Taking to the throne when he was only eight years old, Pharaoh Tutankhamun was the most powerful kid ever to have lived on this planet. For mysterious reasons, his successor tried to delete him from history, so people knew hardly anything about his life. Tutankhamun’s tomb was found by Howard Carter in 1922; enclosed in its chambers, a series of miraculous things started revealing secrets of his life…
It’s no problem that you’re not an Indiana Jones when it comes to historical knowledge or that you can’t even estimate the century Pharaoh Tutankhamun lived in.
Having toured around Europe, the exhibition titled Tutankhamun – his tomb and his treasures landed in Király utca’s VAM Design Center bang in the middle of Budapest. Unsurprisingly a huge success so far, the collection takes visitors down to Tutankhamun’s tomb, or well, at least an exact copy of it. It’s the perfect time to polish up your Lara Croft and Professor Jones sides as you’ll get a good deal of info on the dynasty and Egypt, all in an absorbable and enjoyable format: huge boards with reasonably sized pictures, film screenings and an audio guide that’ll be your faithful (and helpful) companion throughout the whole journey. All available in English.
Armed with the essential knowledge, I entered the pharaoh’s ‘tomb’. I don’t wanna spoil it for you but, c’mon, the guy got four golden shrines protecting his sarcophagus. It’s truly breathtaking. After the first moments of awe, you start discovering the little (and not so little) treasures that were buried with him. And get ready, it will take some time. Several chambers, ante-chambers and a treasury surrounded his golden shrine jam-packed with the personal belongings of the 19-year-old pharaoh.
My fave – besides the black and white leopard-pattern stool that could have easily been one of the award-winning products of a contemporary home design expo – were the golden flip-flops and his golden toe-covers. Trend-setting, eh? But it’s not all about shiny things. While there, dark secrets will be revealed to you about his life and eventually, his death. The creepiest one includes two baby sarcophagi lying next to his own…
Carter’s discovery changed the way historians looked at ancient Egypt. He made an unknown pharaoh a celebrity, so to say. And the best thing is that you don’t need to be a sucker for history… it’s enough if you’re a sucker for adventure and secrets. And let’s face it, Indiana Jones-like fodder is still cool!
Tutankhamun, His Tomb and His Treasures Through April 25th
VAM Design Center
1061 Budapest, Király utca 26.
+36 1 / 6663-162