Mika Toimi Waltari ( pronounced [ˈmikɑ ˈʋɑltɑri] ; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel The Egyptian ( Finnish : Sinuhe egyptiläinen ). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stories, crime novels, plays, essays, travel stories, film scripts, and rhymed texts for comic strips by Asmo Alho.
155-508: Waltari was born in Helsinki on 19 September 1908. His parents were Toimi Waltari and Olga Johansson; Toimi was a Lutheran pastor once, teaching religion in Porvoo , and Olga one of his pupils. A scandal caused by their relationship had forced them to move to Tampere and the two married on 18 November 1906. At the age of five Mika Waltari suddenly lost his father to illness on 5 July 1914, and
310-422: A bull-headed sea serpent ), and realises that she has been killed by the god's high priest Minotaurus to prevent her from returning and telling the god is dead. Sinuhe loses his mind from grief, but Kaptah eventually succeeds in calming him down and convinces him that it's best to move on and return to Syria. In Syria, Sinuhe returns to medical profession and regains his previous status. He notices, however, that
465-593: A propagandist during the Winter War and Continuation War at the State Information Bureau, causing him to realise how much historical information is actually relative or made of half-truths. Waltari also witnessed Finland's sudden, perfidious change of policy towards the USSR from "enemy" to "friend" upon the signing of the armistice on 4 September 1944, another ideal shattered. The war provided
620-664: A 113-meter-tall hotel and a 24-story residential tower have been approved. 121- and 93-meter-tall office buildings are planned to be built in Ruoholahti . Well over 200 high-rise buildings will be built in Helsinki in the 2020s. Well-known statues and monuments strongly embedded in the cityscape of Helsinki include the Keisarinnankivi ("Stone of the Empress", 1835), the statue of Russian Emperor Alexander II (1894),
775-465: A book. Waltari was one of the most prolific Finnish writers. He wrote at least 29 novels, 15 novellas, 6 collections of stories or fairy-tales, 6 collections of poetry and 26 plays, as well as screen plays, radio plays, non-fiction, translations, and hundreds of reviews and articles. He is also internationally the best-known Finnish writer, and his works have been translated into more than 30 languages. In his later years, Waltari wrote less and less. This
930-566: A brooding threatening figure of a completely ruthless conqueror and tyrannical ruler. Other historical figures with whom the protagonist has direct dealings are: Aziru (ruler of Amurru kingdom ), Thutmose (sculptor) , Burna-Buriash II (Babylonian king), and, under a different name, Zannanza , son of Suppiluliuma I. Zannanza's bride is a collage of at least three historical figures: herself, first wife of Horemheb and, by him, mother of Ramesses I . Historical Horemheb died childless. Sinuhe recounts, in his old age at his location of forced exile by
1085-473: A businessman and buys a pub called "Crocodile's Tail". There Sinuhe meets a woman named Merit, who becomes Sinuhe's life partner. In Egypt, a new king, Akhenaten, has begun to convey a monotheistic teaching centered around the sun god Aten . According to Akhenaten's doctrine, all people are equal, and in the new world order there no longer would be slaves and masters. Aspects of Akhenaten prove to be unpopular: his pacifism, among Horemheb and others concerned with
1240-502: A culture of real human beings in a way achieved by few other novels". Waltari has been mistaken for an egyptologist. He never visited Egypt, because he feared it would ruin his mental image of Egypt and modern Egypt was completely different from the ancient one. He has said: "I have lived in Egypt although I have never visited the place." Nonetheless, Markku Envall cautions that the novel cannot be taken as absolutely free of errors on
1395-489: A good ruler by combining Akhenaten and Horemheb, and an individual capable of surviving through everyday life by combining Sinuhe and Kaptah. Sinuhe is dependent on Kaptah's street-smartness and life experience, and they are inseparable to such an extent that in Kaptah's absence Sinuhe is forced to imagine his voice. The portrayal of Atenism , as a doctrine advocating peace and equality, has attracted readings as an allegory of
1550-399: A half-month period of great inspiration, with Waltari producing as many as between 15 and 27 sheets per day. So intense was his state of inspiration and immersion that, in a fictionalised account called A Nail Merchant at Nightfall he would write later, he claimed to have been visited by visions of Egyptians and to have simply transcribed the story as dictated by Sinuhe himself. He repeated
1705-502: A landscape of small villages. Some of the old villages from the 1240s in the area of present-day Helsinki, such as Koskela and Töölö , are now Helsinki districts, as are the rest of the 27 medieval villages. The area gradually became part of the Kingdom of Sweden and Christianity. Kuninkaantie , or the "King's Road", ran through the area and two interesting medieval buildings were built here: Vartiokylä hillfort [ fi ] in
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#17327763258441860-478: A literal level. A Swiss scholar complained that a sand flea species mentioned did not exist in Africa until it migrated via slave ships. Rostislav Holthoer has doubted the historicity of the depiction of trepanation prominent in the novel, and the act of abandoning newborns in reed boats. He has not been able to confirm nor deny some specific manners or traditions, such as breaking vases to conduct marriage, but
2015-551: A long time. The book is indeed a work of art, its language and effects fit splendidly with the French language, it contains not a single tasteless nor crude spot nor archaeological error. Its word order, language, closely resembles the language of Egypt, and it would be a crime to translate it with less care than what it has been written with." Critics had been concerned that Waltari might have played fast and loose with historical events, but this article dispelled these doubts and begot
2170-668: A member of the Finnish Academy in 1957 and received an honorary doctorate at the University of Turku in 1970. Waltari's last two novels tell about early history of Christianity: Valtakunnan salaisuus (English title: The Secret of the Kingdom 1959), and Ihmiskunnan viholliset (English title: The Roman 1964). As a member of Academy of Science and Letters he guided younger writers. He was also involved in re-publishing and editing his early works, and gave long interviews to Ritva Haavikko [ fi ] which were published as
2325-566: A moralist, I nonetheless cannot ignore the erotic gluttony that dominates the work, as if conceived by a sick imagination – the whole world revolves for the sole purpose that people can enjoy..." French egyptologist Pierre Chaumelle read The Egyptian in Finnish and, in a letter featured in a Helsingin Sanomat article in 13. 8. 1946, wrote of his impressions: "I shall with utmost sincerity attest that I haven't read anything as remarkable in
2480-597: A more solid naval defence in front of the city. Little came of these plans, however, as Helsinki remained a small town plagued by poverty, war and disease. The plague of 1710 killed most of Helsinki's population. After the Russians captured Helsinki in May 1713 during the Great Northern War , the retreating Swedish administration set fire to parts of the city. Despite this, the city's population grew to 3,000 by
