I am a mere observer to the truly moving and historic events unfolding in Egypt. I’m many thousands of miles and many timezones away from the cataclysmic events happening in Tahrir Square, Cairo. But this day is no less remarkable. We’re seeing the seeds of democracy finally take root in a civilization that has 6,000 years of recorded history. And, all the more remarkably this is being done almost entirely peacefully.

The Egyptians were the first people to develop a rich iconography and sense of formal design, they invented paper and keyed-locks, brought us water clocks and sundials. They’re responsible for some of the first medicines and, more importantly to many in the West, they invented formal make-up. Egyptians have a rich and unique history of art and literature, and of course they brought us the pharoahs and their afterlives.

So. here’s a toast to the newly emerging Egypt, a democratic Egypt that we see unfolding before our very eyes. Today, February 11, 2011 may well be the last in the line of military pharaohs, ancient or modern. May your next 6,000 years be full of true freedom, dignity, respect, social justice and peace.

Image: Tuthankamen’s Burial Mask, Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen.