The Cleopatra Experience in Philadelphia

While Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt makes its world premiere at The Franklin Institute (June 5, 2010 – January 2, 2011), attractions across the Philadelphia region will accentuate their connections to those qualities that crown Cleopatra as one of the most intriguing women in history. Here’s a look at how visitors can explore the Philadelphia region before or after their visit to Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt.

Egyptian Offerings

Egypt at the Penn Museum

During the course of the Cleopatra exhibition, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology — boasting 42,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts encompassing 5,000 years of Egyptian history — offers a self-guided tour exploring Egyptian pharaohs. The museum’s renowned Egyptian galleries provide insight into the 3,000-year tradition of pharaonic rule that ended forever with the suicide of Cleopatra in 30 B.C. Visitors can stand before the world’s third-largest sphinx dating to the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II (ca. 1279-1213 BC) and walk among monumental architectural elements from the Palace of the Pharaoh Merenptah (ca. 1213-1203 BC) in the Lower Egyptian Gallery. In addition, Amarna: Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun showcases more than 100 artifacts that tell the story of the rise and fall of the short-lived royal city and childhood home of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The Upper Egyptian Gallery features royal sculpture, and the popular exhibition The Egyptian Mummy: Secrets and Science.
Details: 3260 South Street | (215) 898-4001 | More Info

Modern Masonry

The city’s prime example of Egyptian architecture can be excavated at the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, built from the material originally quarried in Upper Egypt for the construction of the pyramids. Inside, Egyptian Hall is decorated in the style of the Nile Valley and boasts dozens of symbolic touches that mirror those used in antiquity, including historically accurate hieroglyphics.
Details: 1 N. Broad Street | (215) 988-1900 | pagrandlodge.org

Glencairn Museum

The spirituality, mystical beliefs and death rituals honored by ancient Egyptians entrance visitors to the Glencairn Museum’s Egyptian Gallery. Founded as a place to teach the history of religion through art and symbolic objects from a variety of cultures and time periods, including the Roman Empire, the museum houses more than 1,300 Egyptian artifacts. Throughout the Cleopatra exhibition, admission is half off with a ticket stub.
Details: 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn | (267) 502-2600 | glencairnmuseum.org

The Pharoah’s Tomb at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge

Cleopatra herself might have opted to stay in the sensual Pharaoh’s Tomb, one of 20 thematic “fantasy suites” at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge. Imagination takes over in this private suite, adorned with heavy blacks, golds and tans, with faux stone walls, hieroglyphics and Egyptian figures.
Details: 1160 1st Avenue, King of Prussia | (610) 337-2000 | radisson.com

3000BC WellMed Spa

Designed around the health/beauty practices of ancient Egypt, 3000BC WellMed Spa specializes in aromatherapy, believed to be used by the ancient Egyptians who distilled essential oils for use in cosmetics and medicines. As such, the staff at this Egypt-inspired spa uses pure essential oils to create comprehensive well being for body, mind and spirit.
Details: 8439 Germantown Avenue, (215) 247-6020; 605 W. Lancaster Avenue, Radnor, (484) 367-1000 | Georgetown Crossing, 3655 Route 202, Suites 225 & 230, Doylestown, (215) 230-4013 | 3000bc.com

Adolf Becker Spa

Fit for a queen, this decadent package includes a full-body exfoliation, detoxifying wrap, mini-facial and an application of body moisturizer. The final touch — your eye makeup applied in the style you choose by one of our professional makeup artists. Indulge in this lavish service at Adolf Biecker for $230. (There’s no de-Nile of beauty here!) 2 locations- The Rittenhouse Hotel and on the Main Line in Strafford, PA.
Details: 210 West Rittenhouse Square, Third Floor, (215) 735-6404 | 508 W. Lancaster Avenue, Strafford, (610) 687-4750 | adolfbiecker.com

Land Of Antiquities

The Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art safeguards a handful of Egyptian textiles dating to before the eighth century; however, the majority of its antiquities collection is culled from Asia. Spanning from 2500 B.C. to the present day, highlights include paintings and sculptures from China, Japan, India and Tibet; major collections of Chinese, Japanese and Korean ceramics; and a distinguished group of Persian and Turkish carpets.
Details: 26th Street & the Ben Franklin Parkway | (215) 763-8100 | More Info

The Shoe Museum

Egyptian burial sandals are just one of 900 pair of shoes saved from history’s debilitating effects and closeted at the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine’s Shoe Museum. Malaysian clogs, Eskimo boots and shoes used to bind affluent Chinese girls’ feet for more than 1000 years also stand at attention for visitors who schedule appointments ahead of time.
Details: 8th & Race Streets | (215) 625-5243 | More Info

Cleopatra’s Medical World

On special display at the Mütter Museum during The Franklin Institute exhibition is Cleopatra’s Medical World, featuring ancient Roman surgical tools used during the era of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, as well as exact reproductions of medical instruments found in the ruins of Pompeii. Also on display is an Assyrian medical tablet dating to 700 B.C., which prescribes beer as a cure for a headache, and rare early Latin translations of Arabic medical texts — some by Constantinus Africanus.
Details: 19 S. 22nd Street | (215) 563-3737 | More Info

Concurrent Exhibitions

Ancient Rome & America

Visitors to the Cleopatra exhibition can travel forward through history by exploring Ancient Rome & America, an 8,000-square-foot exhibition at the National Constitution Center, on view February 19 through August 1, 2010. The exhibit features more than 300 ancient artifacts, including bronze and marble sculptures, ceramics, coins and jewelry from Rome’s Republican and Imperial periods. While the exhibition mentions the Egyptian queen in two promotional movie posters, a tour of the Roman exposition can give visitors a fuller context of that period in history, as Cleopatra famously engaged in romantic and political relationships with both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony as her empire was declining and theirs was thriving.
Details:525 Arch Street | (215) 409-6700 | More Info

Icons of Costume: Hollywood’s Golden Era

Fashionistas and movie buffs converge during the James A. Michener Art Museum’s Icons of Costume: Hollywood’s Golden Era exhibition, April 17 through September 5, 2010, where designs created for by Katharine Hepburn, James Dean, Goldie Hawn — and the Cleopatra of the big screen, Elizabeth Taylor — take center stage. Among the more than 60 items on display, Kate Winslet’s “Heart of the Ocean” from Titanic and Marilyn Monroe’s gold-lamé dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes are sure to make any movie lover swoon. On weekends, aspiring stars can see if they have what it takes when they don the clothes and read the lines for the “Casting Call.” Visitors dress in costume reproductions and act out scenes from The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind or Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Also throughout the show’s run, the historic County Theater features the classic films highlighted in the exhibit.
Details: Michener Museum – 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, (215) 340-9800; More Info | County Theater – 20 E. State Street, Doylestown, (215) 345-6789, countytheater.org

Desert Jewels

As any casual Cleopatra observer knows, the queen liked her jewelry. From September 4 through December 5, 2010, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building will exhibit Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection, which spotlights 80 necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings and nearly 30 fashion photographs by artists from Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. The collection, comprised of many never-before-seen pieces, highlights cultural threads shared by many North African societies, while exploring local variations in materials and motifs.
Details: Fairmount & Pennsylvania Avenues | (215) 763-8100 | philamuseum.org

Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance

Queen Cleopatra’s beauty regimen is best recognized by her love of kohl eyeliner and permanent makeup, but what’s less known outside the beauty world is that she was also fond of floral perfume and made her own. From April 10 through November 22, 2010, Longwood Gardens will be redolent with the aroma of Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance, an exhibition that delves into the history, science and seductive power of fragrance. In the exhibit, people discover that Egyptians created one of the earliest perfumes, using a combination of honey, myrrh, juniper berries and wine, and kids visit a Pharaoh station during the “Scent Seeker” activity.
Details: 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square | (610) 388-1000 | More Info

Museum of Mourning Art

On permanent display at the Museum of Mourning Art is a singular collection of art, literature, clothing, jewelry and talismen that represent death and grieving through the ages. While perhaps no civilization placed as much emphasis on death and the after-life as the ancient Egyptians, this cemetery museum chronicles the rituals and objects that symbolize subsequent peoples’ attitudes and behaviors toward dying and mourning.
Details: 2900 State Road, Drexel Hill | (610) 259-5800 | More Info