Tutankhamun's mummy to Be Displayed for 1st Time

Tutankhamun's mummy to Be Displayed for 1st Time

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The mummy of King Tutankhamun will soon go on display for the first time, exposing the bare face of the boy king, Egyptian officials have announced. The mummy will be removed from its sarcophagus and placed in a climate-controlled glass case in the antechamber of the pharaoh's tomb in Luxor in November (see Egypt map).

"I am taking [the mummy] out to show it to the public for the first time," said Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The move is part of an effort to preserve the mummy, which has been in poor condition since it was first discovered, Hawass explained.

Archaeologist Howard Carter unearthed Tutankhamun's treasure-filled tomb in 1922, the first discovered with its riches so intact.

But Carter and his team partly destroyed the mummy in search of more treasures buried with the pharaoh, separating it into 18 sections, Hawass said.

Humidity and heat, much of it generated by the breath of the tomb's 5,000 daily visitors, have also taken a toll.

"Right now the mummy has no special protection from the humidity in the tomb," Hawass said. "The new case will be specially sealed to protect it from this sort of damage."

The pharaoh's remains will be partially rewrapped in linen with the face of the pharaoh left uncovered, according to Mansour Boraik, general supervisor of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Luxor.

Officials hope the display will increase the number of visitors and generate profit for the conservation of other Egyptian antiquities.

"The 'golden boy' has magic and mystery that bring people from all over the world," Hawass said.

(Hawass is a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence. National Geographic News is a division of the National Geographic Society.)

The mummy has been examined four times before, but it has never been seen by the public.

In 2005 Hawass opened the sarcophagus to perform a series of CT scans that allowed researchers to create a reproduction of the king's face.

(See photos of Tut's mummy and reconstructed face.)

"I was fascinated with his face," said Hawass, who noted the king's buck teeth are similar to those of the pharaoh's royal ancestors.

"Meeting King Tut face to face was very personal. … It was an important moment in my life."

Tutankhamun became pharaoh at the age of nine, ruling for only ten years in the 14th century B.C. before meeting an untimely death.

(Read: "King Tut Died From Broken Leg, Not Murder, Scientists Conclude" [December 1, 2006].)

Awakening the Curse

Exposing the mummy is likely to resurrect the myth of the pharaoh's curse, once believed to bring tragedy to those who disturb the tomb.

Most famously, Carter's sponsor, Lord Carnarvon, died shortly after entering the tomb from an infected mosquito bite.

Other tragedies were also blamed on the curse, and some experts have said ancient toxins lying in the tomb could have played a role.

"There is always mystery about King Tut, and it will never stop," Hawass said.

"Of course this will reawaken fears of the curse, as any new project involving the tomb or the mummy always does."

"I don't believe in the curse at all," he added. "But the gold, the intact tomb, the curse—all this history makes everybody fascinated by King Tut."

Shakespeare’s house and garden - The Bard’s birthplace

Shakespeare’s house and garden
The Bard’s birthplace
He was not of an age, but for all time. -

A Report From, The Future Sri Lanka ' Site
-Ben Jonson, 1623

Driving over 100 miles from Central London, I joined hundreds of secular pilgrims moving down Henley Road in Stratford-upon-Avon to pay homage to the greatest and most famous of English writers and probably the most popular dramatist who has ever lived, William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

The little countryside town was peaceful with no traffic or high-rise buildings. Instead, stretches of fields and barns that were planted with fruit-trees, vegetable, herb, traditional flowers and shrubs were a beautiful sight. Wild flowers described by Shakespeare such as the ‘pale primrose’, ‘blue-veined violets’, ‘the freckled cowslip, burnet and green clover’, and ‘rough thistles’ were in bloom beside walkways and in gardens.

