Yummy mummies and other ancient things

By JIM EAGLES

It's always going to be a stunning experience to come face to face with something such as Egypt's majestic Valley of the Kings or Brazil's riotous carnival.

But it's even more moving when you know that the tombs in the valley date back some 4000 years or that the carnival was originally a somewhat unpleasant religious rite.

Before any trip, it's a great idea to soak up as much information as you can about the places you plan to visit.

THE SEARCH FOR NEFERTITI

By Joann Fletcher

Hodder & Stoughton, $44.99


Agatha Christie meets Howard Carter (the archaeologist who found Tutankhamen's tomb) and Germaine Greer.

Eh? Well, how else do you describe a book which is a combination of travelogue, archaeological detective story, feminist tract and history?

Joann Fletcher has been fascinated by Egypt since she was a child so it's no surprise that she became an Egyptologist.

Her pre-occupation has been to uncover the real story - and, latterly, the whereabouts of the mummy - of Nefertiti, the legendary beauty who was the wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten, ruler of Egypt more than 3000 years ago.

Fletcher believes male archaeologists have downplayed the role of women in ancient Egypt and, in particular, have mistakenly overlooked Nefertiti's status for several years as co-ruler with Akhenaten and, after his death, briefly ruler in her own right.

In the course of building her case, Fletcher has become convinced that one of three unknown mummies found in a side-chamber to the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings is Nefertiti.

It is a fascinating story but - more importantly from the point of view of a tourist rather than an archaeologist - it is also a wonderful introduction to the origins of those incredible pyramids, sphinxes and temples and the stories that lie behind their construction.

I was intrigued to learn that the mummies of Akhenaten and Nefertiti were attacked and dumped in a humble tomb and their names chiselled off public buildings because they transferred the state's primary religious allegiance from Amen, the mysterious god of creation, to Aten, the god of the sun.

Tutankhamen, Akhenaten's son, changed allegiance back to Amen (and to emphasise the point also changed his name, which was originally Tutankhaten) and his vengeful priests did their best to obliterate the memory of the apostates.

Despite her countless trips to Egypt, and her years studying the subject, Fletcher has obviously not lost her youthful enthusiasm for the topic.

Her descriptions of museums, artefacts, ruins, landscapes and tombs bubble off the page.

If you're planning a trip to Egypt it's a perfect introduction to the extraordinary civilisation which, 5000 years ago, started producing architecture and art we still marvel at today.

RIO DE JANEIRO: Carnival under Fire

By Ruy Castro

Bloomsbury, $35


Say "carnival" and Rio De Janeiro springs to mind, with its images of riotous colour, gyrating bodies and wild behaviour.

You could say this Brazilian city has built its world reputation on carnivals, but how and why it achieved this is a fascinating story, which journalist and author Ruy Castro sets out in this slim volume.

The city has been in carnival mode for three centuries, although the religious intent of celebrating Ash Wednesday was much stronger at the beginning than the sybaritic occasion it has become.

Indeed, the first carnivals, which sprang up when Brazil was still under Portuguese control, were based on a peculiar festival in Lisbon which involved one half of the city throwing filth at the other half, leaving the streets like a giant rubbish tip and many participants injured.

However, around 1882, the streets of Rio began to throb to the rather happier music and sounds of carnival as it is today.

It hasn't all been plain sailing, and much of this has to do with the city's turbulent history.

Castro is a Carioca - a native of the city - and his research is detailed and funny, with interesting insights into how people from all over the world, many of them famous, let their hair down during carnival time.

If you're thinking of going to Rio to enjoy the carnival experience, this is a great starting point.

WINERIES & VINEYARDS OF NZ 2005: OPEN TO VISIT

Compiled by Barbara Dyer

Hodder Moa Beckett, $29.99


If you enjoy New Zealand wine - and I sure do - there's nothing much nicer than cruising round a few vineyards, tasting a range of wines, buying a few bottles, maybe enjoying a nice lunch at one of the many good winery restaurants and soaking up the relaxed rural atmosphere.

So this attractive, glossy compendium of wineries, complete with maps, directions, opening hours, facilities and wine notes should really hit the spot as a guide to enjoying our wine areas.

Unfortunately, although the label is attractive, the colour enticing and the bouquet pleasant, the end result is disappointing.

The biggest problem is that the book covers so few wineries. I appreciate that a volume covering every winery in the country would be very large. But a guide to Hawkes Bay wineries which excludes Te Mata Estate, the oldest winery in the country and consistently one of the best, is absurd. And a tour of Waiheke Island which overlooks Goldwater Estate, the first vineyard on the island and a consistently superb producer, is equally bizarre.

I couldn't find any mention of the criteria for selection, which makes me suspicious that it may have been on the basis of who was willing to pay for space.

The other criticism is that there is no useful information about the quality of the wines on offer. When visiting a vineyard for the first time I always take out my well-thumbed copy of Michael Cooper's Buyers' Guide to New Zealand Wines to check out what they do well and what he reckons to be good value.

I'm afraid Wineries and Vineyards, for all its good graphics and pretty pictures, just doesn't do the job.