Roman Tourist in Egypt?

[Lucius Galerius Falconius]

Did Romans visit the pyramids in Egypt? Were they allowed to? Did they go in them, etc, etc. Just what the Romans thought about Ancient Egypt.

[Memmia]

Hi there, AFAIK there is Roman grafitti inside one of the chambers of the Great Pyramid indicating ancient 'tourists' but they certainly visited the valley of the Kings in great numbers, as there is a lot of ancient grafitti there


http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/articles/article_2.4.html

From the article:

The Valley of the Kings was another frequently visited site in Graeco-Roman times. Over two thousand Greek and Roman graffiti can be found in ten royal tombs (KV 1, KV 2, KV 4, KV 6, KV 7, KV 8, KV 9, KV 10, KV 11, KV 15) [16294]. KV 9 attracted the most visitors, probably because Rameses VI's cartouche strongly resembles the one of Amenhetep III and might have been a reminder of their hero Memnon. Around one thousand graffiti were noted in this tomb alone.
The graffiti are often limited to a name and sometimes a date, the visitor's profession, or comment about the tomb. The time period of touristic activities was set between the third century B.C. and sixth century A.D.

[Jona Lendering]

There are certainly Roman graffiti at the colossi of Memnon in Upper Egypt; one of them records a visit by Hadrian.

[Robert Vermaat]

Did not an emperor (Hadrian?) make alterations to some 'moaning statues' who after that remained silent or some similar story? A bit like Napoleon and the sphinx?

[Jona Lendering]

Did not an emperor (Hadrian?) make alterations to some 'moaning statues' who after that remained silent or some similar story?

Septimius Severus

A bit like Napoleon and the sphinx?

Obelix it was, actually, who damaged the nose of the sphinx. A pity, of course, because it was a really beautiful nose, although not as beautiful as the nose of Cleopatra, which was, as we all know, the most beautiful nose in history. (According to Getafix, twenty centuries were looking down upon the vandal.)

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Nicholas

Depends on how much information you want. If you go to Amazon and type in books 'Roman Egypt' there are a whole range of titles some of which will undoubtedly answer all your questions. One or two will have to be obtained from a library however but there are some reasonably priced titles available. Bowman's 'Egypt after the Pharaohs', is a good start.

Jona wrote:

Obelix it was, actually, who damaged the nose of the sphinx. A pity, of course, because it was a really beautiful nose, although not as beautiful as the nose of Cleopatra, which was, as we all know, the most beautiful nose in history. (According to Getafix, twenty centuries were looking down upon the vandal.)

And if it had been any shorter it would have altered the whole course of history!!! :wink:

Graham.

[Lucius Galerius Falconius]

Thanks guys! I'll definitely look into it!

[Graham Sumner]

Hi
If you are interested in the subject of Roman tourists an amusing introduction to the subject is 'Route 66AD' , by Tony Perrottet.
He and his pregnant wife follow in the footsteps of Roman tourists from Rome to Egypt via Greece and Turkey.
Graham.

[Andrew Brozyna]

I second the book, "Route 66AD." It's a great read. What interested me was the concept that being a tourist was something a Roman could be proud of. Back when I visited Europe I felt almost apologetic for being a tourist—as though I was without an authentic reason for being there.
One amusing anecdote from the book is when the author and girlfriend learn that Italians really do say, "mama-mia!"