WATANI International
10 July 2011
Kamal al-Mallakh (1918 – 1988)
Twenty-three years have passed since the death of columnist and archeologist Kamal al-Mallakh, and it is more than half a century since he made the incredible discovery of the solar boats at the foot of the Great Pyramid.
Mallakh was well known to Egyptians from his lively column on the last page of the Cairo topmost daily newspaper Al-Ahram (the column still carries the same title, Bidoun Enwan (With No Title). He attracted a very wide readership with his vivid literary style, brilliant images, and interesting stories. Through his column, archaeology became a household name in Egypt; countless readers were educated on Egyptology through Mallakh’s stories. He also brought home a wide scope of the international cinematic scene, regularly reporting on new films, stars, and festivals around the world.
Now the great man’s niece, Alice al-Mallakh, has written a powerful biography of her uncle, published by Dar Nahdet Misr.
Crowning achievement
Kamal al-Mallakh was born on 26 October 1918 and graduated with a degree in the fine arts and architecture from Cairo University in 1943. He went on to obtain a master’s degree from the Egyptian Studies Institute. For some time he was a works manager at the Monuments Authority, where he has to his credit an impressive list of achievements. He restored monuments at Philae in Aswan, unearthed a swimming pool that dated back to the Greek period in Ashmounin, Minya; and he restored the 5th century Abu-Mina basilica in the Western Desert. He conducted restoration work inside and outside the Giza Pyramids for the first time since they were built and, in 1949, he carried out restoration work on the Sphinx.
Mallakh’s crowning achievement, however, was the discovery of the solar boats. The first was found in the pyramid belonging to the wife of King Khufu. This was followed by the discovery of Khufu’s solar boats, which predated the burial of Pharaoh Tutankhamun by 1,500 years.
The discovery of Khufu’s solar boats in 1954 was of supreme importance, and Mallakh was invited to the United States to give a university lecture tour and speak about the discovery to the media. He was soon lecturing in European universities and in Cairo. In addition to his expertise in ancient monuments, he was also an excellent art critic and was appointed head of the Egyptian Society for Literary and Cinema Critics. It was his idea that international cinema festivals be held in Egypt, and accordingly he was picked to lead the Cairo International Cinema Festival and the Alexandria Festival of Mediterranean Countries.
Mallakh in biography
The new biography of Mallakh identifies his character; the attempts to obscure his discoveries; and the story of his discovery of the oldest known bridge in the world. It outlines his explanation of the reasons for making the solar boats by the ancient Egyptians and listed the types of wood used in making the boats.
Included are the last days of Mallakh’s life and his last and strangest recommendation, as well as other little-known facts. In her preface, Alice al-Mallakh says: “Kamal al-Mallakh’s three most popular books Saloun min Waraq (Paper Salon), Hikayat Saif (Summer Stories) and Al-Nar Wal Bahr (Fire And Sea) were among 27 books, seven of them for children; biographies of such prominent figures as Picasso, Taha Hussien and Tawfiq al-Hakim, and others about Egyptian life.”
Mallakh received several awards, among them the Order of the Republic from President Gamal Abdel-Nasser; the State Prize for literature and the arts from President Anwar al-Sadat; and the State Prize of Appreciation from President Hosni Mubarak.
Among his international awards were the French National Order of Merit of (first class), while the US named a star in his honour. The International Geographical Union in Washington selected him a life member and hung his portrait alongside the great explorers.
Pharoah’s curse
The book contains photographs of Mallakh with the former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser taken during a visit to the site where the solar boats were discovered, as well as pictures of Mallakh with artists and public national and international figures. Mallakh was a talented artist, and the book contains some of his illustrations. The book has an introduction by Zahi Hawas, Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, who mentions his relations with Mallakh and the importance of the solar boat discovery.
Unfortunately Mallakh was afflicted by the so-called ‘pharaohs curse’. When he opened up the gap under which the solar boats lay, he drew breath. In his own words, he describes the moment full of awe. “I breathed a scent I would never forget to the end of my life. It was the sacred scent of incense and musk—something like what you’d expect in a church—which the ancients had placed in the pit to repel insects that may spoil the wood. I breathed 4560 years of history.” Whether or not this was the cause, he suffered for the rest of his life from the painful skin disease psoriasis until his death on 29 October 1987.