bit stealing game

Chapter 12 Treasures of Egypt

It is said in One Thousand and One Nights: "Anyone who has never seen Cairo has never seen the world." Although it is no longer what it was a thousand and one years ago, Egypt's charm can withstand time after all.

This is my third year of archeology in Egypt. Three years will basically leave no changes here, but A Tian and Lao Zhang, who are new here, find everything very novel.

We were waiting for a man named Ali at the Cairo Museum. He was the one A Tian found and was a better tour guide than me.

While it was still early, I took my friends to receive the baptism of another ancient civilization.

"Wow, this is so cool!" In the museum, Lao Zhang's eyes widened and he wished he could turn his head 180 degrees like an owl. A Tian was also amazed.

The three of us had just walked down the steps, and before we could experience it in depth, we were surrounded by a group of enthusiastic Egyptian students. Lao Zhang and A Tian had never seen such a formation, and looked at me again as if asking for help. I quietly withdrew.

Arrived aside.

"Selfie?" "Selfie!" The group of children came up to them and said, their eyes flashing expectantly. Lao Zhang and A Tian couldn't resist, so they all smiled and squatted down to take a photo.

Asian faces are not that common in Egypt, and they are more attractive to local children than Europeans and Americans with blond hair and blue eyes. When the children left with satisfaction, Lao Zhang looked at me rather resentfully.

I shrugged: "Isn't this a chance for you and A Tian to feel the enthusiasm of Egyptian children?"

Next, we moved slowly surrounded by sarcophagi and statues. I explained to them, and from time to time I was asked by Egyptian children if we could take pictures. When we came to the seated statues of Amenhotep III and his wife Tai, it was finally time.

I took a picture with every Egyptian on this floor.

Lao Zhang smiled and sighed: "I understand how Chinese people in the last century watched TV shows around foreigners. It was really like watching monkeys." After saying that, he looked at A Tian again.

Qi Tian raised his eyebrows mischievously, "Especially since our great sage is still here." Qi Tian gave him a disdainful glance.

We raised our heads to look at the seated statue in front of us. Lao Zhang asked: "Why are these two figures so big and the ones in the middle and on the sides so small?" A Tian said: "The ones we just looked at seem to be very different in size."

I cleared my throat and started explaining to them.

"This is Amenhotep III and his wife Tai. The ancient Egyptians paid special attention to order. The pharaoh was usually the tallest one, his wife and children were usually depicted smaller, and his enemies were depicted as smaller.

The depictions are small and messy. This is one of the few exceptions." I pointed to the two sculptures in front of me. "This one

Taiyi is also unusual. It is said that she is a commoner, not a member of the royal family, or even a noble. In ancient Egypt, blood is the inheritance, which means that blood relatives marry to keep the blood pure. Especially in the 18th Dynasty. So Taiyi

In the future, as a commoner, he can be portrayed as big as the pharaoh, which shows that he is very favored."

Lao Zhang made a choking sound when he heard about the intermarriage between blood relatives.

I turned around and looked at them, and said in a different tone: "I know everyone has a lot of questions, and I hope to find the answer during the next tour. Later we will see Amenhotep IV, who is

The son of Amenhotep III and the father of Tutankhamun. He is a typical example of this bloodline inheritance."

A Tian smiled and pushed me, and Lao Zhang said with a smile that he would follow Director Wang.

We arrived at the Amarna exhibition area. This was the reign of Amenhotep IV and an important period in ancient Egypt.

"Old Wang, why do the people here look so strange?" After turning around in a circle, Lao Zhang stared at the statue of Amenhotep IV and said, "This big head, long face, round belly, look... His mental and physical condition is worrying. Would people still abuse Pharaoh at that time?"

I suppressed the desire to complain and said seriously: "Didn't I just tell you that Amenhotep IV is the master of blood rule? As a medical student, you don't know why he looks like this?"

A Tian showed a look of understanding, and Lao Zhang even gnashed his teeth: "Oh my God, this must have been inbred for several generations to become like this. What do you think they are planning?"

