Egypt is a magnet for tourists interested in culture and history, but these days it has little to offer lovers of wildlife. The Egyptian giraffe who was once a national celebrity in France (having walked all the way from Marseille to Paris, where it inspired women to wear very tall hats) is long forgotten. Cairo’s zoo—the oldest in Africa and once one of the finest in the world—is closed for renovation. But the country still has one majestic menagerie where animal lovers can see the giraffes, gazelles, baboons, cheetahs, and elephants that once roamed the Nile Valley and its surrounding region. Painted onto the walls of the ancient Tomb of Rekhmire, a curious collection of critters has been preserved for nearly 3,500 years.
Rekhmire was a vizier and priest during the New Kingdom, under the reigns of the pharaohs Thutmose III and Amenhotep II. He was a big deal in his day—he had more than a hundred job titles and honorifics. For his tomb, he commissioned a series of wall paintings that showed his involvement in almost every aspect of Egyptian life. And he seemed to have an eye for animals, with the paintings showing him receiving gifts of creatures large and small. There are cheetahs on leashes, an elephant, and even a monkey riding the neck of a giraffe.
When Egyptologists first began to study the Tomb of Rekhmire, it had long been discovered by local peasants and was being used as a stable. Amazingly, the tomb’s ancient painted animals weren’t destroyed by the modern-day livestock who lived among them. Finally, in the early 20th century, the livestock were ejected and the tomb was cleaned and restored. Rekhmire’s painted menagerie has been filling visitors with wonder ever since.