2635-460: A new capital, Akhetaten , dedicated to Aten, is built. However, the conflicts between Amon and Aten continue, and it all develops into a civil war. Aten's kingdom on Earth begins to fall, and the courtiers, one after another, abandon Akhenaten and Akhetaten in favor of Amon and Thebes. The final battle also takes place in Thebes. Sinuhe fights for the sake of Aten and Pharaoh to the end, but ultimately
2790-458: A pessimistic message of the essential sameness of flawed human nature throughout the ages. The protagonist of the novel is the fictional character Sinuhe, the royal physician, who tells the story in exile after Akhenaten's fall and death. Apart from incidents in Egypt, the novel charts Sinuhe's travels in then Egyptian-dominated Syria ( Levant ), in Mitanni , Babylon , Minoan Crete , and among
2945-445: A reputation of almost mythical accuracy around the novel. This lack of errors was also confirmed by the egyptological congress of Cairo, and egyptologist Rostislav Holthoer also has since then noted that later research has confirmed some of Waltari's speculations. The Swedish translation by Ole Torvalds was published in late 1946, abridged with Waltari's approval. Torvalds was careful not to omit anything essential while streamlining
3100-573: A story of bohemian life. In terms of style, the novel is considered to be the Finnish equivalent to the works of the American writers of the Lost Generation . (In Waltari's historical novel The Adventurer , taking place in the 16th century, the protagonist is a Finn who goes to study in Paris at much the same age that the author went to the same city in the 20th century). Suuri illusioni
3255-528: A total area of 95,480 acres (38,640 ha). Of the total area, 48,190 acres (19,500 ha) are water areas and 47,290 acres (19,140 ha) are land areas. The city also has seven nature reserves in Espoo , Sipoo , Hanko and Ingå . The largest nature reserve is the Vanhankaupunginselkä , with an area of 30,600 acres (12,400 ha). The city's first nature reserve, Tiiraluoto of Lauttasaari,
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#17327763258443410-580: A train") and frowned upon by locals. Helsset is the Northern Sami name for Helsinki. After the end of the Ice Age and the retreat of the ice sheet, the first settlers arrived in the Helsinki area around 5000 BC. Their presence has been documented by archaeologists in Vantaa , Pitäjänmäki and Kaarela . Permanent settlements did not appear until the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, during
3565-469: A virgin to the local bull god who lives in a mountain cave at the sea. Sinuhe is horrified by this and fears that he will not see her again. In the evening before Minea should enter the mountain cave, they marry each other unofficially. A while after Minea has been escorted into the mountain cave, Sinuhe enters the cave in search for her. He finds Minea's dead body and the remains of the Cretan god (described as
3720-516: A writer. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Waltari worked as a journalist and critic, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines and travelling widely in Europe. He published articles in the official magazine of the Association of Finnish Culture and Identity , Suomalainen Suomi ('Finnish Finland'), which was later renamed as Kanava . He directed the magazine Suomen Kuvalehti . At
3875-413: Is 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia , 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden , and 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia . Helsinki has significant historical connections with these three cities. Together with the cities of Espoo , Vantaa and Kauniainen —and surrounding commuter towns, including the neighbouring municipality of Sipoo to
4030-483: Is a doctor, and Sinuhe decides to walk in his footsteps. As an assistant to a royal doctor who knows his adoptive father, Sinuhe is allowed to visit the court, during a trepanation on the dying Amenhotep III – here Sinuhe, the young crown prince Akhenaten and Horemheb meet for the first time. Well educated, Sinuhe sets up a clinic and acquires the sly and eloquent slave Kaptah, who will be his companion and close friend throughout his life. One day he gets acquainted with
4185-483: Is able to internalise much of these aspects, combining idealism and realism. Although Horemheb is able to reinstate peace and order, rebuilding that which Akhenaten destroys, his ingenious realpolitik is rejected by Sinuhe, because it also abolishes freedom. Whether suffering is increased or decreased during Horemheb's reign is left ambiguous, however. Envall constructs the following graph: He argues that "whole" individuals are achieved by combining these "partial" ones:
4340-516: Is around 19 to 22 °C (66 to 72 °F). Due to the sea effect, especially on hot summer days, daytime temperatures are slightly cooler and nighttime temperatures higher than further inland. The highest temperature recorded in the city was 33.2 °C (91.8 °F) on 28 July 2019 at the Kaisaniemi weather station, breaking the previous record of 33.1 °C (91.6 °F) set in July 1945 at
4495-652: Is chosen in the nationally held municipal elections , which are held every four years. Helsinki's city council consists of eighty-five members. Following the most recent municipal elections in 2017, the three largest parties are the National Coalition Party (25), the Green League (21), and the Social Democratic Party (12). The Mayor of Helsinki is Juhana Vartiainen . The city of Helsinki has 683,669 inhabitants, making it
4650-477: Is classified as a major port city, and in 2017 it was rated the world's busiest passenger port. According to a theory put forward in the 1630s, at the time of Swedish colonisation of the Finnish coast, colonists from Hälsingland in central Sweden arrived at what is now the Vantaa River and called it Helsingå ('Helsinge River'), giving rise to the names of the village and church of Helsinge in
4805-420: Is comparatively high in certain parts of downtown Helsinki, reaching 16,494 inhabitants per square kilometre (42,720/sq mi) in the district of Kallio , overall Helsinki's population density is 3,147 per square kilometre. Outside the city centre, much of Helsinki consists of post-war suburbs separated by patches of forest. A narrow, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long Helsinki Central Park , which stretches from
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4960-474: Is decorated with Waltari's signature and a stylized pen nib that symbolizes the diversity of the writer's production. Waltari's memorial in Töölö by Veikko Hirvimäki was unveiled in 1985. Two asteroids have been named in honour of Waltari: n:o 4266 Mika Waltari and n:o 4512 Sinuhe. Waltari's historical novels have been cited by G. R. R. Martin and Jean Auel as an influence. Helsinki Helsinki
5115-407: Is denied: "There are also those, who say that which has happened has never before happened, but this is useless talk." This thesis is repeated by multiple other characters as well. The main thesis is borrowed from Ecclesiastes: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Like The Egyptian , Ecclesiastes strengthens
5270-488: Is derived. Official Finnish government documents and Finnish language newspapers have used the name Helsinki since 1819, when the Senate of Finland moved to the city from Turku , the former capital of Finland. Decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish. When Finland became a Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous state under
