In the modern era of Egypt—the land of the Nile, the new Grand Egyptian Museum, and the eternal sand—we tend to focus on Pharaohs and Presidents. But the "Official Egypt" (the bureaucratic, archival, administrative spine of the nation) holds records of a different kind of treasure. And DeSilva is the key. To the casual tourist, she is a rumor. To the mudir (directors) of the old European quarters in Alexandria, she is a ledger entry that doesn't add up.
Was she a spy? A historian? A con artist?
But last week, while reviewing the new security protocols for the transfer of the Royal Mummies, a junior archivist found a sticky note on a manifest from the 1940s. It was written in red pencil, signed with a single
In the modern era of Egypt—the land of the Nile, the new Grand Egyptian Museum, and the eternal sand—we tend to focus on Pharaohs and Presidents. But the "Official Egypt" (the bureaucratic, archival, administrative spine of the nation) holds records of a different kind of treasure. And DeSilva is the key. To the casual tourist, she is a rumor. To the mudir (directors) of the old European quarters in Alexandria, she is a ledger entry that doesn't add up.
Was she a spy? A historian? A con artist? vivianne desilva, the official egypt
But last week, while reviewing the new security protocols for the transfer of the Royal Mummies, a junior archivist found a sticky note on a manifest from the 1940s. It was written in red pencil, signed with a single In the modern era of Egypt—the land of