I curled my lips helplessly, "Actually, it's not the fault of the ancient Egyptians, it's just a matter of time constraints. And that's what their myths say." I saw the expressions of those two people seeking knowledge again.

"Similar to the myth of the creation of the world in our country, Egypt also has a creation myth. The gods of the earth and sky are Geb and Nut respectively. They are not only brother and sister, but also a couple. By the way, their parents are also at the same time. They are brother and sister, and their children have inherited the family tradition.

Nut and Geb had four children, namely Osiris, the god of the underworld, Seth, the god of the desert, Isis, the goddess of life, and Nephthys, the god of fertility. Among them, Osiris and Seth were brothers, and Seth was killed by Ho, the son of Osiris. Ruth defeated.

Seth was executed, but in ancient Egypt gods could be resurrected, so the gods drained his blood because they believed that the key to God's resurrection was blood. Anyway, that's it, Seth became a The good god turned into a rebel who coveted his brother's position and was eliminated. Do you two understand now why the pharaohs of ancient Egypt had to have blood unions?"

The speed of the car clearly shocked the two of them.

"But Seth is also a blood relative, why can't he?" A Tian grasped the key point.

"This is just like the eldest son of our country. As the second son, Seth coveted his brother's position, so he deserved to end up like this. After all, myths are made up by people. This is to consolidate the orthodox status of the Pharaoh."

"Then you don't have to marry your own sister." Lao Zhang muttered.

I laughed at his ignorance: "Ramses II even married his daughter."

"Fuck you." Lao Zhang opened his eyes wide in horror, and A Tian curled his lips in discomfort.

I continued, "Actually, our country also has a similar myth. Fuxi and Nuwa were also married as brother and sister. Their purpose was also to protect the bloodline inheritance."

"But at any rate, people in our country have never seen anyone marrying sisters."

"Each civilization is different, and in ancient Egypt it was probably only the royal family that did this." A Tian took over Lao Zhang's words for me.

I nodded.

"Not only is it a matter of blood, the ancient Egyptians also viewed death very differently from us. They didn't understand that people could not be resurrected until the end of their civilization, so there were many theories about how the souls of the dead found their bodies. And this During the Manna period, Amenhotep IV carried out a religious reform, so he later changed his name to Akhenaten. As you can see, the names of pharaohs are all related to gods. When I arrived in Luxor, I was in God I’ll tell you more in the temple.”

Lao Zhang said I was unauthentic and offended him. I winked proudly, raised the non-existent tour guide flag and took my group of friends to continue watching.

The artistic style of ancient Egypt is relatively realistic. For example, the pharaoh Akhenaten obviously looked different from ordinary people, but he was still recorded truthfully. This characteristic is reflected everywhere.

As he walked, Lao Zhang spotted another statue with his sharp eyes. It was the kneeling statue of a recording officer.

"It seems that being an official in ancient Egypt is very nourishing. There are many layers on the belly." Lao Zhang praised, "The ancient Egyptians all know that high salary can support a good person. It's amazing."

When I arrived at the Rosetta Stone, I suddenly heard someone ask: "Chinese?"

We look back.

A young Egyptian with a decent appearance, but a philistine look between his brows, looked at us with a smile on his face.

Lao Zhang and A Tian looked at me cautiously and waited for my reaction obediently. Before going out, I told them not to talk to strangers outside, because I was deceived quite a lot when I first came here.

I nodded and asked the Egyptian young man what happened. The young man flashed his big eyes and looked at us expectantly: "Selfie?"

After taking a photo with the three of us, he thanked me happily, and then enthusiastically offered to accompany us around, but we declined. The young man did not insist anymore. He pointed to the Rosetta Stone and said: "This one in Cairo is a replica.

, the original product was taken away by the British.”

I looked at him with some surprise.

We have seen the real Rosetta Stone in Britain, and we just told Lao Zhang and others that the British are not authentic. People I met in Egypt in the past all think that it is an honor to exhibit Egyptian things in foreign countries, which can make the world

Understand Egypt. But this man is different.

