By Zahi Hawass This column is not about the musical starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner, but about a more famous king than the mythical ruler of Siam, the golden king, Tutankhamun. I recently returned from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after attending the opening of the Pharaoh's golden exhibition there. When I arrived, I could not believe how much Egyptomania had gripped this American city. People were wearing the golden mask of Tut on their T-shirts, and signs everywhere announced that the golden king had arrived. The exhibition display there is even better than it was in Los Angeles. There is more space, and the design is beautiful. Omar Sharif was supposed to be with me for the grand opening, but he could not attend because he was having minor surgery in a hospital in Paris. If Sharif had come, this article would have a different title! Even without my friend, the gala opening was incredible. There were red carpets everywhere. Everyone was in black tie, the women in elegant gowns of every colour. Fireworks exploded overhead, writing the name of Tutankhamun in the sky. I made a speech in which I said that this exhibition brought the oldest civilisation in the world, which brought technology to the ancients 5,000 years ago, to meet the youngest civilisation, America. Tutankhamun had come here from the past to make better understanding between our two countries. I was invited with my friend David Silverman to have lunch with the first lady of Florida, Columba Bush. When I arrived she was with other female dignitaries of Florida. I told her that we had met for the first time in 1998 when Barbara Bush came to Egypt with all the Bush women and children. I took them to see the Pyramids and my excavations at Giza, and I value my photograph taken with her and her family. Jeb Bush and his wife came in the evening to attend the opening, and I took them to see the exhibition and explained to them the beautiful statues of the 19th Dynasty, especially the artefacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun's grandparents Yuya and Tjuya, including Tjuya's massive coffin of gilded wood. They loved the beautiful artefacts of Tutankhamun, such as the child's chair, the statues of the king as ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt, the diadem, the jewels and the miniature coffin that is the symbol of the exhibition. During the press conference I said that Egypt had made for the first time about $9 million from the exhibit in Los Angeles. I said there would be no more free meals, because we would use this money for the conservation of the Egyptian monuments, and to build new museums to preserve these artifacts. Twenty-six years ago, Tut toured about six cities, and now he is back for the last time. Tutankhamun will not be leaving Egypt again. The exhibition will stay in Fort Lauderdale for only four months, and after that will go to Chicago for eight months. We hope that Mrs Suzanne Mubarak will be able to attend the grand opening of this exhibition because the Chicago space will be amazing. The most incredible thing about the king and I was the boat parade and competition held on the water every year. This year, the parade was dedicated to ancient Egypt. The city chose me to be one of the judges. I sat on a stand with the other judges and reviewed more than 170 boats with unique lights, decorated with themes linked to Tut, other Pharaohs, and Pyramids, and watched beautiful Pharaonic dancing. I gave the best marks to a boat with the mask of King Tut on the top. The uniforms of the crew were in a beautiful navy blue, with lights that made me think we were in ancient Egypt. I could not believe how a boy of 19 could turn an entire American city into the land of the Pharaohs.
