Book Review : The Hadrian Enigma - A Forbidden History

The Hadrian Enigma - is a story of love, intrigue, politics, and scandal set in pagan Rome and Egypt, about 130 years after Christ.

The story is based on real characters and falls in the genre of speculative fiction. It starts with the discovery of the body of the Bythinian youth Antinous rumored to be Caesar Hadrian's lover or eromenos. While history says that his death was an accidental drowning in the Nile, George Gardiner weaves a story of intrigue around the incident that is quite entrancing.

The tale is revealed as a series of depositions to Special Investigator Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus who is charged by Caesar, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Antinous within 2 days.

Within the first few pages, it seems the suspect is so evident, that you wonder why the story runs to 476 pages, but as you read along, you realise there are many more players in the mix.

Gardiner has written an interesting and gripping story, but I do wish the editing was tighter. Given that large parts of the book are third person reports, a lot of the minute details included seem superfluous and out of place. He seems to have suffered from a typical writers problem of having done extensive research and then wanting to include as much of the details as possible into the end product.

The language keeps oscillating even when the same person is speaking, from high brow Latin and Greek peppered sentences (sending one scurrying to wikipedia and dictionary.com) to American colloquialisms like "that guy".

Font sizes change suddenly and inexplicably, quite often. Words are underlined for emphasis, which left me feeling like I was reading a manuscript or a draft, rather than a final copy.

While the novel is based on the same sex relationship of Caesar Hadrian and Antinous (currently deified as the God of Homosexuality by some) and marketed as a male-male romance novel, it isn't a turn off to the average reader who wants to read it as a mystery novel. What is vexing though, is the repeated use of the word "crutch" when the author actually means "crotch". Whether this is a problem of the "spell check" software or new slang (I checked urbandictionary.com which did not imply any such meaning to the word - crutch), I'm not sure.

Its an extremely readable story, shedding insight into the life and times of a not-as-renowned Caesar, who had one of the most peaceful and prosperous reigns of his dynasty. It's a page turner, once you get past the initial Greek and Latin terms. I just wish the editing could have been tighter. Then this book would have really stood out for me.

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Shajar al-Durr - The Only Sultana of Egypt

Shajar al-Durr was the only female Sultana to have ruled Egypt for 80 days in 1257 A.D.

She was of Turkish origin and was originally a slave in the harem of the Caliph of Baghdad. She was later gifted to the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and Syria who fell in love with her and married her.

On the Sultan's death, his son took over. The son alienated the Mamluk slaves, who soon assassinated him and the step mother Shajar al Durr was proclaimed as Sultana.

Several months later-- due to political pressure for a male sultan-- Shajar al-Durr married an important Mamluk officer, Aybak. Together, they initiated the first Mamluk Dynasty of Egypt and Syria. They shared power for seven years. She thus was a Sultana of Ayyubid Egypt and also the co-founder of the Mamluk dynasty.

She later murdered Aybak, her second husband when she discovered that he had been plotting against her. She was subsequently beaten to death with shoes by the rest of Aybak's concubines.

To date, to the best of my knowledge, she has been the only female ruler of Egypt other than Cleopatra and Hatchepsut.

Her tomb can be visited even today in Cairo. My friend Camel, who is extremely knowledgeable on these matters (location and history of various monuments in Cairo) gave me these directions:

Dear Kim, I visited the Tomb of Shajar al-Durr before, and it sure is around Ibn Tulun Mosque, a walking distance from it. It is not the most pleasant of neighbourhoods, but the locals know the place, and they call it "Obbet el-Sitt Shagaret el-Durr". Just before Ibn Tulun, there is a street called al-Khalifa. Ask anyone to point the direction. If they don't know, ask them for the Mosque of al-Sayyeda Sakina (it's in al-Khalifa Street). Walk that street till you reach al-Sayyeda Sakina Mosque, then go on straight ahead in the same street, and you will find the Tomb of Shajar al-Durr to your left. If you go on in this street, you will reach Midan al-Sayyeda Nafisa, and you can visit her mosque too. Enjoy! Camel - Keeper of the Temple

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Travel Report: A Short Trip to Egypt

Being in Egypt for the last 18 months, I receive a lot of requests from friends asking what they should plan in their itinerary in Egypt. We have been here for ages and manage to do a lot more than an average tourist can hope to accomplish unless they are the type with endless vacation time)

This article is written in my 18 year old sisters voice. So it may not read like anything I have written before, but please bear with me. Its a new style, I'm experimenting with. Comments on the style are welcome, provided they follow the Desicritics code of conduct :)

