Qur'an in Dublin
By
Zahi Hawass
On a recent journey to Dublin I gave two lectures, one at Trinity College on the Valley of the Golden Mummies, the other at the National Museum, about the secrets of the Great Pyramid.
It was not my first visit to Ireland. The first time I went there, I was so impressed by the Irish, how these people who fought long for their freedom had become a world leader in technology, that Ambassador Ashraf Rashid arranged for me to come to Dublin a second time. This time I was invited on the occasion of the opening of Trinity College's Department of Egyptology, and I gave a lecture at the main hall. The event had been much publicised, and the hall could hardly contain the number of people who attended. That evening the president of the university and his wife hosted me in their home, a beautiful old Irish house filled with exquisite works of art, in which, as holders of this office, they are allowed to stay for three years.
The second lecture at the National Museum drew enthusiastic response. Interestingly, this museum contains many beautiful artefacts that tell us the story of the Ancient Egyptian quest for immortality. I could tell from the response to my television and radio shows on Ancient Egypt, that the people of Dublin are eager to learn about its many mysteries. They were fascinated to learn about the robot's adventure inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and had many questions about what may be behind the doors that we discovered inside the pyramid. I told them that the answers would be coming soon, that in time we would know if they are symbolic doors or if they actually hide treasures.
My dear friend Ambassador Rashid, his wife and his lovely daughter Dina took me out for dinner and told me about the Irish people and their love of art and music. That night, the ambassador promised to take me to a library the next day; not just an ordinary repository for books, but The Chester Beatty Library, which is a museum. Its name comes from its founder, a great man who was born in America and migrated first to England and then to Dublin. He was a collector who travelled to Egypt and bought many books and papyri. He also collected exceptional artefacts from China, Japan, India and other countries, and generously donated his treasures to the Irish government. They are now housed in a beautiful building in the heart of Dublin.
We met the director of the library who took us on a tour of its breathtaking displays, most notably that of the Holy Qur'an. There are a wealth of copies, with different styles of calligraphy, and the holy book is placed in an impressive and respectful setting. Several other displays related to writing, and I was delighted to see unpublished papyri from the Book of the Dead, love songs, and texts related to the struggles between Horus and Seth, with the good king Horus triumphing over the devil Seth. I hope that the new Egyptology Department will publish the papyri so as to increase our knowledge of Ancient Egyptian love songs.
The second part of the library is for research. It has magnificent books collected by Chester Beatty, and all the technology needed to help understand more about the cultures of the world.
Not only the displays, but the lighting system in the library may only be described in the superlative; the same goes for their audio-visual programme on the major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The director of the library discussed the possibility of a temporary exhibit within the Chester Beatty library of artefacts from Egypt, to give the public more information about ancient religion and writing. We agreed that this idea should be further explored, especially since no Egyptian exhibit has ever travelled to Ireland.
Ambassador Rashid will finish his term of office in Ireland this coming summer and Trinity College is going to arrange for me to return to Ireland to give a lecture in his honor. The Ashraf Rashid Lecture will celebrate the man, his love for the Irish people, and the marvellous job he has done to bring Egypt and Ireland together, in the fields of trade and cultural relations. I have never met an ambassador so active or so dedicated. I must say I was also impressed by his Irish driver, a cultured man who told me a good deal about the Irish; he has a special interest in ancient Egypt and told me that he and his wife, who lives in Paris, frequently visits our country.
