A Heart Full of Honey: The Hittites are Coming!!

I was invited by the Victoria Museum & Gallery to `brainstorm for a brand new exhibition that they were planning. This was mega exciting for me, not least of all, to see God open doors of opportunity, and compose the string of events that lead to this point. We know that the civilisation is mentioned numerous times in the Bible... how amazing, that of all the museums projects I should be asked to take part in, this one in particular came up!

At that point, my children were studying the Hittites too! We had taken the family to the British Museum, London, and the Ashmoleon in Oxford was next on the ‘hit’ list to see various artifacts.

Their Education Officer. was only too happy to take a look at our Biblical History books, and she patiently listened to the ideas we had explored in our HE thematic study.

After a few months and a couple of meetings later, work was to finally begin! Everything was to be genuine, and a couple of curators went off to Turkey to buy props. One of the things that the museum was passionate about, was that the exhibition be ‘hands on’ for children, so our dc were asked what they would like to see and do at the new exhibition. And even what they would like to buy with their pocket money at the museum shop!

The museum very kindly invited me to the pre-opening night launch, which was attended by the very grand looking Ambassador of Turkey and his entourage. My eyes were on stalks when I saw the Bedouin Story Tent, and the ‘dig’, I had talked about with the curators all those months ago. It was one of those moments when I wanted to soak up in one go, everything my eyes could possibly take in!

A Turkish boy passing round pastries at the Pre-launch viewing

There has been a very exciting discovery : a letter written by King Tutankhamen's widow to the Hittite king Suppiluliuma asking if she could marry one of his sons. The letter does not say how Tutankhamun died. In the message to the Hittite king, Ankhesenamun says that she was very afraid, but would not take one of her own people as husband. However, the son was killed before reaching his new wife. Possibly ambushed on the Egyptian border.

As a thank you, the Education Officer asked my group to pioneer the exhibition, and generously invited us to be one of the schools to take part in an animation workshop. They even invited me back to brainstorm ideas for the new web site. That was a very special opportunity too. Oh the perks of being a HE mum! Can’t wait for the next project...

The title says 'Even Experts can be Wrong' referring to the pooh-poohing of Bible accuracy

2 KINGS chap 7 verse 6: For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, [even] the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.