Well, my name is Jason.
I was born and grew up in Sydney, Australia. I spent my childhood living at the foothills of the Blue Mountains, far away from the pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt. To be honest I didn’t even know they existed. Back in those days my childhood was about living in the country, what Aussies may call the sticks or the bush!
My first journey overseas was when I was 26 year’s old, with a starting point at Gallipoli for Anzac Day (a pilgrimage for most young Australians venturing to Europe), followed by an overland trek travelling though Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, before a few well earned 🍻 at Oktoberfest (in München). Those were the days!
It was during those initial three weeks journeying through Egypt, sadly without any knowledge of Ancient History at my call, that I developed a life long passion for all things ancient Egyptian, and also a fondness and deep respect for the current custodians of the land, which was known in ancient times as Kemet.
When I returned to Australia I attended an annual conference of the Australian Centre of Egyptology. The presenters were so passionate about their excavations in Saqqara, Helwan, and Luxor, that I knew I was obligated to learn more. Fortunately, it was the through the foresight of Professor Naguib Kanawati that prospective students could enroll in the Master’s program, if they had already completed a Bachelors (in another disciple).
So without any schooling in Ancient or Modern History, and with both a Bachelor of Commerce and CPA under my belt, I jumped in the deep-end and began my masters with ancient Egyptian religion (under assistant Professor Boyo Ockinga). Studying part-time after work, and with a sabbatical living abroad, I completed the Master’s of Arts (Egyptology) program some six years later. More about the journey than the destination!
When I’m not pursuing Egyptological endeavours, you will most likely find me cycling on a bike around Europe, or maybe in the Valley of the King’s, as in the photo above.
Nowadays, I live in Düsseldorf, Germany. This gives me the opportunity to combine my passion of travel and Egyptology, and visit many European collections.
Who is the real Heqaib that inspired the name? Well that’s for another post, but he lived during the late sixth dynasty during the reign of Pepi II.
So two year’s ago, or thereabouts, I innocently began an instagram account to share my passion about ancient Egypt. Most museums rely on their internet pages and online databases, rather than distributing information through social media. So at the close of 2021 we nearly have 25,000 engaged followers.
Truly humbled by the interest. More to come…
Welcome to the page 🎉
Lots of love, Heqaib x