5425-541: Is divided into three major areas: Helsinki Downtown ( Finnish : Helsingin kantakaupunki , Swedish : Helsingfors innerstad ), North Helsinki ( Finnish : Pohjois-Helsinki , Swedish : Norra Helsingfors ) and East Helsinki ( Finnish : Itä-Helsinki , Swedish : Östra Helsingfors ). Of these, Helsinki Downtown means the undefined core area of capital, as opposed to suburbs . The designations business center and city center usually refer to Kluuvi , Kamppi and Punavuori . Other subdivisional centers outside
5580-602: Is of royal blood and must be the son of Amenhotep III and his Mitannic consort, and thus closer to the throne. With Akhenaten out of the way, Horemheb gathers all fit men and conducts a full-scale war against the Hittite kingdom – Egypt's premier rival at this time. Both Sinuhe and Kaptah participate in this battle, as Sinuhe wanted to know what war is like. A peace treaty is ultimately established, and king Aziru and his royal family are captured and publicly executed. Sinuhe later succeeds with Horemheb's and Ay's mission to assassinate
5735-508: Is partly due to the enormous fees he received from foreign editions of The Egyptian and his other books, allowing him to stop "writing to live". Mika Waltari died on 26 August 1979 in Helsinki, the year after his wife Marjatta's death in 1978. Markéta Hejkalová [ cs ] (who translated many Waltari's works into Czech and wrote a biography about him) identifies 9 common elements in Waltari's historical novels: Waltari received
5890-779: Is the Sederholm House [ fr ] (1757) at the intersection of Senate Square and the Katariinankatu street. Suomenlinna also has buildings completed in the 18th century, including the Kuninkaanportti on the Kustaanmiekka Island [ fr ] (1753–1754). The oldest church in Helsinki is the Östersundom church, built in 1754. Helsinki is also home to numerous Art Nouveau -influenced ( Jugend in Finnish) buildings belonging to
6045-613: Is the capital and most populous city in Finland . It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About 684,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.26 million in the capital region and 1.6 million in the metropolitan area . As the most populous urban area in Finland, it is the country's most significant centre for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Helsinki
6200-548: Is the largest such area in Finland, with a land area of 669.31 square kilometres (258.42 sq mi) and approximately 1.36 million inhabitants. Helsinki has a cold hemiboreal humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb , Trewartha Dcbo ). Due to the moderating influence of the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Current (see also Extratropical cyclone ), winter temperatures are higher than
6355-473: Is the most densely populated area of Finland . The Capital Region spreads over a land area of 770 square kilometres (300 sq mi) and has a population density of 1,619 per sg km. With over 20 percent of the country's population in just 0.2 percent of its surface area, the area's housing density is high by Finnish standards. The Helsinki metropolitan area or the Greater Helsinki consists of
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6510-517: Is well above the national average). Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics , the first CSCE / OSCE Summit in 1975, the first World Athletics Championships in 1983, the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 and it was the 2012 World Design Capital . Helsinki has one of the highest standards of urban living in the world. In 2011, the British magazine Monocle ranked Helsinki as the world's most liveable city in its livable cities index . In
6665-592: The Battle at Herdaler was a battle between the Norse Viking leader Olav Haraldsson (later King Olaf II of Norway , also known as Saint Olaf) and local Finns at Herdaler (now Ingå ), not far from Helsinga, around 1007–8. The Saga of Olaf Haraldson tells how Olav raided the coasts of Finland and was almost killed in battle. He ran away in fear and after that the Vikings did not raid the coasts of Finland. Later
6820-575: The Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 livability survey, Helsinki ranked ninth out of 140 cities. In July 2021, the American magazine Time named Helsinki one of the world's greatest places, a city that "can grow into a burgeoning cultural nest in the future" and is already known as an environmental pioneer. In an international Cities of Choice survey conducted in 2021 by the Boston Consulting Group and
6975-522: The Hittites . The main character of the novel is named after a character in an ancient Egyptian text commonly known as the Story of Sinuhe . The original story dates to a time long before that of Akhenaten: texts are known from as early as the 12th dynasty . Supporting historical characters include the old Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his conniving favorite wife, Tiy ; the wife of Akhenaten, Nefertiti ;
7130-824: The House of Nobility in Kruununhaka and the Catholic St. Henry's Cathedral . In addition to other cities in Northern Europe that were not under the Soviet Union , such as Stockholm , Sweden, Helsinki's neoclassical buildings gained also popularity as a backdrop for scenes intended to depict the Soviet Union in numerous Hollywood movies during the Cold War era, when filming within the actual USSR
7285-705: The Ilmala weather station. The lowest temperature recorded in the city was −34.3 °C (−29.7 °F) on 10 January 1987, although an unofficial low of −35 °C (−31 °F) was recorded in December 1876. Helsinki Airport (in Vantaa, 17 km north of Helsinki city centre) recorded a maximum temperature of 33.7 °C (92.7 °F) on 29 July 2010 and a minimum of −35.9 °C (−33 °F) on 9 January 1987. Precipitation comes from frontal passages and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are most common in summer. Helsinki
7440-517: The Iron Age , when the area was inhabited by the Tavastians . They used the area for fishing and hunting, but due to the lack of archaeological finds it is difficult to say how extensive their settlements were. Pollen analysis has shown that there were agricultural settlements in the area in the 10th century, and surviving historical records from the 14th century describe Tavastian settlements in
7595-545: The Red Sea coast, the events of his life. His tone expresses cynicism, bitterness and disappointment; he says humans are vile and will never change, and that he's writing down his story for therapeutic reasons alone and for something to do in the rugged and desolate desert landscape. Sinuhe begins his life as a foundling discovered in a reed boat in the Nile , and grows up in the poor part of Thebes . His adoptive father Senmut
7750-505: The Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral are located. During the second half of the 17th century, Helsinki, as a wooden city, suffered from regular fires , and by the beginning of the 18th century the population had fallen below 1,700. For a long time Helsinki was mainly a small administrative town for the governors of Nyland and Tavastehus County , but its importance began to grow in the 18th century when plans were made to build
