Egypt is a popular tourist destination with its rich history and culture. During the early 1800s a stream of intrepid travelers visited the country, their accounts of the sights and people finding fascinated readers back in England. Artists such as David Roberts visited and produced art that still stands as a record of Egypt’s past.
Adventurers took art home, and some of the original pieces can still be found in the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Around 1860 Thomas Cook started leading organized tours down the Nile while Cairo attracted a large number of foreign businessmen eager to conduct trade and make a huge profit.
Lynx to the Pharaoh takes place in 1835, Egypt in the fictitious oasis of Patria. Lady Charlotte Webster has accompanied her stepbrother William and his friend Justin to Egypt after the death of her husband. Sethmet, our hero suspects the men are searching for the tomb of the cat and want the pharaoh’s treasure—the treasure that he has sworn to protect.
One of the best known tombs is that of Tutankhamun, which Howard Carter discovered in 1922. Archaeologists are still finding lost tombs and other interesting finds, and I’m sure they’ll continue to do so for some time.
There has always been talk of curses involved when it comes to disturbing tombs. In Lynx to the Pharaoh, Sethmet’s family is charged with protecting the pharaoh and his tomb. Failure means death at the hands of a curse and the entire family will lose their feline shape shifter powers.
I can imagine the lure of finding treasure and can understand that experts would discount talk of curses. William and Justin certainly don’t believe in the curse and are determined to find the tomb of the cat. They want the riches and fame the discovery of the tomb will bring.
Imagine you’re a 19th century adventurer and you’ve traveled to Egypt, determined to find a lost tomb. Would a curse scare you off? How long would your determination last? How long would you continue your search before you gave up and went home? And what do you think of Tutankhamun’s mask?
Source: Lonely Planet, Egypt
Both photos taken at Egyptian Museum
Photo 1: jars containing organs i.e. mummy’s organs.
Photo 2: Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask
Note – I’ll announce the winner of the ARC at the end of the day (my day in NZ)
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Great link to the artist, Shelley – I love his work. Hmm…would I be wary of curses? I would think that as a science-minded type (not me, of course, but the hypothetical archeologist version of me) I would pay attention to the story of the curse to find clues to real-world booby traps.
by Julia Smith June 29th, 2009 at 6:29 amGreat artwork. I don’t know about believing in curses. I’m not very superstitious. It would depended on how much I felt about the art to keep looking for it. Have a great day.
by Roberta Harwell June 29th, 2009 at 8:57 amWow. Thanks for the photos and links! As for curses… I’d like to think that I’d be able to hold off my immediate and irrational impulse to flee, but it would probably depend somewhat on what kinds of scary things happened to me and whether I was searching alone or if I had a partner or team to assist. I’d be much more likely to skedaddle if I were on my lonesome!
by Fedora June 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pmI’ve watched The Mummy so many times, I think it’s an automatic ::shudder:: to be in a tomb alone and to think I hear things.
Nope, I’ll admit to being a girly girl and would not stick around for long. And if there are spiders and stuff…you’ll feel the breeze and I tear out of there.
As for tut’s mask..if it’s accurate? He wore more makeup than I do. LOL
by Michele June 29th, 2009 at 4:56 pmAnd better looking…
the odd thing is that chin ornament. There is this tribe I saw on TV that uses wooden somethingorothers that pierce their lower lips and look just like that? So who thought of doing that look first, the Egyptians or the Natives in the jungles of …wherever that show was about.
Interesting thought about connections, yes?
Anyone who ventures into a recently opened tomb would have to make certain there is sufficient oxygen present. The plants that were placed in with the mummies tend to produce a type of dried fungus that can prove fatal if inhaled.
Very interesting post Shelley.
by Barbara Martin June 29th, 2009 at 7:38 pmJulia – it’s a difficult question, isn’t it? As Fedora mentioned I wouldn’t want to be on my own because my imagination would take flight!
Roberta – I think you’re coming with me. You seem very brave.
by Shelley Munro June 29th, 2009 at 9:47 pmMichele – the mask is solid gold and evidently it’s very heavy. I’m not sure what the chin bit is. I always assumed it was an ornamental beard of sorts.
Barbara – good point about the oxygen. The sand is always shifting as well so in most cases lots of digging was required.
by Shelley Munro June 29th, 2009 at 9:49 pm