 11-city tour of the United States includes Boston, Houston and Denver; Portland is the only West Coast stop.

"We first got involved about four years ago," recalls Bill Mercer, curator of Native American and ethnographic art for the Portland Art Museum. "They were looking for a museum not only with the size and resources to handle such a monumental exhibition but also one with a lot of interest in terms of attendance..."

Mounting exhibit proves as monumental as treasures, Brian Libby, The Oregonian, Oregon, USA, November 05, 2006.

Immortal life is a timeless, tantalizing theme

The quest for immortal life.

It's one of the enduring themes of literature, from the ancient and biblical to the modern and contemporary.

And for Oregonians during the next several months, it's also the stuff of fantastical art that they'll be able to see and scrutinize like great views of Mount Hood: a sculpture of the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, Osiris; elaborately painted chests that were supposed to contain the organs of kings and queens stuffed in jars; a boat that's both a decorative object and a ship to sail the limitless space of the universe; a re-creation of the tomb of Thutmose III, a king from the 15th century B.C...

Immortal life is a timeless, tantalizing theme, D.K. Row, The Oregonian, Oregon, USA, November 05, 2006.

Can't-miss treasures

It's a lot of Egyptian art to take in.

Starting Nov. 5 [2006], the Portland Art Museum hosts "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." The extravaganza features 107 pieces of sculpture, decorative objects and funerary art, including a re-creation of an Egyptian tomb.

The show's organizers say it's the largest grouping of antiquities ever loaned by the Egyptian government for a North American art show. It's been on tour since 2002. Portland is its 10th and next-to-last stop, and it will be here until March [2007]...

Can't-miss treasures, The Oregonian, Oregon, USA, November 05, 2006.

You have to shake yourself to remember that many of these works have endured for 3,500 years, from a civilization that lasted for 3,000 years.

Some of the objects in this exhibit were new when the pyramids already were 1,000 years old.

"Most of us tend to have one view of Egypt as sort of a static thing," said Bill Mercer, curator of Native American art at the museum.

"I think it was a very successful civilization that was able to adapt and change."

"The Quest for Immortality" features 107 objects, including gold jewellery, massive stone sculptures and works in wood, many never before shown in public and many never displayed in the United States...

The art of immortality 'Immortality', Ron Cowan, The Salem Statesman Journal, Oregon, USA, November 05, 2006.

Thousands of years ago, the people of the Nile River delta fervently believed they would be reborn. The touring show in the Portland Art Museum from Nov. 5 [2006] through March 4 [2007], " The Quest for Immortality," demonstrates just how obsessed that ancient civilization became with death.

"It so preoccupied their minds, that everything they did in life was preparing them for everlasting life," says curator Bill Mercer.

Seattle was a stop for the original "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibit in the late 1970s, the first American museum blockbuster, which drew more than 8 million patrons over a three-year period. Portland brought another hit, "Splendours of Egypt," to this area in 1998, which drew about 340,000 people over 23 weeks.

The Quest for Immortality compares favourably to those, Mercer says, in that this show has twice as many pieces as "King Tut" and comes with a much more focused theme than "Splendours..."

Exhibit shows 'greatest hits' of EGYPT, Brett Oppergaard, The Columbian, Columbia, USA, November 03, 2006.

Bill Mercer, curator of Native American and ethnographic art at the Portland Art Museum, calls his job "the fun curatorship" because he gets to handle artwork spanning the globe and virtually all of human history.

Mercer specializes in the art of the North American continent — he has studied, written about and lectured on the subject for 20 years. Mercer came to the museum in 1997, and helped to develop the museum's Centre for Native American Art, which is one of the museum's most visited areas.

But Mercer's duties at the museum extend well beyond North America. As the curator in charge of ethnographic art, he is also responsible for the museum's Pre-Columbian and African collections, and often coordinates and manages large visiting shows. Currently, Mercer is overseeing the Portland visit of "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt..."