7905-525: The University of Helsinki as a theology student, according to his uncle Toivo's wishes, but soon abandoned theology in favour of philosophy , aesthetics and literature , graduating in 1929. While studying, he contributed to various magazines and wrote poetry and stories, getting his first book Jumalaa paossa published in 1925. It was a success, selling 3000 copies despite being only 72 pages long. In 1927, he went to Paris where he wrote his first major novel Suuri illusioni ('The Grand Illusion'),
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#17327763258448060-561: The Winter War (1939–1940) and the Continuation War (1941–1944), Waltari worked in the government information center, now also placing his literary skills at the service of political propaganda . According to historian Eino Jutikkala , through this experience as a propagandist Waltari became more cynical as he realised the prevalence of historical half-truths shaped by propaganda, later a recurrent theme in his historical novels. Although Waltari saw Soviet bolshevism as dangerous, he
8215-535: The bourgeoisie of Porvoo , Raseborg , Rauma and Ulvila to move there. The shallowness of the bay made it impossible to build a harbour, and the king allowed the settlers to leave the unfortunate location. In 1640, Count Per Brahe the Younger , together with some descendants of the original settlers, moved the centre of the city to the Vironniemi peninsula by the sea, today's Kruununhaka district, where
8370-521: The pacing . Waltari praised the result. In 1948 a complete French version by Jean-Louis Perret came out, as well as the Danish and Norwegian versions. The novel sold one million copies in Europe within the first five years after its publication. The Egyptian saw an English release in August 1949. Putnam had asked a Swedish woman of culture (coincidentally the wife of an editor who'd previously rejected
8525-469: The 1300s. This theory is questionable, as dialect research suggests that the settlers came from Uppland and the surrounding areas. Others have suggested that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing , an archaic form of the word hals (' neck '), which refers to the narrowest part of a river, the rapids . Other Scandinavian towns in similar geographical locations were given similar names at
8680-645: The 1380s and the Church of St. Lawrence in 1455. In the Middle Ages, several thousand people lived in Helsinki's keep . There was a lot of trade across the Baltic Sea . The shipping route to the coast, and especially to Reval , meant that by the end of the Middle Ages the Helsinki region had become an important trading centre for wealthy peasants , priests and nobles in Finland, after Vyborg and Pohja . Furs , wood , tar , fish and animals were exported from Helsinki, and salt and grain were brought to
8835-544: The 1810s, when it replaced Turku as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland , which later became the sovereign Republic of Finland . The city continued its growth from that time on, with an exception during the Finnish Civil War . From the end of World War II up until the 1970s there was a massive exodus of people from the countryside to the cities of Finland, in particular Helsinki. Between 1944 and 1969
8990-512: The 1930s included the 18-story "Kino" palace, a 17-story apartment building, and a 30-story Stockmann building were proposed but only the 70-meter-tall 14-story Hotel Torni was built. (Hotel Torni was the tallest high-rise in Finland until 1976, when the 83-meter-tall Neste headquarters were completed in Espoo; Helsinki had rejected the tower. ) Twin 30-story buildings were proposed in Pasila in
9145-604: The 1940 Helsinki Olympic Games; the games were initially cancelled due to the Second World War , but the venues fulfilled their purpose in the 1952 Olympic Games . Many of them are listed by DoCoMoMo as significant examples of modern architecture. The Olympic Stadium and Helsinki-Malmi Airport are also catalogued by the Finnish Heritage Agency as cultural-historical environments of national significance. When Finland became heavily urbanized in
9300-487: The 1960s and 1970s, the district of Pihlajamäki , for example, was built in Helsinki for new residents, where for the first time in Finland, precast concrete was used on a large scale. Pikku Huopalahti , built in the 1980s and 1990s, has tried to get rid of a one-size-fits-all grid pattern, which means that its look is very organic and its streets are not repeated in the same way. Itäkeskus in Eastern Helsinki
9455-446: The 1967 British-American espionage thriller Billion Dollar Brain , starring Michael Caine . The city has large amounts of underground areas such as shelters and tunnels, many used daily as swimming pool, church, water management, entertainment etc. Helsinki also features several buildings by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto , recognized as one of the pioneers of architectural functionalism . However, some of his works, such as
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#17327763258449610-530: The 1970s but were rejected. In 1990 a planned 104-meter-tall tower for the Kone company was also cancelled. Highrise construction only started in the beginning of the 21st century, when the city decided to allow the construction of skyscrapers. Highrises were first built in Kalasatama , a primarily-residential district built on a former container port . As of 2024, four residential towers have been completed:
9765-608: The 1970s, which occurred late compared to the rest of Europe, tripled the population of the metropolitan area, and the Helsinki Metro subway system was built. Known as the "Daughter of the Baltic" or the "Pearl of the Baltic", Helsinki is located at the tip of a peninsula and on 315 islands. The city centre is located on a southern peninsula, Helsinginniemi ("Cape of Helsinki"), which is rarely referred to by its actual name, Vironniemi ("Cape of Estonia"). Population density
9920-540: The 25-year old Olga Waltari was left, with crucial help from Toimi's brother Toivo, to support her three children: Samuli (7 years), Mika (5 years) and Erkki (6 months). As a boy, Waltari witnessed the Finnish Civil War , during which his White-sided family fled to the home of his mother's aunt at Laukkoski in Pornainen , near Porvoo, which was relatively peaceful and where the Whites were predominant. Later he enrolled in
10075-452: The 35-story, 282-apartment, 134-metre-tall (440 ft) Majakka in 2019 (which is the tallest building in Finland ); the 32-story, 124-meter Loisto in 2021; the 31-story, 120-meter Lumo One in 2022; and the 24-story, 98-meter Visio in 2023. The 26-story, 111-meter-tall office building Horisontti is to be completed in 2025, and three further towers are to be built in the complex. Tall residential towers have also been built in
10230-642: The BCG Henderson Institute, Helsinki was ranked the third-best city in the world to live in, with London and New York City coming in first and second. In the Condé Nast Traveler magazine's 2023 Readers' Choice Awards, Helsinki was ranked the 4th-friendliest city in Europe. Helsinki, along with Rovaniemi in Lapland , is also one of Finland's most important tourist cities. Due to the large number of sea passengers, Helsinki
10385-528: The Egyptian sovereignty in the area has now begun to be questioned and threatened. This rebellious mood is triggered not in the least by the Syrian, Hittite-friendly Prince Aziru, whom Sinuhe still befriends, among other things, through a medical assignment. One day Sinuhe decides to return to Egypt. He sails to Thebes and opens a clinic for the poor in the same neighborhood he grew up in. He does not get rich in this, being driven by ideological motives instead. His slave Kaptah (now released by Sinuhe) instead becomes