I approach the city of Cairo from the air and the first thing I see is the river Nile, which shimmers and glistens catching the rays of the rising sun. I am lucky enough to be on the left of the plane and catch my first view of the Pyramids of Giza, right outside the city which still stand majestically even after 5000 years – a silent testimony to the grandeur and glory of ancient Egyptian civilization. We circle and then land. It's been over 5 hours since I got on this flight & I’m ready to come back to earth. I rush through Customs and baggage claim, eager to meet my sister (who currently lives in Egypt with her husband)

We then drove back to my sisters house, while she pointed out a few statues, an obelisk and some other famous constructions along the way. Cairo pretty much resembles Bombay. The Shanty towns, crowding, pollution and above all non-observance of any rules related to traffic.

Our first visit was to Saqqara, the site of the Step Pyramid. The Step Pyramid is the oldest and the first of the Pyramidal Structures from which all other Pyramids evolved (Tombs of early Egyptian kings were flat mounds called mastabas) The step pyramid was designed to serve as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens.


We then proceeded to Giza, the place of THE Pyramids. The pyramids of Giza are the only remaining wonder of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. The Pyramids were built by Khufu, his son Khafre and Khafre's son Menkaure. The biggest and tallest Pyramid of all (the Great Pyramid, as it is referred to) is the Pyramid of Khufu. The Sphinx (built by Khafre) was supposed to guard the pyramids.


The next day we went to the Egyptian Museum. This place is filled with artifacts taken from various ages. Most notable of what I saw were the innumerable gold treasures taken from King Tut-Ankh-Amun’s tomb and the mummies of about 30 famous kings and queens.

We spent the next few days visiting the Citadel, which is the old city enclosed by a huge wall built by Saladin. We climbed inside the wall and visited the beautiful Mohammed Ali Mosque (Incidentally Cairo has the most number of mosques compared to any other city in the world).

We visited quite a few old Coptic Churches (Egypt has a lot of significant churches along the path taken by Mary and Joseph when they fled to Egypt after the birth of Christ) and a Synagogue .


We finally went to the Khan-el-Khalili market. We climbed the Bab Zuwayla – one of the 3 remaining gates of the original walled city – and both its minarets (about 8 floors high) and had a wonderful view of the whole city around. You get all sorts of hand crafted items in this market – hookahs, colourful tents, Pharaonic souvenirs, galabeyas and belly dancing outfits to name just a few

We also went to Fayoum Oasis and took a boat ride to observe the water birds. I also rolled down a sand dune thrice near the Oasis which was loads of fun (It was the only safe place to do this as there were no scorpions in this part of the desert)

The next day we took a flight to Luxor to embark on a 5 day cruise on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan stopping along the way to see places of Interest. After breakfast, we boarded a Bus to go to the Temples of Karnak and Luxor. (The Ancient Egyptian Kings built temples to Glorify the Gods / themselves) One of the biggest reasons these temples / monuments are almost intact is weather oriented. As it hardly ever rains in Egypt, the low humidity has protected the structures except for the ravages of time over 5000 + years.

After Spending around 2 hours at Karnak, we drove to the temple of Luxor. The Temples of Karnak & Luxor are about 3 Miles apart. During the reign of the Pharaohs they were connected by an avenue lined with Sphinxes on both sides. The Pharaoh used to go in a grand procession from one temple to the Other. Today you can find about 40-50 metres of Sphinxes before each temple. Civilization has crept in in-between with Houses and roads.


We left on the next day to the West Bank & started with the Valley of the Kings where most of the Pharaohs are buried. King Tut's tomb and treasure was found here. We visited the 3 tombs opened for that day. These tombs are shafted deep into the mountains and are decorated with a lot of paintings from the book of the dead on the walls and ceilings. Some of the colours can still be seen today .

Next stop was the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. She is famous for declaring herself as Pharaoh and ruling as one, depicting herself as male (with a false beard) in all the representations around her temple. She was recently in the news for her mummy being successfully identified.


After that we got back and set Sail for Edfu where we visited the Temple dedicated to Horus.

From here we sailed to Kom Ombo crossing the locks at Esna which was an interesting experience to say the least. As we waited for our turn to cross the locks at Esna, we were besieged by rug sellers in tiny boats who surrounded our moored boat and engaged everyone on board with hectic and loud bargaining and banter.

