This August, 10 young people who work for the Supreme Council of Antiquities in offices throughout Egypt visited the United States for a three week study tour. The students visited different cities and historical sites all over the USA to learn about archaeology, cultural and historical preservation, and museum management. One of the young people who participated in this program was Rania Galal, a young lady who works in my office. I was impressed with her final report; it shows how much she learned and how this experience changed her life. She enjoyed meeting interesting new people, and I was happy with the encouraging response of the Americans involved with the program.

 

I think these study trips are very important for the young people of Egypt. It is important for them to travel abroad and befriend diverse people; it opens their minds to have international friends and increases their knowledge of the outside world. I can see how much Rania has changed; she has applied what she learned on the study tour to her work here, and I can see that she will have a very bright future. Helen and I talked about how we will send more young Egyptians for training in the future, and it is my hope that we will continue to work with the American people to promote cultural exchange through these study trips.

 

During our visit, Helen kindly presented me with some photos from the White House of President Obama’s visit to the pyramids in June. I was very happy she brought me the White House photos, because there were two places on the trip that my office was not able to bring our own press. The first place was inside the Great Pyramid. This photograph shows myself, President Obama, and members of his staff inside the Grand Gallery, which leads to King Khufu’s burial chamber. This was the moment when he was asking me about where ancient Egyptian queens were buried, and I told him they had smaller pyramids next to the king’s. He joked this it meant that Michelle would not have been buried with him. I could see that he was thinking about Michelle and their two girls, and perhaps he wished that they had been with him on his visit to the Great Pyramid and could see its interior.

 

The second place the SCA did not have pictures from was the Khufu Boat Museum. This picture was taken while I was telling him about the purpose of the boats and their construction. After we had finished viewing the boat, I gave him some of my books, which I had signed for him and his family. Then I gave him a reproduction of my famous “Indiana Jones” hat, and we took a photo of us wearing our hats together. It is wonderful to see this picture, as the hat holds a very special meaning for me.

 

My lucky hat has become my trademark, and a symbol of archaeology. Since I started wearing it, it has become more famous than Indiana Jones’. An article in the Washington Post even said that the real hat of archaeology is the Zahi Hawass hat. We are selling the reproduction hats now in the United States, and next month we will start selling them in Egypt. The most beautiful thing about these hats, the true purpose of selling them, is to raise money for the Suzanne Mubarak Children’s Museum in Cairo. The Children’s Museum is a great institution that teaches young people about ancient and modern Egypt.   It is currently being redeveloped into a world-class learning institution for families. It is very important to me to support the education of our youth and encourage them to study the history of their country. I am very happy to see that my hat brings money to this valuable cause.

 

There are two very important things that I wish to accomplish in my life. The first is to see my hat bring more money to the Children’s Museum to make the children of Egypt happy. The second is to ask friends and fans to donate money to the Zahi Hawass Chair of Egyptology fund at the American University of Cairo, to help both Egyptian and foreign students study Egyptology at AUC and receive the best instruction.