10540-410: The Egyptian) is a historical novel by Mika Waltari . It was first published in Finnish in 1945, and in an abridged English translation by Naomi Walford in 1949, from Swedish rather than Finnish. Regarded as "one of the greatest books in Finnish literary history", it is, so far, the only Finnish novel to be adapted into a Hollywood film , which happened in 1954. The Egyptian is the first and
10695-409: The Hittite prince Shubattu, secretly invited by Baketamon to marry her, preventing him from reaching Egypt and seizing the throne. Sinuhe now goes back, afflicted by all the losses, to a simple dwelling in Thebes, bitter and disillusioned in the heart. Every now and then he is visited by his former servant Kaptah, who only becomes richer and richer, and is now Sinuhe's patron. Sinuhe begins to criticise
10850-400: The Kansallisromantiikka ( romantic nationalism ) trend, designed in the early 20th century and strongly influenced by Kalevala , which was a common theme of the era. Helsinki's Art Nouveau style is also featured in central residential districts, such as Katajanokka and Ullanlinna . An important architect of the Finnish Art Nouveau style was Eliel Saarinen , whose architectural masterpiece
11005-534: The Middle East, as depicted by the novel, is thought to represent the second world war. Waltari reluctantly approved this interpretation. These analogies are not exact but suggestive in nature; they are split up and mixed up, hidden among a vast amount of reliable historical knowledge. The relations between nations of the two time periods look as follows: The similarities between the warlike Hittites and Nazi Germany include their Lebensraum project, fast sudden warfare or Blitzkrieg , use of propaganda to weaken
11160-474: The Nordic countries, after Stockholm and Copenhagen. Helsinki Airport , in the neighbouring city of Vantaa, serves the city with frequent flights to numerous destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia. Helsinki is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 75% Finnish speakers, 5% Swedish speakers, and 20% speakers of other languages (which
11315-466: The State literature award five times: 1933, 1934, 1936, 1949, and 1953. The Pro Finlandia Medal was given to him in 1952. The 100th anniversary of Mika Waltari's birth was celebrated by selecting the writer as the main motif for a high value commemorative coin, the €10 Mika Waltari commemorative coin , minted in 2008. The reverse depicts a vigilant Pharaoh watchdog referencing his famous book. The obverse
11470-583: The Sveaborg fortress during the war, and about a quarter of the city was destroyed in a fire in 1808. Emperor Alexander I of Russia moved the capital of Finland from Turku to Helsinki on 8 April 1812 to reduce Swedish influence in Finland and bring the capital closer to St Petersburg . After the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, the Royal Academy of Turku , the only university in the country at
11625-561: The accuracy or lack thereof is irrelevant to a fictional work's literary merit, citing the errors of Shakespeare . The messages of the novel evoked a wide response in readers in the aftermath of the World War, and the book became an international bestseller. The Egyptian has been translated into 41 languages; it's the most internationally famous and translated Finnish novel, yet in 2009 100 Must-read Historical Novels estimated that "its fame has faded in recent decades". The Egyptian
11780-459: The area was settled by Christians from Sweden. They came mainly from the Swedish coastal regions of Norrland and Hälsingland , and their migration intensified around 1100. The Swedes permanently colonised the Helsinki region's coastline in the late 13th century, after the successful 'crusade' to Finland that led to the defeat of the Tavastians. In the Middle Ages, the Helsinki area was
11935-570: The area. Christianity does not gain a significant foothold in Finland before the 11th century. After that, a number of crosses and other objects related to Christianity can be found in archaeological material. According to the traditional view, the Kingdom of Sweden made three crusades to Finland, thanks to which the region was incorporated into both Christianity and the Swedish Empire. Recent research has shown that these expeditions, to
12090-621: The attempted rise of an early form of Christianity . Markku Envall finds many resemblances between phrases uttered by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament , and those by characters in The Egyptian (especially in context of Atenism). He argues that by this Waltari anachronistically utilizes literature from after the story's setting, and that it demonstrates the parallelism of the two religions: both religions are prophetic (a single informant), noninstitutional (to experience God,
12245-426: The basic characteristics of a human being can not change in the foreseeable time-frame due to the fact that they have 10000, 100000, 200000 years old inherited instincts as their basis, people's relationships can be altered and must be altered, so that the world can be saved from destruction." Commenting on the prevalence of this interpretation, Finnish literary scholar Markku Envall [ fi ] views that
12400-544: The basis of the 1954 Hollywood movie of the same name. Waltari wrote seven more historical novels, placed in various ancient cultures, among others The Dark Angel , set during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. In these novels, he gave powerful expression to his fundamental pessimism and also, in two novels set in the Roman Empire , to his Christian conviction. After the war, he also wrote several novellas . He became
12555-475: The beginning of the 19th century. The construction of the naval fortress of Sveaborg ( Viapori in Finnish, now also called Suomenlinna ) in the 18th century helped to improve Helsinki's status. However, it wasn't until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that the city began to develop into a substantial city. The Russians besieged
12710-516: The believer does not necessarily require an intermediary infrastructure), egalitarian (before God, secularly unequal people are equal) and universal (meant for all humanity). As reasons for these similarities, Envall explains that firstly, the religions of Egypt were a major influence on Judaism and hence Christianity, and secondly, that the religions share common archetypical material. Sigmund Freud has likewise called out in his work Moses and Monotheism that there are numerous similarities between
12865-463: The cities of the capital region and ten surrounding municipalities: Hyvinkää , Järvenpää , Kerava , Kirkkonummi , Nurmijärvi , Sipoo , Tuusula , Pornainen , Mäntsälä and Vihti . The Metropolitan Area covers 3,697 square kilometres (1,427 sq mi) and has a population of about 1.6 million, or about a fourth of the total population of Finland. The metropolitan area has a high concentration of employment: approximately 750,000 jobs. Despite
13020-431: The city centre to Helsinki's northern border, is an important recreational area for residents. The City of Helsinki has about 11,000 boat moorings and over 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres; 54 square miles) of marine fishing waters adjacent to the capital region. About 60 species of fish are found in this area, and recreational fishing is popular. Helsinki's main islands include Seurasaari , Lauttasaari and Korkeasaari –
