Cairo is filled with unexpected surprises, especially the Cairo Egyptian Museum, which features centuries old stone carvings; plenty of coffins; dead bodies; and, organs in special vessels.

Entering the museum reminds me vaguely of walking into the Louvre in Paris.  Crowds of people and tour guides buzzing.  More objects than one can possibly take in and history beyond human comprehension.

Embrace in Stone

Immediately in the center of the courtyard with a larger than life presence sits Amon-Ofis III and his wife Tiyi in an embrace.  Over thirty feet high they sit .  The arm of Tiyi behind her spouse immediately caught my eye.   Is this normal, I thought.  In another wing is an older couple carved in black stone.  It is Sen-Nufer and his wife, Seth-Nofer with arms behind each other with their daughter, Muthai between them.  Later, I see another stone carving in a special embrace between pharaoh Thutmose IV and his mother also crossing their arms behind.

A carved stone embrace is not a common theme in modern official sculptures.  Being from the U.S., it is rather difficult to identify any official sculpture or art piece of an embrace between a leader and his/her spouse or family.

It is a pleasant surprise to find an embrace carved in stone not just hundreds of years old but centuries old.

For more information on the Cairo Egyptian Museum go to http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg.