By Zahi Hawass My hat is a part of my life. It really is very important to me, despite the criticism I sometimes receive from Egyptians who make various comments, the most repeated one being: "He is such a cowboy, or an American." Actually, the hat is Australian, not American. My hat is well known all over the world. When people see me without it they always ask, "where is the hat, Zahi?" The story of this hat began many years ago. When I started my career, I used to wear a white cotton hat. However, I soon realised that this did not offer me total protection from the sun and besides, it didn't look good. Still, I continued to wear this hat for another seven years while I was excavating the archaeological site of Al-Ashmunein in Middle Egypt and the famous Delta site of Kom Au Bellou, where I discovered my passion for archaeology. One upon a time while teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), I had a student named Patti Rabbit. It was she who brought me my current hat, which I wear to this day. She told me that this hat will always bring me luck. Rabbit was a lovely woman who also had a passion for archaeology. She came to Egypt a year ago to produce a film about me and followed me everywhere, even when I went to have a haircut. Rabbit's forecast became true: the hat she gave me has become a trademark for all my discoveries, and I made one of my best finds while wearing it. This discovery was the tombs of the pyramid builders at Giza that date back to the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, ca. 2551-2323 BC. The second great discovery I made while wearing the hat was the Valley of the Golden Mummies in Bahariya and the tomb of Djedkhonsuefankh, the governor of Bahariya during the 26th Dynasty, 664-610 BC. There lay under residential houses in Bawiti, the capital of Bahariya Oasis. Other major discoveries have been broadcast all over the world, and many interviews were conducted concerning these wonderful finds while I was wearing my hat. Gayle Young from CNN taped me in more than 30 interviews. What is funny is that most of these interviews were done before I bought my hat, so they show how my hair has gradually grown grey over the years. I also thought that I could use my hat for something important and useful. This time I used it to provide funds for the construction of the Suzanne Mubarak Children's Museum in Heliopolis. Since Mrs Mubarak is very involved in teaching children their civilisation and history, she built the museum for children through public effort. She has since decided to upgrade this museum and has created a unique scenario for it. Copies of my hat are now being sold with my signature at the Tutankhamun exhibition in Chicago. They will also be sold at all the venues of this exhibition. The income generated from the sales of my hat will go towards the construction of the Children's Museum. To be continued...
