BOB Cribbs was an unusual American friend who loved Egypt and Egypt loved him too. I first met Bob 35 years ago, when I was on a tour of the United States organized by Rotary International; the programme was called the ‘Group Study Exchange’.
During the tour, I was hosted for two months by about 20 different Rotarians in the area of California and Nevada. Bob Cribbs happened to be one of these generous hosts; I had a great time with him and his lovely family on his huge ranch in Sacramento.
As soon as we met, we realized we had much in common. It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Back then, he was the director of a small industrial research company, called ‘Folsom Research Inc’. The company specialized in building innovative imaging systems based on radar and ultrasonic technologies.
Bob himself was a pioneer in the field of using ultrasonic for medical applications. He contributed greatly to the first trials of ultrasonic to image the unborn child inside its mother’s womb – it was a new technology at the time.
During my Rotary tour, I gave presentations about the history of Egypt and science and technology at the time of the Pharaohs. Bob and I both had scientific backgrounds (I am a professor of computer engineering) and we were also interested in culture and history.
We started discussing the use of modern technology to investigate Ancient Egyptian monuments. We focused on investigating how to apply the technology already being used in medical applications to archaeology. I’ll tell you more about this next week.
During my stay in Caledonia, I noticed two very interesting things. Firstly, during every single presentation I gave, I was asked: ‘Was the Egyptian civilization established by aliens?’
I soon realized why everyone was asking this question – a bestseller had just come out, entitled The Chariots of the Gods, which tried to prove that all ancient civilizations were created by aliens from outer space.
I read the book and discovered that the writer exploited the reader’s ignorance about certain areas of old civilizations. I started clear up these misunderstandings in my subsequent presentations. I wanted to show the Americans that the Egyptian civilization is the fruit of the integrity of the Egyptian people.
The second curious thing that happened to me in California was that, while I was staying in Bob’s home, people looking at me through the ground floor windows. When I asked why, I was told that the neighbors were curious to see what an Egyptian looked like. They thought I’d be dressed like a Pharaoh!
