Chasing Mummies

- Season 1

(2010)

Zahi is supervising the restoration of the Step Pyramid, the oldest pyramid in Egypt. It's there that we meet the new members of his fellowship program: Late to show up, Lindsay nearly loses her job before it actually begins! Meanwhile, Fellowship Coordinator Dr. Allan Morton realizes the erroneous assignment of Zoe to the program.

Only a handful of people have ever had the chance to see the Five Chambers high above the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid. Now, Zahi decides to go on his final journey to the Five Chambers with the fellows in tow.

Most people experience something rare or exceptional once or twice in a lifetime, but Zahi Hawass, unimpeded by his tireless lust for adventure, lives many lifetimes in a single day; Zahi moves from a dig site in Saqqara...descending deep underground to uncover a cache of mummies; to the Workmen's Cemetery; and finally, discovers a rare and important piece of Egyptian history.

On the road to Dakhla, the fellows learn quickly just how fast everything can change when Zahi is in the driver's seat! Army maneuvers have shut down their journey to restore an ancient minaret and now they must take a treacherous journey through the White Desert to camp overnight in a deserted oasis. If only the fellows had prepared for this!

Finding Cleopatra's tomb has been the lifelong passion for many an archaeologist. Some scholars believe Cleopatra's remains are at Taposiris Magna, while others believe her remains must be in the city of Alexandria, where she lived an infamous life with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.

Finding unopened tombs in modern-day Egypt is very rare indeed, but with all his fellows in tow, Zahi heads to Sheikh Sobey and discovers an amazing mummy inside a sarcophagus. Also, Zahi makes it clear to the world community that every important Egyptian artifact must be returned to Egypt.

It's early morning in Saqqara and Zahi is getting ready to open two sealed tombs for the first time in thousands of years, but Zoe is late again and his patience is wearing thin. At the "Festival of the Sacrifice," Derek and Allan begin to learn about the customs and traditions of their host country.

It's time for Leslie, the Executive Producer, to do Zahi a favor, and it requires going where few cameras have been before -- to the mysterious caves below the Giza Plateau. Zahi is determined to disprove the theories of the so-called "pyramidiots," who believe that there are secret underground chambers leading to the Sphinx.

Now that two fellows are gone, it seems that Alice, the marine archaeologist from Alexandria, wants to ask Zahi for a spot in the fellowship program. Zahi sets her to task--her first assignment--ride with him on horseback through the vast open desert to the Falcon Galleries.

Having the chance of a lifetime to follow Dr. Zahi Hawass and witness so many new discoveries in this magical land of Egypt is an exceptional experience for anyone who can actually keep up with him! Just ask his truly-devoted archaeological workers, who've named a brand new tomb complex in Luxor after their dynamic boss: Z-1, or "Zahi"-1.