Curator discusses the back story of the exhibition and the lingering appeal of Egyptian art, Rachel Neugarten, The Oregonian, Oregon , USA, November 05, 2006.

Lectures by Egyptologists expand exhibit's reach

The art for a Big Show like "Quest" is just part of the programming. The Portland Art Museum has planned a slew of informative lectures by respected authorities to complement the show and explain many of its historical aspects. Here's a tipsheet of lectures as well as some important facts on the show.

Nov. 5 [2006]: Lecture with Dr. Zahi Hawass. The academic that Bill Mercer, the Portland curator overseeing the exhibit, calls the Steve Irwin of Egyptology will give a lecture on the show and about his discoveries. Hawass is secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and has discovered roughly 250 mummies. He'll sign copies of his recent book, "The Realm of the Pharaohs..."

Lectures by Egyptologists expand exhibit's reach, The Oregonian, Oregon , USA, November 05, 2006.

Global warming is threatening archaeological sites from Peru to Egypt as well as natural wonders such as the Caribbean's largest coral reef, a U.N. report said on Tuesday.

Heritage sites linked to thousands of years of civilization "may by virtue of climate change very well not be available to future generations," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Program.

Rising sea levels, more frequent storms, erosion and flooding are accelerating damage to heritage sites around the world, according to an Atlas of Climate Change issued on Tuesday during a November 6-17 U.N. global warming conference.

UNEP said fear of cultural losses, such as a Viking camp in Scotland at risk from erosion or rising seas threatening Alexandria in Egypt, was an extra reason for action to rein in a warming widely blamed on human use of fossil fuels.

"These are losses that affect us all," said , co-author of the study...

Global warming said threat to world heritage, Reuters via Yahoo! News, USA, November 07, 2006, via PhDiva.

The young woman in the picture is called Annie. Not her given name of course because Annie lived somewhere between 200 and 300 B.C. in an area of Egypt called Akhmim, about 300 miles south of Cairo.

The area is largely unknown to most of us, although it is believed to be the home of King Tut's grandmother. Annie is part of Dr. Jonathan Elias's project to bring that part of ancient civilization to life. "It is important because there are many questions regarding was it a multi-ethnic culture we know it was but we would like to demonstrate that," said Dr. Elias.

Annie, who was just about 19 when she died, is the fifth Egyptian mummy Dr. Elias is reconstructing.

Back in April, Annie was taken from the Academy of Natural Sciences to Hahnemann Hospital. Without disturbing Annie's wrappings, she was given a CT scan. These images were then sent to a laboratory to produce a skull model. Now, forensic sculptor Frank Bender will start facial reconstruction...

Also includes video footage here: Reconstructing Annie, and twenty-seven images of the CT scan are available here: CT Scan of Annie the Mummy.

Reconstructing Annie, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, October 26, 2006.

Modern Cairo is a city of 18-million people. Like many large cities, residents enjoy the conveniences of technology and availability of culture and nightlife, but struggle with dense gridlock and small spaces.

There is something that clearly distinguishes Egypt's Capital as a unique Metropolis. The sprawling city is a backdrop to one of the most recognizable images in the world the Giza Pyramids.

Thousands of years have weathered both the pyramids and the Sphinx. Tourists are now forbidden from getting too close to the Sphinx, but our guide Hassan let us stand in between its paws. We were able to touch the giant tablet inscribed with stories of encounters the ancient kings had with their Gods...

Also includes video footage.

Tale of Two Cities, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, November 03, 2006.

Across the Nile from our hotel [in Luxor], at the base of red sandy cliffs, lie tombs of kings and queens that date back thousands of years.

The one area called the Valley of the Kings is just that, a valley with dozens of tombs, many of which held the mummies of Egypt's Pharaohs.

Today many of the tombs are open to the public, but there is only one mummy left in the valley. It is probably the most famous mummy in the world: King Tut.