But when I looked at him again, the young man put on a bright smile. He stretched out his hand to shake Lao Zhang's hand and said, "Nice to meet you. I have a cafe. You can come here after shopping.

Find me."

Every Egyptian I met has opened a cafe, craft shop and hookah bar. This is the same as the average per capita on Zhihu is 985.

Seeing that we were unmoved, the young man grinned: "My name is Ali, we will see you soon."

After Ali left, the three of us looked at each other. Although countless people turned around when calling Ali in Egypt, we did make an appointment to meet Ali at the museum.

"Is this 'that Ali'?" Lao Zhang asked.

A Tian took out his mobile phone and took a look. "That Ali" just happened to send her the group photo, and also attached a cafe in Khan Khalili Market. He said that it was not convenient for him to contact us in the museum, so let

We went there to meet him.

Now we are even more confused. He is obviously a netizen, but he behaves like a spy.

Khan Khalili is a large bazaar in the old city.

Grand Bazaar means market in Uyghur, and can be found in WLMQ, Istanbul, Cairo and other places. The style is different but the nature is similar. There are many local specialty commodities and delicacies inside, which is quite lively.

The Hariri Market in Cairo is also close to two famous mosques: the Imam Hussein Mosque and the Al-Azhar Mosque, which can be said to be both a religious and secular holy place.

The three of us figured it out and figured out that there would be no danger in public places, so we might as well go over and see what medicines Ali Gourd sells.

It was just getting dark when the lights of the mosque came on, making it look very majestic.

Ali said he would meet us at the entrance of the Hussein Mosque, and he came over to us as soon as we arrived. This time he pretended to be a shill again, dragging us three Chinese tourists to "his" place in the Hariri Market.

Let's go to the cafe. We have no temper for his behavior.

The products in Al-Khalili Market are dazzling, and the merchants are extremely enthusiastic and can even speak a few words of Chinese. As soon as they saw us, they said "hello", "come and have a look" and "it's very cheap". It was the first time for Lao Zhang to come here.

We couldn't resist, so we kept saying "No, thank you", and we were also distracted to look at the architecture of the market and the many handicrafts. It was very tiring. Fortunately, Ali helped us resist the enthusiasm. He led us around and walked around.

We arrived at a hookah parlor.

This shisha shop is quite hidden, surrounded by colorful lamp shops and perfume shops. You have to squeeze through the dazzling lights and fragrances to enter.

The place in the shisha shop is not small, and there are many locals sitting in twos and threes, enjoying and chatting. Ali took us to a table in the corner and greeted the shop owner to serve us tea in a familiar manner. All the guests at this location were leaving.

some distance, table

The bed was leaning against the wall, and a mottled mirror hung on the wall, which gave the space a sense of distortion and extension. The tea came quickly, and it was the kind of tea that is commonly made in Egypt with black tea foam and white sugar. It looked very good.

It's translucent, and it's quite juicy when you drink it.

After drinking tea, Ali said with a smile: "Welcome to Egypt, my friends. I am Ali, and we have already met in the afternoon."

The three of us also introduced ourselves one by one, without taking the initiative to start the topic. Ali then said: "I'm sorry that you have to come here, but I am not suitable to contact you in public, I am afraid it will bring you trouble.

."

These words were too outrageous even for some Egyptians who like to exaggerate, but Ali said it very sincerely. Seeing that we were noncommittal, he was not annoyed and explained to himself: "I was working as a student in college, but I offended someone.

I got a job with a boss in Cairo. He said that if he met me in Cairo again, he would ask me to look good. So I just left in despair as soon as I graduated. This is my first time back to Cairo in several years."

I said hypocritically: "Then you took the risk and came to Cairo to find us. If I had told you earlier, you would not be allowed to come."

Ali waved his hand and said it was okay. He also had something to do when he came to Cairo this time.

