It shouldn't distract from the museum itself (it's actually really good), but it's interesting context to see how culture, history, and politics continue to overlap. It is also hard to overstate how much of Sisi's decisions are themselves around trying to define his own legacy in history in a manner that Mubarak, Sadat, and other strongmen in Egypt have tried.
[0] - https://www.snohetta.com/projects/bibliotheca-alexandrina
There is an old legend about a guy who saw a dream after falling asleep under the sphinx. The sphinx said to excavate and uncover the magnificence of the sphinx if he wants to become king. He did. He became king. He told everyone his dream. And the practice continues to this day: uncover ancient Egypt so that you may be the king.
Morsi did not do this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrI1X1qAfws
It follows employees of the German design firm Atelier Brückner, one of the major contractors, interacting with Egyptian counterparts, etc.
There's many other docs waiting in the wings now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOQsO7Hu-wY
The GEM's super impressive, but a part of me also misses the charme and flair of the old Cairo Museum building, which had essentially become an artifact unto itself that somehow recalled that whole Howard Carter vibe we all subconsciously associate with Egyptology.
The very modern, flatly-lid, matter-of-fact galleries of the GEM I'm sure are SOTA museum work, but rather sterile. Still, I suppose the neutral looks have their virtue.
bookofjoe•3mo ago