King Tut - How'd You Get So Funky!

"Now when he was a young man,
He never thought he'd see
People stand in line to see the boy king".

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2408125

I was so excited to attend the “Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. In order to have the pleasure, I had to shell out upwards of $35.00 to Ticketmaster. It was a timed show, so getting tickets proved to be difficult during the first few weeks of the initial opening. I don’t recall how I found out about the exhibit, but I know that I pre-registered for tickets only to have to make a decision of what date I wanted back in December. Since I didn’t have a crystal ball for of all of 2007, I had to pass on pre-ordering tickets.

Two days prior to going, I lucked out on an 8pm viewing for Sunday, February 18. My only fear was death or illness.

Hoping to relive a slice of the fanfare that the 1976-77 Metropolitan Museum of Art tour generated, I was ready to memorize the artifacts that I would tell my future grandchildren about. The verdict? I was both pleased and disappointed at the same time. What the website plays down is that most of the exhibit features items from Tut’s predecessors. Still, the artifacts were amazing and the accompanying information very educational. The music that plays in each gallery builds as you get nearer to Tut’s rooms. The second to last gallery, the “Tomb Room”, was the most personal and superlative. It contained items which were buried on Tut’s person.

Naturally, the exhibit exited into the King Tut gift shop. I wasn’t disappointed in what was on offer for sale. I purchased the souvenir book, a separate book on Tut, an Ankh magnet, and an Egyptian cat bookmark each for my grandmother and me. I also printed out my name in hieroglyphics along with print outs for both my younger cousins in their names as well.

All in all, I really enjoyed the exhibit and I'm glad I attended. Being a Tut fan, it left quite an impression on me. Would I have paid so much money had I known exactly what was in store? Hard to say considering you have to factor in the rarity of such an exhibit. I've heard that these items are never going to tour again, so that's something else to take into deep consideration.