A visit to Shakespeare’s house helps to satisfy the curiosity about his family and background. It also reminds that although his career took him to London, his native town was of significance throughout his life.
Stratford was the place where he was born, went to school, attended church, met his wife Anne Hathaway, first saw plays, saw his children grow up, invested in property, retired and died. He inherited the house when his father died in 1601 and bequeathed it on his own death to his eldest daughter. The Birthplace became a national memorial in 1847.


Plays written by Shakespeare

Henry VI part 2
Henry VI part 3
Henry VI part 1
Richard III
The Comedy of Errors
Titus Andronicus
The Taming of the Shrew
The Gentlemen of Verona
Loves Labour’s Lost
Romeo and Juliet
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Henry VIII
Hamlet
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Twelfth Night
Troilus and Cressida
All’s Well that Ends Well
Measure for Measure
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Antony and Cleopatra
Timon of Athens
The Winter’s Tale
Two Noble Kinsmen
Richard II
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
King John
The Merchant of Venice
Henry IV part 1
Henry IV part 2
Much Ado About Nothing
Henry V
Julius Caesar
As You Like It
Pericles
The Tempest





******Side view from the garden ********************************************












******Inside the Holy Trinity Church - the resting place of the Bard*************
















“Good friend for Jesus sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And curse be he that move my bones.”*********************************
















*******The entrance to Shakespeare Centre************************************












******Down Henley Road, Stratford*******************************************

Elvis Presley - The King and his Queens

The King and his Queens - The Friday, reports

Courtesy: Ahlan! -Dubai

Ex-wife - Priscilla Presley

Priscilla was only 14 and living on a German army base camp when she met Elvis in the early 60s (she was Elvis’s Commanding Officer’s stepdaughter). After somehow persuading her parents to allow her to live with the famous (good-looking and loaded) pop star in America, the couple were eventually married in Vegas in 1967.

Their daughter, Lisa Marie, was born exactly nine months after their May wedding, but Priscilla left the King five years later, blaming the split on their different lifestyles - “I don’t have an addictive personality and living with someone who does, was very, very, difficult and very hard to watch.”

The two remained close - “Once you have a bond with Elvis that will never leave -he was loving and caring always” -and after his death, Priscilla went on to launch a successful acting career with lead roles in Dallas and the Naked Gun movies.

She also became Chairwoman and President of Elvis Presley Enterprises, turning her ex-husband’s estate from a money-draining enterprise into a trust that is now worth over USD 15 million.

The Daughter - Lisa Marie Presley*************************************



The apple of Elvis’s eye, Lisa Marie was nine when the 42-year-old died of a heart attack. After his death, she began her own indulgences with drugs and alcohol, along with a music career (which earned her two platinum-selling albums!).

Famously married to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage (he filed for divorce in 2002, just three months after their wedding), the mum-of-two has settled down with guitarist Michael Lockwood and stays out of the spotlight.

The Lover - Marilyn Monroe ***************************


As two of the most famous people alive during the 60s, it’s no surprise that Marilyn and Elvis ended up together...if only for one night!

“When Elvis saw Marilyn, they came together and without saying a word, started kissing. I was in shock and I didn’t know what to do”, revealed his former agent, Byron Raphael. Then Marilyn said, “You’re pretty good for a guitar player.”

After two minutes, they went into the bedroom and the next thing I knew I was woken up by the door opening and they both walk out stark naked!”


The Girlfriend - Cybill Shepherd *********************************



The moonlighting star spends most of her time talking about her relationship with Elvis, who she dated briefly during the 70s when she was 19.

“He was a brilliant man...he was brilliant, he was funny, he was warm hearted”, says the 57-year-old who eventually chose another man over the King. “He was a tremendously sexy man, person, wonderful, delightful.”



The Granddaughter - Riley Keogh **************************************



Riley, 18 is following in Elvis’s footsteps with her own career in front of the cameras -she’s modelled for D&G and Dior and was on the cover of Vogue with her mum and grandmother at just 15.
And when it comes to love, she is currently dating Ashlee Simpson’s ex, Ryan Cabrera.