In fact, apart from the inexplicable way he appeared and the script he wrote for himself, Ali is actually a pretty good chat partner.

After heating up the situation, Qi Tian calmly started our real topic. Ali was discovered by her on an American magic forum questioning creationism and saying that he believed in prehistoric civilization.

Luxor plus prehistoric civilization. Qi Tian felt that this person had something special.

"What Christianity says is just a lie to the ancients. What Darwin said is correct. All species have evolved." Ali was honest.

We looked at each other speechlessly.

"Actually, there is another reason." After we all looked over, Ali gasped. "In the village where I grew up, the old people would always talk about what their elders said. Once in this land, there were

They come from the desert and don’t need food or water. They can also satisfy people’s wishes. Just make offerings to them on time.”

This kind of thing sounds quite fanciful.

A Tian asked: "Since there is no need to eat or drink, what do people use to worship the gods?"

"The old people didn't say it specifically. After all, it happened a long time ago. But it was definitely not a mortal thing." Ali said seriously: "I think it was probably the solar-powered humans that existed in the civilization in the past. They only needed some fuel to survive.

."

Fortunately Darwin didn't know that he believed in both theories at the same time.

"And I've seen things that make me believe in the existence of prehistoric civilizations," Ali added.

Naturally I asked him what it was.

Ali didn't answer at first, but just took a sip of tea. We waited with bated breath, and then he said, "Would you like to try hookah?"

After a while, a woman holding a child came over and asked us if we wanted to buy her handicrafts. The child in her arms smiled at us. Lao Zhang didn't ask the price, so he took out his change and bought four from her.

A small pendant with rough workmanship. The woman seemed to think that the offer was too much and wanted change, but Ali persuaded her to stop.

Later, Ali didn't let us pay for the purchases we made in this store.

"I told you this is my shop."

We didn't mention that we saw him secretly giving money to the shop owner, and we were thinking privately about giving him some gifts before we parted.

When we got back to the hotel, the three of us were so tired that we spread out on the sofa and didn't want to move. Before we came here, we were all busy with school matters. After the last auction, there were still a lot of questions that we hadn't studied yet. Today, after meeting Ali, we added more

Got some new doubts.

A Tian told us: "Before Ali disappeared from Cairo, he went to the United States as an exchange student with his mentor. His mentor has now settled in the United States, but there has been little movement recently."

Lao Zhang couldn't help complaining: "This one has disappeared, this one is incognito. I'm afraid he didn't go to Area 51 in the United States."

I also felt that Ali had a lot of problems. But in the days that followed, his actions dispelled our concerns.

The next day, Ali drove us to Giza on the edge of Cairo to see the pyramids in his friend’s golden cup.

I read that there was once a waterway between these two cities. After all, the Nile River flowed in front of the pyramid at that time. It is a pity that I was not able to experience it in person at that time.

There are densely packed residential buildings on both sides of the viaduct.

Lao Zhang looked out the window: "Hey, Lao Wang, let me ask you, why do most of the houses we see along the way not have their roofs repaired?"

I said this is because the tax on houses in Egypt is relatively high. If the repairs are not completed, a lot of tax money will be reduced, which leads to Egypt's "uncapping" style. After all, Egypt's dignity is not just superficial.

There are fake staff lurking in tourist attractions in Egypt. We, the three fat sheep, have been targeted since we stepped into the gate of the pyramid scenic spot. A man came over and asked us to show us our scenic spot tickets. Lao Zhang took it out and showed it to him without warning.

I was stopped.

"Tsk, I forgot to tell you. These so-called staff are all fake. If they get the tickets, they will pester us and we will not be able to get away without tipping."

A Tian and Lao Zhang were both helpless.

The man continued to pester, and Ali rushed over from the side and muttered a few words in Arabic before sending him away. He patted Lao Zhang on the back in a friendly manner and said, "My friend, there are indeed some Egyptians here who are more cunning.

, but it’ll be fine as long as I’m here.”

