It is almost too obvious that something grand is going on the Middle East right now. The Arab Spring, or the spring of freedom, has carried over into the winter. And its aftermath shall not even be remotely comprehended before many years have passed.
Many people in the Middle East are superstitious, still relying on faith and prayers for the most part. But maybe they do so for a reason—maybe there is a place for the mysterious in our world after all. And being the cradle of world civilizations, the Middle East has no shortage of mysterious antique artifacts.
Of the Arab Spring, and particularly of the Egyptian revolution, I have a story to share. Mr. Zahi Hawass, the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, tell a story about Tutankhamun's trumpet and its magical powers to "ignite war." An elite Japanese assemblage visited the Egyptian museum, incidentally located in Tahrir square, and blew the gilded bronze Trumpet of King Tut.
The trumpet was among the items looted from the Egyptian Museum during the January 25, 2011 uprising—and it was mysteriously found a few weeks later. Even more astounding, the Tutankhamun curator at the Cairo Museum claims that the trumpet was played just before the first Gulf war broke out.
It's all hearsay, you tell me? Well, there was one recorded incident! BBC News reports that shortly after the first time the trumpet was played, World War II broke out.
Does that seem far-fetched? Perhaps, but it may just be an attempt to fathom the incomprehensible.
Do we resort to the mythical to explain the mundane? Absolutely. Humans have always done that, since the dawn of time. The strange thing is, they're not about to stop now, even though belief in the supernatural is no longer a la mode. We still hang on to myths—and to the premise of a magical world beyond what we see, because in this romanticism may lie our salvation.
Article comments
1 - Glenn Contrarian
Cool! There's a thriller just waiting to be written about that trumpet.
Not that I'm superstitious about it in the least, but it's still pretty cool.
2 - Adam Palmer
"Cool! There's a thriller just waiting to be written about that trumpet"
I'm right on it!
3 - FEM4Ever
too late Adam-- onw has already been written :d
4 - Dr Dreadful
You can see exactly how blowing Tutankhamun's trumpet might ignite a revolution...
"What in the name of Allah is that godawful din?"
"It's Tutankhamun's trumpet."
"His what?"
"His trumpet. In the museum. They're blowing it."
"What for?"
"They, er, want to see what it sounds like."
"Are they mad? That thing's a priceless archaeological artifact! It could crack easily! Why does Mubarak allow this sort of thing?"
"Oh, for the love of the Prophet (pbuh). What's it got to do with Mubarak? What d'you have to drag politics into it for?"
"We're Arabs. We drag politics into everything."
"Racist."
"How can I be racist? What's wrong with this picture?"
"And anyway, the trumpet's already cracked. It's been in a tomb for 3000 years."
"You're cracked."
"Well, didn't somebody get out of bed on the wrong side this morning?"
"I was fine this morning. I've been fine. All I'm trying to do is relax with a cup of coffee after a hard day at the office and instead I have to put up with that racket."
"It's just some Japanese archaeologists wanting to - "
"Oh, so they're Japanese now, are they? As if it wasn't bad enough, now Mubarak's letting foreigners wander in and get their sticky hands on what little remains of our national heritage."
"What do you mean, 'What little remains of...'?"
"Hello? The Rosetta Stone not ring a bell? Napoleon? Howard Carter? Brendan Fraser? I could go on and on. Half the damn country's sitting in museums in London, Paris and New York, for Allah's sake."
"Well, how is that Mubarak's fault?"
"It just is."
"Get a grip. Why would Mubarak give a damn about whether somebody blows a bloody trumpet or not?"
"I'm going to take that trumpet and shove it where Ra doesn't shine in a minute."
"Hey, everyone, did you hear what he said? He's threatening to commit sodomy on Mubarak!"
"Stop putting words in my mouth!"
"I'll put them up your - "
"Oh, fuck off. Nobody cares about your precious Mubarak anyway. Senile old fart."
"That's insurrectionist talk!"
"Damn right! Who's with me?..."
Etc etc.
5 - zingzing
that's my schtick, doc, but well played...
6 - Dr Dreadful
Perhaps you and I should team up and pitch some ideas to SNL.
7 - Irene Athena
Ready to delete comment: Dr. D, there's some bad stuff going down at the usual "Land down under" place for bad stuff to be going down (and around and around) if you get my drift, that might require a comment editor's attention.
8 - Dr Dreadful
Irene, I can't edit comments from the computer I'm on right now, but Chris should be around somewhere with his zap gun.
I've asked TPTB if that article can be deleted (or at least have comments disabled), because it does seem to be a porn spammer magnet - possibly because it has the word 'toilet' in the title.
My request, however, has been ignored.
9 - Irene Athena
Thanks, Dr.D. That's good information.