After dinner we had a "Galabeya Party". Galabeya is the long gown traditionally worn by most Egyptians. Almost all of the tourists, had bought Galabeyas from the boat salesmen and got all dressed up. We had some singing and dancing to the melodies of Nubian Music.

The Next morning we docked at Kom Ombo and visited the temple dedicated to two Gods. Sobek (the Crocodile God) and Horus. This temple is located at a bend in the Nile where crocodiles used to congregate until their movement downstream was stopped by the construction of the dam at Aswan. Hence the need for a God to protect the Egyptians from the crocodiles.

At Aswan the next day, we took a motor boat from a small ferry landing, to the Island of Philae. This is one of the many monuments that was affected by the building of the ASWAN dam. This temple was submerged (partially) under water before it was moved block by block to its current place on the Island of Agilika. The project was one of the two funded by UNICEF. The other was the masterwork of moving the temple of Abu Simbel.


The temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis, contains a lot of Greco-Roman and Egyptian architecture. As these lands changed hands frequently in ancient times, you tend to find some of these temples containing influences of various cultures. (Greek, Roman & Egyptian) There are even some Coptic crosses etched in some of these temples from the days when the Copts hid from Muslim raiders on these premises.


We then proceeded to the Aswan dam and then took a bus to Abu Simbel. This is the second temple that was moved to a higher ground to avoid being submerged by the water from the Aswan Dam. This temple is dedicated to Ramses II and his queen Nefertari. The Main temple dedicated to Ramses, has four 18 Metre statues of Ramses in a seated posture at the entrance. A couple of metres higher than the Gomaeshwara at Shravanabelagola! This is followed by a hallway lined with eight standing statues of Ramses (4 on each side). The Inner sanctum contains the statues of Ramses and 3 other Gods. Twice a year, on Ramses' birthday and on the day of his ascension to the throne, (February 22nd, October 22nd) the rays from the rising sun stream all the way into the inner sanctum about 100 metres deep inside the temple.


This happens to this day, even after the temple was moved from its earlier place. A work of sheer genius on the part of the ancient architects and the modern ones who shifted it. The modern architects constructed a huge dome before relocating the temple over it, to ensure that the phenomenon would continue.

The adjacent temple of Nefertari, has Six 15 Metre statues at the entrance (4 of which are of Ramses and 2 are of Nefertari). Ramses, just did not get tired of his face !!! The notable feature was that for the first time, a Pharaoh depicted a wife at the same height as himself. Otherwise wives and children were always shown below knee level to emphasise the Pharaoh as a God and everyone else as his subjects.

We then took the 4.5 hour bus ride through flat arid desert back to Aswan and boarded the flight back to Cairo.

The last day we drove to Alexandria (A port built by Alexander the great) explored the complex Catacombs a couple of feet below the ground, visited the Bibliotheca Alexandria (One of the largest libraries in the world, at the site of the original Library of Alexandria) the Qaitbay fort - built over the site of the Ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria (another wonder of the ancient world) and we admired the wonderful Mediterranean sea and its many shades of blue.


We returned to Cairo the same night and packed our bags and left to the airport. As I looked out of the window I felt despondent to leave Egypt with its 7 centuries of historical monuments, its wonderful feteer, koshary and Cinnabon rolls and my darling sister.

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The Egyptian Museum, Cairo

The Egyptian Museum, Cairo was established by the Egyptian Government in 1835.

The present museum building at Tahrir Square near Downtown Cairo, was built in 1900 in the neo-classical style by the French Architect Marcel Dourgnon.

The museum pieces are scheduled to be shifted to a new venue closer to the Giza Pyramids as soon as the building is complete.

The current museum exhibits over 1,20,000 objects, some of the important groups of these objects are:

* Artifacts from the tombs of kings and members of the royal families of the Middle Kingdom found at Dahshur in 1894.

* The contents of the royal tombs of Tuthmosis III, Tuthmosis IV, Amenhotep III and Horemheb and the tomb of Yuya and Thuya.

* Artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun, consisting of more than 3,500 Pieces, of which 1,700 objects are displayed in the museum (the rest are in storerooms)

Some of these objects can be viewed online on the museum website.

Entry to the museum is 50LE for tourists.
Students with ISIC cards can avail a 50% discount.

Entry to the mummy rooms (1st Floor) is an additional 100LE.

You get to see about 30 mummies of Pharaonic Royalty. These are split across 2 rooms at opposite wings. So do remember to visit the mummies in the opposite wing too. There is no prominent marking about the second room.