13175-433: The city's scholars. One day he is summoned to the sick king Burraburiash , whom he manages to cure. Soon Kaptah is selected for the traditional day of the false king , where the city's greatest fool is king for a day and then killed. A young Cretan woman named Minea has been recently acquired to the king's harem against her will; during a feast, Sinuhe, in the process of falling in love with her, smuggles Minea and Kaptah from
13330-544: The company of Kaptah to Levant , which was under Egyptian rule at the time. In Syria, his medical skill earns him fame and wealth. During an Egyptian military operation in Syria, he re-encounters Horemheb, serving as a military commander. From this, Sinuhe is commissioned to travel at his expense in the known world to determine what military potential the established nations have. Sinuhe, in company of Kaptah, travels first to Babylon where he engages in science and socializes with
13485-450: The destructiveness of well-intentioned blindness; he is a tragic character and this blindness is his tragic flaw , by which he causes the destruction of his own kingdom – much like King Lear . The protagonist Sinuhe is an open-minded, learning and developing character, the sole such one in the novel according to Envall. Through him, the worldviews represented by other characters are experienced and evaluated, and during his character arc he
13640-481: The downtown area include Malmi ( Swedish : Malm ), located in the northeastern part of city, and Itäkeskus ( Swedish : Östra centrum ), in the eastern part of city. Carl Ludvig Engel , appointed to plan a new city centre on his own, designed several neoclassical buildings in Helsinki. The focal point of Engel's city plan was the Senate Square . It is surrounded by the Government Palace (to
13795-399: The east —Helsinki forms a metropolitan area . This area is often considered Finland's only metropolis and is the world's northernmost metropolitan area with over one million inhabitants. Additionally, it is the northernmost capital of an EU member state . Helsinki is the third-largest municipality in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm and Oslo . Its urban area is the third-largest in
13950-461: The east), the main building of Helsinki University (to the west), and (to the north) the large Helsinki Cathedral , which was finished in 1852, twelve years after Engel's death. Helsinki's epithet , "The White City of the North", derives from this construction era. Most of Helsinki's older buildings were built after the 1808 fire; before that time, the oldest surviving building in the center of Helsinki
14105-486: The eastern district of Vuosaari : the 87-meter, 26-story Cirrus was completed in 2006, the 24-story, 85-meter-tall Hyperion was completed in 2023 and the 33-story, 288-apartment, 120-meter-tall Atlas is due to be completed in late 2024. Skyscrapers have also be planned in the Pasila area, with a handful of over-100-meter-tall towers in various stages of planning or early construction as of 2024. In Jätkäsaari ,
14260-399: The editor – it went on to be printed as it was on the same month. Central to the novel's themes is the conviction of the unchanging nature of mankind, exemplified by the recurring phrase "so there has ever been and ever will be". Its view on humanity is reputedly grim, displaying human failings such as selfishness, greed and prejudice as widespread. Waltari has gone on to state: "Although
14415-516: The enemy, and worship of health and power while disdaining the sickly and weak. Mitanni is a border and buffer nation between the land of the Hittites and Babylon, like Poland between Germany and the USSR. Akhenaten's and Horemheb's battle for power mirrors the opposition of Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill ; the former seeks peace by conceding lands to the invader but helps the enemy, whereas
14570-468: The extent that there were even three of them, were not the crusades that had been imagined. Later, the conquest of Finland was justified in terms of "civilisation" and "christianisation", and the myth of the Crusades was developed. It is more likely that it was a multidimensional combination of economic, cultural and political power ambitions. The early settlements were raided by Vikings until 1008, and
14725-489: The final impulse for exploring the subjects of Akhenaten and Egypt in a novel which, although depicting events that took place over 3,300 years ago, in fact reflects the contemporary feelings of disillusionment and war-weariness and pessimistically illustrates how little the essence of humanity has changed since then. The political and battle depictions of ancient Egypt and surrounding nations contain many parallels with World War II. The threatening King Suppiluliuma has many of
14880-475: The fortress. Helsinki was also the most important cattle-breeding area in Uusimaa. With the help of trade, Helsinki became one of the wealthiest cities in Finland and Uusimaa. Thanks to trade and travel, e.g. to Reval, people could speak several languages, at least helpfully. Depending on the situation, Finnish, Swedish, Latin or Low German could be heard in the Helsinki area. Written chronicles from 1417 mention
15035-902: The fountain sculpture Havis Amanda (1908), the Paavo Nurmi statue (1925), the Three Smiths Statue (1932), the Aleksis Kivi Memorial (1939), the Eino Leino Statue (1953), the Equestrian statue of Marshal Mannerheim (1960) and the Sibelius Monument (1967). As is the case with all Finnish municipalities , Helsinki's city council is the main decision-making organ in local politics, dealing with issues such as urban planning , schools, health care, and public transport . The council
15190-418: The funeral arrangements, Waltari attended the funeral, and on the next morning he resumed writing the novel where he left off. The completed manuscript, totaling almost one thousand pages, was delivered by Waltari to WSOY in the first half of August 1945. Editor Jalmari Jäntti had typically cut risqué material from Waltari's prior works. This time, however, little to no corrections or deletions were required by
15345-414: The glass-walled Sanomatalo (1999). There have been many plans to build highrise buildings in Helsinki since the 1920s when architect Eliel Saarinen proposed the 85-meter-tall Kalevalatalo in 1921, but few tall buildings were built until the 21st century. In 1924 Oiva Kallio won Etu-Töölö competition with his plan (several 14- to 16-story buildings). A 32-story city hall was also proposed. Other plans of
15500-565: The gorgeous woman Nefernefernefer and is bewitched by her. Nefernefernefer gets Sinuhe to give her everything he owns – even his adoptive parents' house and grave. When the woman has realised that Sinuhe has run out of possessions, she gets rid of him. Ashamed and dishonored, Sinuhe arranges his adoptive parents to be embalmed and buries them in the Valley of the Kings (they had taken their lives before eviction), after which he decides to go to exile in
15655-874: The headquarters of the paper company Stora Enso and the concert venue Finlandia Hall , have been subject to divided opinions from the citizens. Functionalist buildings in Helsinki by other architects include the Olympic Stadium , the Tennis Palace , the Rowing Stadium , the Swimming Stadium , the Velodrome , the Glass Palace , the Töölö Sports Hall , and Helsinki-Malmi Airport . The sports venues were built to serve
