The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center officially opens Tuesday on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, a city known as a crossroads during the 1800s on the Underground Railroad route for slaves seeking freedom.
A “festival of freedom” dedication featuring dance, music and storytelling from various ethnic groups will take place Monday from noon to 10 p.m. on the grounds, 50 East Freedom Way.
The 158,000-square-foot center is made up of various exhibits and films, including one introduced by Oprah Winfrey, a major contributor to the museum.
Museum hours will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets are $12, adults; $10, students, seniors and children ages 6-12. For more details, call 877-648-4838 or 513-333-7500. The Web site is www.freedomcenter.org.
Hotels offer discount
Kimpton Hotels, which has 38 properties in the United States and Canada, is trying to encourage guests to book through its Web site, www.kimptonhotels.com, or the sites of each of its individual hotels, including three in Chicago–the Allegro, Burnham and Monaco.
The hotel chain is offering a discount card good for $15 off the nightly rate on subsequent stays at 36 of its hotels.
The eGift Card, as it is called, must be presented at check-in and can be used on all stays through next March 31; it is not valid on the initial reservation. The hotel is also guaranteeing the best Web rates to those who book through its sites. For complete conditions, see the Web sites.
Hotels offer discount Pharaoh’s tomb restored
Visitors to Luxor can now see the newly restored sarcophagus of Pharaoh Ramses VI in the Theban necropolis inside the Valley of the Kings, the royal burial ground of Egypt’s pharaohs on the western bank of the Nile. It was pieced together from 250 shattered fragments in the pharaoh’s tomb, most likely the remnants from tomb robbers’ raids, according to archeologists.
The greenish stone sarcophagus of Ramses VI, who ruled Egypt about 3,100 years ago, shows clear features of the pharaoh’s face, and crossed hands holding royal scepters (the face is a replica, with the original in the British Museum in London). The sarcophagus is fitted into another massive sarcophagus made of red granite.
Carved from the rock itself and inscribed with colorful scenes and ancient religious texts, the tomb is one of the largest in the Valley of the Kings. It has a series of halls and descending corridors stretching in a straight line for about 330 feet and 150 feet deep inside the burial chamber.
An entry fee of $3 covers visits to any three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, with additional charges for a camera (80 cents) or video camera ($15.50).
