The search for the real Cleopatra

Friday, April 21, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we examine a sharp rise in STDs, search for Cleopatra’s tomb… and hike across the breathtaking Alps. Plus, can you tell which photo below is real—and which is AI-generated?

PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE STEINMETZ

Cleopatra, the intriguing Egyptian queen, has been portrayed in artwork for thousands of years—and in film by Elizabeth Taylor, Gal Gadot, and now Adele James.

Her struggle to maintain power—and her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony—are well known. But her face is not, nor her origins on her mother’s side. Those origins have provoked national debate and protest with the Netflix casting of James, who is of mixed race, as Cleopatra.

A discovery of Egypt’s last pharaoh (depicted above with a son) would be the biggest since King Tut’s tomb was exhumed a century ago—and it would perhaps settle the dispute. Where does the search stand?

Read the full story here.

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CHRISTOPH GERIGK, FRANCK GODDIO/HILTI FOUNDATION

Traces of a queen: These statue parts—the head of a Roman woman and the body of one of Cleopatra’s ancestors— were uncovered during almost 20 years of excavations off the coast of Alexandria, Cleopatra’s capital. Much of the city and the area around it sank during centuries of earthquakes, tsunamis, and rising seas. Read more.

And watch this Nat Geo special on the hunt for Cleopatra

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALANA PATERSON, THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

The race for new, better psychedelics (pictured above, a psilocybin mushroom)

Will humans let elephants live? Related: ‘Secrets of the Elephants’ series premieres tonight on Nat Geo. Watch the trailer here.

SpaceX scrambles after post-launch explosion of its biggest rocket

Atlantis: Underwater kingdom—or fake?

This dance was shocking and suggestive—and it conquered the world

A new advance against cancer: Kill the bacteria

7 hormones that control your hunger—and how you can control them

STD rates are at an all time high. Here’s why.

Look up for an Earth Day meteor shower—that happens once a year

Thinking of getting outside tomorrow? These are the U.S.’s top 10 National Parks

WHICH IS THE REAL PHOTO?

First or second? One of these is a real photograph by Nat Geo photographer Frans Lanting. The other is an AI-generated image produced with DALL·E 2 using the prompt “a National Geographic style photo of a cheetah in Africa.” Can you tell which one is which?

CLICK TO FIND OUT

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY JESSICA KENDALL-BAR

You snooze, you lose: Elephant seals sleep only 2 hours a day during the seven months they’re at sea, in part to avoid predators. The first-ever sleep study on marine mammals in the wild was conducted on these sleepy seals—and it remains a mystery how they can survive for so long with so little shuteye. (Snoozy Suzy is pictured above.)

ZZZZzzzzz

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCOTT WILSON, ALAMY

A magical exploration: A tour through the scenic, luscious, and alive Alps may land you here: at Neuschwanstein, the castle pictured above, which appears as if it almost hovers on a breathtaking cliff. It’s also said this was Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s castle.

EXPLORE MORE

Today’s soundtrack: The Ballad Of Cleopatra, The Lumineers

Happy Friday! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. What’s on your travel bucket list? Email david.beard@natgeo.com to let us know. Thanks for reading!

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RJ Hamster

The search for the real Cleopatra

The search for the real Cleopatra

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