15810-438: The idea by denying its opposite: Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. (Ecclesiastes 1:10) Other shared themes are the futility of everything, and the suffering brought by knowledge. Conversely however, Sinuhe's preference of death over life is the antithesis of Ecclesiastes' love of life over death. The geopolitical situation of
15965-412: The intensity of land use, the region also has large recreational areas and green spaces. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the world's northernmost urban area with a population of over one million people, and the northernmost EU capital city. The Helsinki urban area is an officially recognized urban area in Finland , defined by its population density. The area stretches throughout 11 municipalities, and
16120-404: The latitude, the days around the winter solstice are 5 hours and 48 minutes long, with the sun very low (at noon the sun is just over 6 degrees in the sky), and the cloudy weather at this time of year exacerbates the darkness. Conversely, Helsinki enjoys long days in summer, with 18 hours and 57 minutes of daylight around the summer solstice . The average maximum temperature from June to August
16275-497: The latter is home to Finland's largest zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo . The former military islands of Vallisaari and Isosaari are now open to the public, but Santahamina is still in military use. The most historic and remarkable island is the fortress of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg). The island of Pihlajasaari is a popular summer resort, comparable to Fire Island in New York City . There are 60 nature reserves in Helsinki with
16430-569: The latter knows that war is the only way to save the home country. The novel's reputation of historical flawlessness has been often repeated, by the egyptological congress of Cairo, French egyptologist Pierre Chaumelle, and U. Hofstetter of The Oakland Post . In 2008 Dr Richard Parkinson , the director and the curator of the Egyptian department of the British Museum , called it a "serious intellectual achievement" and that it "depicts
16585-710: The learned throughout various countries (like Greek in the Hellenistic period , Latin in the medieval period, French among diplomats and English in the 20th and 21st centuries); education takes place in faculties that provide degrees for qualification in posts (European universities began in the Middle Ages); people have addresses and send mail as papyrus and clay tablets; censorship is circumvented by cloaking subjects with historical stand-ins. There are precursors to aspects of modern medicine and monetary economy as well. Similar themes are expressed via repetition throughout
16740-566: The listless young Tutankhamun (King Tut), who succeeded as Pharaoh after Akhenaten's downfall; and the two common-born successors who were, according to this author, integral parts of the rise and fall of the Amarna heresy of Akhenaten: the priest and later Pharaoh Ay and the warrior-general and then finally Pharaoh, Horemheb . Though never appearing onstage, throughout the book the Hittite King Suppiluliuma I appears as
16895-603: The majority of religious ones are real. Even the day of the false king has its basis on reality, with ancient Babylonians killing a surrogate king to save their real king should he have been prophesied to die. On the other hand, he has given Waltari credit for his predictions, as later discoveries have confirmed dubious details of the novel. Waltari's unflattering characterisation of Akhenaten, Horemheb, Tiy and Ay as flawed persons proved to be closer to reality than their earlier glorification. Research at Long Island University has supported Tutankhamun having been murdered, as hinted in
17050-409: The majority of workers were Finnish-speaking. The local Helsinki slang (or stadin slangi ) developed among Finnish children and young people from the 1890s as a mixed Finnish-Swedish language, with influences from German and Russian , and from the 1950s the slang began to become more Finnish. A landmark event was the 1952 Olympic Games , which were held in Helsinki. Finland's rapid urbanisation in
17205-471: The most populous municipality in Finland and the third in the Nordics . The Helsinki region is the largest urbanised area in Finland with 1,603,170 inhabitants. The city of Helsinki is home to 12% of Finland's population. 19.9% of the population has a foreign background, which is twice above the national average. However, it is lower than in the major Finnish cities of Espoo or Vantaa . At 53 percent of
17360-489: The most successful of Waltari's great historical novels, and that which gained him international fame. It is set in Ancient Egypt , mostly during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty , whom some have claimed to be the first monotheistic ruler in the world. The novel is known for its high-level historical accuracy regarding the life and culture of the period depicted. At the same time, it also carries
17515-450: The narrative as "colorful, provocative, completely absorbing"; he compared it to Thomas Mann 's Joseph and His Brothers , writing: "Again, Mann's great work is a study of ideas and of personality. The Egypt emergent from his formidable style is shown within a limited social range and is detailed only in isolated scenes. If there are deeps of the personality that Mann plumbs further, Waltari makes an exciting, vivid, and minute re-creation of
17670-477: The new regime led by his old friend Horemheb, and as a punishment for this he is exiled to the Red Sea coast. Although Waltari employed some poetic license in combining the biographies of Sinuhe and Akhenaten, he was otherwise much concerned about the historical accuracy of his detailed description of ancient Egyptian life and carried out considerable research into the subject. Waltari's fascination of ancient Egypt
17825-467: The northern location would suggest, with an average of −4 °C (25 °F) in January and February. Winters in Helsinki are significantly warmer than in the north of Finland, and the snow season in the capital is much shorter due to its location in the extreme south of Finland and the urban heat island effect. Temperatures below −20 °C (−4 °F) occur only a few times a year. However, due to
17980-619: The novel was no mere colourful retelling of history, but was relevant to the current attitude shaped by the events of recent years. More reviews followed in January, and a common element among the more negative or lukewarm reviews was the scolding of Waltari's previous work, but many saw it as a turning point for his career. The sexual depictions drew ire. Eino Sormunen of Savon Sanomat recommended discretion due to plenitudes of horrifying decadence at display, and Vaasan Jaakkoo of Ilkka warned about it as unsuitable for children. Yrjö Tönkyrä of Kaiku wrote: "Not wanting to appear in any way as
18135-634: The novel's main thesis is not simply that people can not change, but rather that it contains a contradiction that nothing can change and everything can change; on some levels things remain the same, but on other levels the hope of future change survives in the novel. Envall brings up the "familiarity" of the depiction of 14th-century BC Egypt as highly developed: the novel describes phenomena – inventions, knowings, institutions etc. – that, although resembling familiar modern day equivalents that are rather new in Finland, are nonetheless egyptologically accurate. The similarity between ancient and modern times supports
