Going back in time some 3500 years...
So after much contemplation (wrongly interpreted by some as sheer laziness), we finally paid a visit to the king that was also a queen, daughter, mother, and God's wife even! She's presently sojourning in my neighbourhood, at Kimbell Art Museum. At other times, she resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or simply, the "Met") at the Big Apple.
Originally from Egypt, Hatshepsut is her name, and she is regarded by many Egyptologists as the longest reigning female Pharoah - ruling for about 22 years. I couldn't help but amaze her encouragement of art and architecture, the masterpiece being the Djeser-Djeseru at Deit el-Bahri. The Djeser-Djeseru is a mortuary temple, and considered the symbol of perfect harmony, much before Parthenon came along.
She died while she was still Pharoah, and the reason for her death is still a mystery. Her successor (her step son, Thutmose III ) went on and undid a lot that she had done -- and defaced a majority of symbols that depicted her as a King. What is strange is that this treatment was meted out only to her depiction as the Pharoah. And I'm not the only one who wonders why. :P
Being the fan of souvenirs that I am, I picked up a scarab on the way out. (Remember those bugs in The Mummy?) Scarabs are actually just dung beetles. For those who don't know why they are called dung beetles, faeces is their food, and they roll balls of dung to their burrows. The Egyptians believed this act to be related to the movement of the Sun across the sky, and hence the worship. Time to go wow, again!
I'm glad I stole some time to finally pursue a hobby I've been meaning to kick start for a long time now - studying ancient civilizations. Raised in a family that is deeply interested in history - from archaeology to Sanskrit to Carnatic music, I guess my interest in ancient history is no surprise. We even joke about it in the family sometimes. :P
And of course, many thanks to J for providing the much needed motivation and great company. It feels great to be writing again, too!! :)