Who is Zahi Hawass?
Last Saturday night I attended a talk by Zahi Hawass at the University of Toronto Convocation Hall. Unless you are a history or archaeology buff you may not know Dr Hawass but you probably have seen him on television every time there is a show about ancient Egypt and the latest discoveries. Perhaps Dr Hawass has become the most famous Egyptian supplanting Omar Sharif (remember him in Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia)?. So that is what Omar said himself in the video introduction to the talk.
Dr Hawass was in my home town of Toronto in connection with the exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts at the Art Gallery of Toronto.(AGO) The Exhibition King Tut The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs ends on April 18, 2010. I made a day of it and combined the lecture with a visit to the Exhibit and a dinner at the restaurant at the Gallery. I loved the Exhibit which featured Tut and other Pharaohs but came away a touch disappointed since there were fewer Tut artifacts than in the previous exhibition in Toronto in the late 1970s. I guess it is deemed unsafe these days to transport the more iconic items. However, I did have a favorite item in the exhibition -- it was a small amulet of a vulture that was worn as a pendent -- it was quite comedic, looking like a caricature with a wry knowing smile. Oh well, I will just have to visit Egypt personally -- anybody with deep pockets want to sponsor me? Dinner was at the AGO’s Frank restaurant. I bought a package deal the exhibit plus dinner. Frank is very much upscale and dinner for one cost eventually cost around $80. The service and the food at Frank was excellent. The restaurant actually called a few days before to confirm and to apologize that certain items were not on the menu. I had the Whitefish and it was excellent.
Back to Dr Hawass and his presentation. His hour and a half presentation with photographs was a series of anecdotes about recent discoveries and recent “digs”. One exciting dig was to find (perhaps) the burial place of Cleopatra and that guy Mark Anthony. Sorry everyone Cleopatra did not have the looks of Elizabeth Taylor judging by face on coins of the day. In another anecdote Dr Hawass told us of the visit of President Obama who spent over an hour with him (see You Tube video below). Dr Hawass gave Obama a hat, the trade mark hat -- more on that in a while.
Zahi Hawass has become a controversial figure in some archaeological circles where archaeology is seen as meticulously siffting through dirt grain by grain and not doing public appearances. He has become a showman. His title Secretary General, Supreme Council of Antiquities conveys that aura. Dr Hawass has done a lot to promote tourism to Egypt and interest in Ancient Civilizations. So what if he hams it up in his Indiana Jones hat? Hats off to him I say and a big high five.
Here are a few You Tube Clips showing Dr Hawass and his marvellous hat.
On Archaeology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL-P-zjiCZ4
The visit of President Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJtYYvVjYHA
The search for the tomb of Anthony and Cleopatra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ4ugRiL8WM
Dr Hawass and the Indiana Jones Hat
So what about the famous hat? It’s a mystery whether Dr Hawass wore a similar hat prior to the Indiana Jones series. He does however, pride himself on his hat being “real”and not made for a movie. Those particular Indiana Jones hats were professionally custom designed. Baron Hats in Hollywood designed at least one of the hats used in the Indiana Jones movies. It’s based on a 1930s style Fedora. You can get your very own upscale replica for $398 in Felt and $498 in Beaver at their website.
Do other archaeologists wear hats? You bet they do. I came across an interesting blog post from archaeologist Paul Barford who blogged about the Zahi Hawass Hat.
Barford had got the replica of the Hawass hat and seemed a little disappointed that it did not seem to be an exact replica.(Materials used are different for example and there appeared to be very minor style differences).Really this is not a problem and the hat costs only $45.
Barford’s post was very informative being as it was by an insider in the profession of archaeology. He noted that:
…. hats are themselves an interesting phenomenon, and in certain parts of our milieu have become a part of the archaeological dress code. A few years ago I did a count of the archaeologists working in Europe and beyond who habitually wore them and it came to (as I recall) sixteen (more than Mick Aston striped sweaters).
The Hawass hat is being sold for charity. The label inside says(in part):
DR ZAHI HAWASS REPLICA EXCAVATION HAT/ This is an exact replica of my famous excavation hat. All profits from sales of this hat will go to fund the Suzanne Mubarak Children’s Museum in Cairo (100% wool, made in the people’s Republic of China
You can get your own Zahi Hawass replica hat at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, at least until April 18, 2010. I saw it there. You can also get the hat at this vendor website
Although Paul Barford is a self confessed non hat person he did a comparison of the Hawass and Jones hats. Yes, a close examination of the two hats reveals a number of design differences. The Indiana Jones Hat being highly stylized. Barford noted that the Indiana Jones hat has a higher crown and wider hat band, although both appear to be made of felt (being more sun friendly than leather). He noted that the Jones hat was more pinched in the front than the Hawass hat. OK Paul this pinch is known as the “Dent” (see also RCMP Hat). Read more about hat parts in my post on the subject.
Contact Dr Hawass
You can contact Dr Hawass at his website. You can also follow him on Twitter. If you want to be a friend of his on Facebook submit a note saying why. Dr Hawass is currently looking for funds for Chair of Egyptology at the American Museum in Cairo (AUC). What about it Microsoft or Google why not match funds with individual contributors?
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The Indiana Jones hat was designed by Herbert Johnson (a British Hat Company) and was their Australian Model, not the for mentioned company. Sorry.
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