Cleopatra Exhibition Makes Its World Premiere In Philly; Tickets On Sale Now
Tickets go on sale today for Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, making its world debut at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, June 5, 2010 to January 2, 2011.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Tickets go on sale today for Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, making its world debut at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, June 5, 2010 to January 2, 2011. During the show’s run, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the National Constitution Center will sell joint tickets for Egyptian-loving visitors, and 11 hotels will offer the Cleopatra VIP Hotel Package, complete with two untimed VIP tickets to the blockbuster Cleopatra exhibition. Also getting in on the pharaoh fun, regional attractions will highlight their Egyptian ties, and area restaurants will dish out some inspiring eats. For more information, go to visitphilly.com/cleopatra. Here’s an overview of Cleopatra’s Philadelphia:
The Exhibition: When Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt makes its world premiere at The Franklin Institute, more than 150 artifacts and multimedia features will transport visitors from modern-day Philadelphia to ancient Egypt, where the elusive queen ruled as the last Pharaoh before the Romans took power. While her body and much of the evidence of her life were purposely lost in the sands and waters of Egypt, her fascinating story—her rule, the opposition to her throne and her legendary romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony—remains. The tour is organized by the team that brought the King Tut exhibition to Philadelphia: National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology. Tickets start at $26.50 for adults. June 5, 2010-January 2, 2011. 222 N. 20th Street, ( 215 ) 448-1200, fi.edu
Hotel Hieroglyphics: Available at 11 hotels, the one-night Cleopatra VIP Hotel Package includes accommodations for two and two VIP ( untimed, bypass-the-line ) tickets to the exhibition. These exclusive tickets are available only for people who book the package. Cleopatra fans will receive other gifts and amenities, which vary by hotel. Visitors can book the package, which starts at $119, by calling the participating hotels or by going to visitphilly.com/cleopatra. The two-night AAA Cleopatra package, starting at $145, includes one ticket to the exhibit and the Planetarium theater and is available at three area hotels. To book, AAA members can call their local travel representatives or log onto visitphilly.com/aaa.
Divine Double Tickets: For an amped-up Egyptian-inspired vacation, visitors can take advantage of two joint ticket deals The Franklin Institute is offering in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, housing Egyptian galleries and artifacts representing 5,000 years of history, and the National Constitution Center, host of the Ancient Rome & America exhibition. The Penn Museum’s ticket ranges from $25 to $32 for adults and is available at The Franklin Institute or by calling ( 877 ) TFI-TIXS; the Ancient Rome double ticket offer is $37 and can be purchased only at the Independence Visitor Center. See below for more on the Egyptian offerings at these attractions.
Eat Like An Egyptian: Philadelphia restaurants are doing their part to ensure that diners eat like royalty. Here’s a look at some of the special menus they’re rolling out in honor of the queen’s arrival:
The Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia’s Fountain Restaurant serves up a lunchtime Cleopatra Tasting Menu, including chickpea hummus, slow-cooked duck breast with leg meat and acacia honey and almond cake. 1 Logan Square, ( 215 ) 963-1500, fourseasons.com/philadelphia During the month of June, Zahav welcomes Queen Cleo by offering a delightful Egyptian Semolina Cake with peanuts and curry caramel sauce. 237 Saint James Place, ( 215 ) 625-8800, zahavrestaurant.com Inside the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel Philadelphia, Tavern 17 dishes out Pharaoh’s Feast for Two, complete with baba ghanoush; grilled calamari wrapped in grape leaves with falafel; orange lettuce salad with roasted beets; Egyptian-style lamb kebabs; broiled sole; and honey-glazed baklava served with figs, dates, almonds, pistachios and grapes. 17th & Locust Streets, ( 215 ) 790-1799, radisson.com All About Egypt & Queen Cleopatra: Special exhibitions on view at museums and attractions throughout the region have Egyptian connections, giving visitors plenty of reasons to extend their stay in Philadelphia:
During the course of the Cleopatra exhibition, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—boasting 42,000 Egyptian artifacts encompassing 5,000 years—offers a self-guided “Land of the Pharaohs” tour. Visitors can stand before the world’s third-largest sphinx and walk among monumental architectural elements from the Palace of the Pharaoh Merenptah. 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. 3260 South Street, ( 215 ) 898-4001, penn.museum Visitors can travel forward through history by exploring Ancient Rome & America, an 8,000-square-foot exhibition at the National Constitution Center, on view through August 1, 2010. The exhibit features more than 300 ancient artifacts, including sculptures, ceramics, coins and jewelry from Rome’s Republican and Imperial periods. While the Egyptian queen is featured in two promotional movie posters on display in the exhibit, a tour of the Roman exposition gives visitors a fuller context of that period in history, as Cleopatra famously engaged in romantic and political relationships with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony as her empire was declining and theirs was thriving. 525 Arch Street, ( 215 ) 409-6700, constitutioncenter.org Fashionistas and movie buffs converge during the James A. Michener Art Museum’s Icons of Costume: Hollywood’s Golden Era exhibition, through September 5, 2010, where designs created for Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe—and the Cleopatra of the big screen, Elizabeth Taylor—take center stage. 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.” 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, ( 215 ) 340-9800, michenermuseum.org 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. Fairmount & Pennsylvania Avenues, ( 215 ) 763-8100, philamuseum.org/perelman 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. Through November 22, 2010, Longwood Gardens will be redolent with the smell 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. 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, ( 610 ) 388-1000, longwoodgardens.org The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation ( GPTMC ) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.
For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit visitphilly.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at ( 800 ) 537-7676.
Contact( s ): Cara Schneider, ( 215 ) 599-0789 Rachel Ferguson, ( 215 ) 599-2291
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