Egyptology

Sunday 6th March 2016

When the weather in Dubai is this mild, and outdoor pursuits are so pleasant, I take Kingsley out with me every single day. Today’s destination is Wafi City the theme of which is architecture derived directly from Ancient Egypt. We’ve been here before, however this time I made efforts to give him a lesson in Egyptology since we decided to make a day of it and all around us are marble statues of Pharaohs, their consorts, pyramids, amphorae and obelisks. That is to say, I would refer to my Grek-English app translator, and have the child repeat endlessly the Greek work for whatever I point to.

The exquisite Raffles Hotel is, itself, shaped like a pyramid and topped with a glass capstone. Inside its foyer are statues of Pharaohs as well as their guards in the Afterlife. Here, I informed Kingsley that the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs were believed to be incarnations of the god Horus, the son of the sun deity, Hathor (or, later, Isis), or Nut. The boy faithfully repeated the Greek word for Pharaoh (ò Φαραώ) and promptly sat upon the God-King’s lap, the boy himself resembling a son of the sun deity…

With Pharaoh at Raffles Hotel, Wafi City

With Pharaoh at Raffles Hotel, Wafi City