We walked to the foot of the Pyramid of Khufu. Lao Zhang looked up in admiration at this masterpiece in human history.

In fact, the ability to build buildings of this level in Egypt is related to the social structure at that time. The ancient Egyptians did not mind the whole country's efforts to create eternity for the Pharaoh.

At this time, I still felt that "common sense" was part of cognition. I was so enviably ignorant.

To visit the Pharaoh's tomb, you have to pass through a narrow and low corridor. The air inside the pyramid is turbid and hot, the lighting relies on old electric lamps, and there are all kinds of messy wires all over the floor.

Ali didn't follow us, so the three of us were busy climbing up.

The initial excitement was worn away a bit, and Lao Zhang complained: "How long will it take for this to end?"

I said it would take a while. In order to appease them both, I told them about the [Hymn of Cannibals] recorded in the pyramid inscription* while walking.

In that version, the ancient Egyptian moon god Kongsu was a 'god-eating god'. The pharaoh used his own funeral to help Kongsu deceive other gods to feed him. The pharaoh himself was able to replace the god who was eaten.

Immortal class.

After telling this story, we just climbed into the tomb.

The entire pyramid is built of stone, and the tomb is naturally surrounded by stone walls. There is an empty sarcophagus in the middle, and the pharaoh's mummy has been transported to the museum.

A Tian had the least feeling for Zi Bu Yu. She stared at the sarcophagus without the owner of the tomb and said, "Then when we come here, does it count as luring you into the urn?"

After hearing this, I shivered in the stuffy tomb.

Lao Zhang on the other side was also startled: "Don't tell me, Great Sage, I can feel the wind."

I was quite frightened by these two bastards. On the way out, I told them some weird records about the pyramids, which made me feel better.

Before leaving for Luxor, Ali told us that he would take the train back that night and meet us in Egypt. He insisted on being wanted and refused to fly, and we didn't force him.

The Nile River flows from south to north.

Ancient Egypt was bounded by the ancient capital Memphis, which is now Cairo, with Lower Egypt to the north and Upper Egypt to the south. This is completely different from our country's idea of ​​going north to south. Luxor, which was once Thebes, was the religious and political holy land of Upper Egypt.

The famous Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings are both there. The place our archaeological team is going to excavate is in the Karnak Temple.

I have never mentioned the real purpose of our trip to Egypt. A Tian and Lao Zhang seemed to have noticed my ostrich mentality and did not rush me. But what is supposed to come will eventually come, and when we get to Luxor

, there is no room for further delay.

I lay on the bed, listening to the bustling sounds downstairs after dark, and slowly fell asleep with the gleaming Nile on my pillow.

The water of the Nile River has been flowing endlessly for thousands of years. Tomorrow I will finally go to the upper reaches of the river to see it.

In ancient Egyptian mythology, Osiris was killed by Seth and cut into thirteen pieces. It is said that this was because Egypt was divided into thirteen regions at that time, and the last one was Aswan in the south and upstream.

Later, as the wife of her brother Osiris, Isis put Osiris's body together and resurrected him, and he became the first mummy in Egypt. But what is more interesting is that Isis did not find Osiris's genitals.

It was under such circumstances that Horus was born.

Ancient Egyptian writing is roughly divided into pyramid inscriptions, coffin inscriptions and the Book of the Dead written on papyrus. However, because these writings were strictly controlled by the temple and the royal family and were not circulated, they were almost discontinued. At the time, Rosse

The key to deciphering the hieroglyphics is the pagoda stone tablet, which records the same content in three languages.

Language: Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic and ancient Greek. The hieroglyphs are also different. The pyramid inscriptions are a collection of documents found in a series of kings and queens' pyramids during the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The coffin inscriptions, as the name suggests, are engraved on

On the coffin, the Book of the Dead is a manual written on papyrus to guide the deceased through the judgment.

[Hymn of the Cannibals], as a pyramid inscription, is a product of the Old Kingdom period. The interpretation of Egyptian mythology is different in each different period.

(End of chapter)