Wafaa EL Sadik and Rüdiger Heimlich
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789774168253
- eISBN:
- 9781617978173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774168253.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter details the author's introduction to a group of American women who wished to finance and undertake an excavation in Karnak. These women include television starlet Diane Smith, painter ...
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This chapter details the author's introduction to a group of American women who wished to finance and undertake an excavation in Karnak. These women include television starlet Diane Smith, painter and art dealer Mary Martin, photographer and writer Audrey Topping, former skeet-shooting champion Betje Carlson, and Gypsy Grave, a director of a private archaeological museum in Florida. They were five power women who had pulled strings to get permission for the first all-female archaeological mission. They set up the private Nile Foundation, for which they collected roughly $100,000 in sponsors' money by way of charity and fundraising events. The concession of the project had been obtained through the American Research Center in Egypt, and the standing committee of the antiquities administration had approved it only with the stipulation that it be strictly scientific.Less
This chapter details the author's introduction to a group of American women who wished to finance and undertake an excavation in Karnak. These women include television starlet Diane Smith, painter and art dealer Mary Martin, photographer and writer Audrey Topping, former skeet-shooting champion Betje Carlson, and Gypsy Grave, a director of a private archaeological museum in Florida. They were five power women who had pulled strings to get permission for the first all-female archaeological mission. They set up the private Nile Foundation, for which they collected roughly $100,000 in sponsors' money by way of charity and fundraising events. The concession of the project had been obtained through the American Research Center in Egypt, and the standing committee of the antiquities administration had approved it only with the stipulation that it be strictly scientific.
Wafaa El Saddik and Rüdiger Heimlich
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789774168253
- eISBN:
- 9781617978173
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774168253.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Growing up in Egypt's Nile Delta, the author was fascinated by the magnificent pharaonic monuments from an early age, and as a student dreamed of conducting excavations and working in the Egyptian ...
More
Growing up in Egypt's Nile Delta, the author was fascinated by the magnificent pharaonic monuments from an early age, and as a student dreamed of conducting excavations and working in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. At a time when Egyptology was dominated by men, especially those with close connections to the regime, the author was determined to succeed, and secured grants to study in Boston, London, and Vienna, eventually becoming the first female general director of the country's most prestigious museum. The author launched the first general inventory of the museum's cellars in its more than 100-year history, in the process discovering long-forgotten treasures, as well as confronting corruption and nepotism in the antiquities administration. In this very personal memoir, the author looks back at the history of Egypt and asks, what happened to the country? Where did Nasser's bright new beginning go wrong? Why did Sadat fail to bring peace? Why did the Egyptians allow themselves to be so corrupted by Mubarak? And why was the Muslim Brotherhood able to achieve power? But the author's first concern remains: How can the ancient legacy of Egypt truly be protected?Less
Growing up in Egypt's Nile Delta, the author was fascinated by the magnificent pharaonic monuments from an early age, and as a student dreamed of conducting excavations and working in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. At a time when Egyptology was dominated by men, especially those with close connections to the regime, the author was determined to succeed, and secured grants to study in Boston, London, and Vienna, eventually becoming the first female general director of the country's most prestigious museum. The author launched the first general inventory of the museum's cellars in its more than 100-year history, in the process discovering long-forgotten treasures, as well as confronting corruption and nepotism in the antiquities administration. In this very personal memoir, the author looks back at the history of Egypt and asks, what happened to the country? Where did Nasser's bright new beginning go wrong? Why did Sadat fail to bring peace? Why did the Egyptians allow themselves to be so corrupted by Mubarak? And why was the Muslim Brotherhood able to achieve power? But the author's first concern remains: How can the ancient legacy of Egypt truly be protected?
