A Visit to Japan
By Zahi Hawass

From July 29th until August 4th, 2007, I was in Japan. The reason for my visit was the opening of an exhibit at Waseda University, which is celebrating both its 125th anniversary and 40 years of archaeological exploration in Egypt. The exhibit showcases objects from Waseda’s excavations at Dahshur, Saqqara, and Abusir. Organized by Dr. Sakuji Yoshimura, it will tour 10 cities in Japan.

I attended the opening ceremony with our active ambassador, Hesham Badr, as well Dr. Yoshimura and the president of Waseda University. Each one of us gave a speech before we joined together in cutting the ribbon. After the ceremony, there was a reception.

While I was visiting Waseda, I gave a lecture on the discovery of the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, and signed copies of three of my books which have been published in Japanese – The Golden King: the World of Tutankhamun, The Valley of the Golden Mummies, and Silent Images: Women in Pharaonic Egypt.

Ambassador Badr, Dr. Yoshimura and I met with the president of NHK, Japan’s national broadcasting company. They are planning a to film a program live from Egypt on recent archaeological discoveries. MTV is also planning to make a four-hour documentary in Egypt. I found during my visit that the pharaohs are alive and well in Japan today!

BACK to The Plateau Homepage