When you hear about the riches found in his tomb, including jewellery, art, food, large pieces of furniture, you might think it is a large area. You would be wrong...

Blog: Day Three in Egypt, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, November 03, 2006.

Their size, beauty and significance are more powerful than any history book or picture can prepare you. Their architectural perfection dominates the sprawling modern city to the East.

"I think Egypt has magic and mystery. If you ask anyone, any place in the world about Egypt they will think right away of the great pyramid," said Dr. Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Upon our arrival to Giza, our guide, Hassan, eagerly shared the lesser known legends of this enchanting historical place. He led us to the front of the pyramids, where we stood in between the paws of the Sphinx — an area closed off to tourists because of the monument's deterioration. We were able to touch the giant slate covered with hieroglyphics, a detailed record of each Kings' encounter with their Gods...

Also includes video footage.

Inside King Tut's Tomb, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, November 02, 2006.

About 400 miles down the Nile from Cairo is a much smaller city called Luxor. This is the home to the Valley of the Kings, an amazing road of tomb after tomb, honouring the ancient Pharaohs.

We arrived here last night on an Egypt Air flight that landed a little before midnight.

Joining us for this leg of the trip is our "fixer" and our good friend Nasser. He is a producer at a local television studio and he has guided us with wonderful skill and patience. He is one of those people who seem to know everyone, and he can talk us through any situation.

And there have been situations. Nothing dangerous, mind you, but situations nonetheless. There is a lot of bureaucracy in Egypt, especially when you are getting access to the country's most famous assets.

One person will sign a piece of paper, and say it is the single document we need. Then the next person will look at that document as if they have never seen such a thing before. There has been some shouting and some bitter-sounding conversation, but at the end of each encounter, we/re a little closer to our goal of the moment...

Blog: Day One in Egypt, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, November 01, 2006.

We arrived Sunday evening after a long journey from Philadelphia. It began at Philadelphia International Airport at 4:00 Saturday afternoon, continued through Frankfurt, Germany early Sunday morning, and ended in Cairo late Sunday afternoon.

Getting into a foreign country with all of the television equipment can often be a slow process. However, we were greeted in Cairo by what is known as a fixer, a local who helps take care of "stuff." And at the airport, we were taken care of. We were whisked through passport control and customs, into a waiting van, and before we knew it, we were at our hotel.

As you can imagine, we were all tired, so after some dinner, it was off to bed...

Action News Arrives in Egypt, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, October 30, 2006.

A Safe Arrival in Luxor

We arrived in Luxor like 3 college students on a road trip, with our backpacks hung on our shoulders.

Our flight arrived just after midnight in this city along the Nile. We will steal a few hours of sleep before heading off to King Tut's tomb in the morning. Ironically, as we search for the ancient tomb we'll be searching for a modern cyber café...

A Safe Arrival in Luxor, John Morris, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, October 31, 2006.

The famed King Tut exhibit is coming to Philadelphia and the Franklin Institute in February, but we are not waiting to become immersed in the wonders of Ancient Egypt.

I am heading there to bring you a taste of it.

It's a 15-hour flight to this historically rich part of the world and getting ready for the flight is just a small part of the preparation for this incredible journey.

My first priority was medical preparation. So I made a visit to travel medicine specialist Jim Branagh at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania...

Also includes video footage.

Action News Goes to Egypt, Erin O'Hearn, 6 ABC News, Pennsylvania, USA, October 27, 2006.

Up until recent years, there had been a scholarly debate among European intellectuals, joined by some Blacks, on what they referred to as the peopling of ancient Egypt. What this question really posed was, “Who were the ancient Egyptians?” Were they Black, white or mulatto, etc?..

I'm not personally a fan of this line of thought but I've posted it for completeness.

Egyptians were Black, not white, Conrad W. Worrill, The Philadelphia Tribune, Pennsylvania, USA, November 03, 2006.