(If you aren't that serious about mummies but want to see at least one Egyptian mummy on your trip to Egypt, then the museum at Sakkara has one on display and entry to the museum is included in your entry ticket at Sakkara)

The museum is open from 9am to 5:45pm everyday.

Washrooms are reasonably clean, but better to carry your own kleenex.

Cameras aren't supposed to be used inside. Food can't be consumed inside. You can carry in water and small chocolates/nutrition bars. There is a left luggage counter outside the museum where you can leave your cameras and food stuff. This service is complementary.

There is a Cafeteria on the museum premises which is overpriced. The ticket that you buy for the day, allows you to go out on a break to eat lunch and return back on the same day. A better option for food is one of the many Koshary joints downtown, which are just across the road.

Avoid the tourist trap souvenir and book shops in and around the museum. Most of the books they sell are from the AUC Press which you can buy at source across the circle for less than 1/3rd the price.

Souvenirs you can get dirt cheap at the Khan el Khalili depending on your bargaining skills.

There are plenty of licensed guides available inside the museum in case you do not want to carry a guide book along with you. My personal favorite guide to navigate the museum is the Lonely Planet, Egypt. (Please note : Not Lonely Planet, Cairo) The Lonely Planet, Egypt succinctly and quickly captures the highlights of the museum in an orderly manner.

The exhibits are grouped in historical sequence. But to avoid museum fatigue, I would recommend visiting the Tutankhamun galleries on the first floor right in the beginning. The BBC Galleries have a lovely photo collection as a trailer of what to expect.

Then you can go back to the start of the First Floor or to the ground floor to finish up the rest of the museum.

If you are following a book guide, don't be worried if you can't find things exactly in the rooms were they are mentioned to be. Articles are often temporarily loaned out to other museums.

Browsing the museum could take anywhere between 1 hour to several weeks depending on interest levels. Hitting the highlights would take about 2 hours.

After the Pyramids of Giza, this is the second most visited site in Cairo and is definitely worth a visit.

Note : Summers can get very hot within the museum as only a few rooms like the Tutankhamun galleries and the mummy rooms are air-conditioned.

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Review/Photo Essay: Eternal Gandhi - A Multimedia Exhibition

At a time when Gandhiji's ideas seem to have become relegated to tomes of history textbooks, the Eternal Gandhi multimedia exhibition helps to bring his ideas back into focus in a medium that makes it easy for today's kids to relate to and understand.

The exhibits explore Gandhiji's philosophies, the books that moulded him, his ashram stays and other thoughts through computer generated designs and interactive installations. It is an attempt to explore and convey how Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became the "Mahatma".

Conceptualised and directed by Ranjit Makkuni and his team at Sacred World Research Laboratory, the exhibition first displayed in Delhi and then moved to Bombay a couple of months ago. For awhile it was exhibited at the Cowasji Jehangir Hall.

But since the last month it has been displayed at the CSMVS. You still can catch it until the end of this month.

The Birla Trust has helped bear part of the costs of the exhibition.

What you can expect to see:

• Raghupati Xylophone: The notes are pre-arranged to play Gandhiji's favourite bhajan. You don't need to be a musician to play it.

• Laser India Harp: Allows the visitor to trigger music by touching the laser beams.



• Pillar of Castelessness: Embodies "United we stand and Divided we fall" by lighting up when all around the pillar hold hands and turning dark when they let go.


• Stambha: 11 rotating discs. Each triggers a visual clip of Gandhiji's principles of Satyagraha.
• A wooden replica of Sabarmati Ashram:
  
  Each Pillar when touched starts an audio visual presentation of Ashram Life.


• A Mural of Raja Harischandra's Story


• A fibre optic Jail Cell to mimic the one Gandhi was imprisoned in, which has his Jail journal beamed across the cell floor.


• The Charaka is everywhere,

as a motif, as a theme, as a background, as an exhibit....




• And an extremely life-like wax figure of Gandhiji which could have you thinking its a real person sitting there (the webbed toes gave it away),




...among other exhibits.

The exhibition is best summed up by a kid I overheard at the exhibition "Mommy, mommy! This is so much fun!!!"




To be relevant and speak to today's generation of kids, you need to involve them in the discovery process by stimulating not just their minds but by appealing to their visual and auditory senses too. Since the experience also combines a tactile dimension, it succeeds on all counts. The exhibition is equally appealing to adults too, it shows that we can make Indian museums a better leisure experience.


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