18290-437: The novel's printing be stopped, even in vain offering to buy the whole edition when told the printing machines were already in full action. The first two editions were sold out by the end of the year, and it became one of the most discussed topics in societal and literary circles. The few reviews before the end of the year were positive: Huugo Jalkanen of Uusi Suomi and Lauri Viljanen of Helsingin Sanomat said that
18445-445: The novel) for input, and she had urged them to publish it. It was translated by Naomi Walford, not directly from Finnish but rather Swedish, and abridged even further at the behest of the aforementioned Swede, the same also hired to abridge it. About a third of the text was lost: aside from the excision of repetitions, the philosophical content suffered and key facts were omitted. Edmund Fuller of The Saturday Review described
18600-457: The novel, such as: everything is futile, the tomorrow is unknowable, no one can know why something has always been so, all people are fundamentally the same everywhere, the world year is changing, and death is better than life. Markku Envall describes the work as a criticism of utopism, the advocation of an ideology or idealism while ignorant of the world where it is supposed to be realized. Idealistic and materialistic worldviews are at clash in
18755-418: The novel, the former represented by the pacifist pharaoh Akhenaten and latter by the cold-bloodedly realist warlord Horemheb – idealism and realism are similarly represented also by Sinuhe and Kaptah, respectively. This tension is played out in a world concerned chiefly with worldly matters and rampant with prejudiced attitudes and lust for material possessions, wealth and power. Akhenaten is an illustration of
18910-615: The novel. Some have doubted the possibility of an ancient Egyptian person writing a text for oneself only, but in 1978 such a papyrus became public; its author, a victim of wrongdoing, tells his life story in it with no recipient. According to Jussi Aro, the real Hittites were seemingly less cruel and stern than other peoples of the Middle East and the day of the false king was misdated among other errors, although Panu Rajala dismisses his claims as alternative readings of evidence rather than outright contradictions. Markku Envall argues that
19065-456: The overtones of Hitler . Waltari often said that the novel would have been a very different one had it not been for World War II. In April 1945 Waltari travelled to his mother-in-law's cottage in Hartola , where he began writing in the attic. The experiences of war and 20 years of research had pushed him into a state where the novel burst out of him: The novel was written within a three and
19220-409: The palace and flees with the two to the neighboring country Mitanni. From there they proceed to Anatolia and to the fast-growing Hittite empire. Sinuhe and his companions feel unhappy about the militarism and tough rule of law that characterize the kingdom of the Hittites, and they decide to leave Anatolia and sail to Crete, Minea's homeland. Minea has grown up with the mission to sacrifice herself as
19375-441: The pocket money brought by their "patient and attentive German hosts" to their hotel by tearing it in half and throwing it away through the window. 1945 saw the publication of Waltari's first and most successful historical novel, The Egyptian . Its theme of the corruption of humanist values in a materialist world seemed curiously topical in the aftermath of World War II , and the book became an international bestseller, serving as
19530-458: The population of the city nearly doubled from 275,000 to 525,600. In the 1960s, the population growth of Helsinki began to decrease, mainly due to a lack of housing. Some residents began to move to the neighbouring cities of Espoo and Vantaa, resulting in increased population growth in both municipalities. Espoo's population increased ninefold in sixty years, from 22,874 people in 1950 to 244,353 in 2009. Vantaa saw an even more dramatic change in
19685-458: The population, women form a greater proportion of Helsinki residents than the national average of 51 percent. Helsinki's population density of 3,147 people per square kilometre makes Helsinki the most densely-populated city in Finland. The life expectancy for men and women is slightly below the national averages: 75.1 years for men as compared to 75.7 years, 81.7 years for women as compared to 82.5 years. Helsinki has experienced strong growth since
19840-494: The quality of his work to critics. One of these competitions gave rise to one of his most popular characters, Inspector Palmu , a gruff detective of the Helsinki police department, who starred in three mystery novels, all of which were filmed (a fourth film was made without Waltari involved). Waltari also scripted the popular cartoon Kieku ja Kaiku and wrote Aiotko kirjailijaksi , a guidebook for aspiring writers that influenced many younger writers such as Kalle Päätalo . During
19995-481: The railway and industrialisation were key factors in the city's growth. By the 1910s, Helsinki's population was already over 100,000, and despite the turbulence of Finnish history in the first half of the 20th century, Helsinki continued to grow steadily. This included the Finnish Civil War and the Winter War , both of which left their mark on the city. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were roughly equal numbers of Finnish and Swedish speakers in Helsinki;
20150-536: The rule of the Russian Empire , Helsinki was known as Gel'singfors ( Гельсингфорс ) in Russian, because the main and official language of Grand Duchy of Finland was Swedish. In Helsinki slang , the city is called Stadi (from the Swedish word stad , meaning 'city'). Abbreviated form Hesa is equally common, but its use is associated with people of rural origin ("junantuomat", lit. "brought by
20305-458: The same story four decades later in Kirjailijan muistelmia . This has caused some to speculate that Waltari in fact had been an Egyptian in a prior life or was a reincarnation of Sinuhe. Waltari followed a consistent schedule, writing from 9 AM to 4 or 5 PM, meal breaks at predetermined times, family members leaving him to his work. A state of happiness and being in love during creative work
20460-612: The same time span: from 14,976 in 1950 to 197,663 in 2009, a thirteenfold increase. These population changes prompted the municipalities of metropolitan area into more intense cooperation in areas such as public transportation – resulting in the foundation of HSL – and waste management. The increasing scarcity of housing and the higher costs of living in the capital region have pushed many daily commuters to find housing in formerly rural areas, and even further, to cities such as Lohja , Hämeenlinna , Lahti , and Porvoo . The Egyptian The Egyptian ( Sinuhe egyptiläinen , Sinuhe
20615-420: The same time, he kept writing books in many genres, moving easily from one literary field to another. He had a very busy schedule and strict work ethic. He also suffered from manic-depressive psychosis and became depressed after completion of a book, sometimes to the extent of needing hospital treatment; in his manic phases he did his writing. He participated, and often succeeded, in literary competitions to prove
20770-469: The side of the Amon priesthood is victorious. During the chaos, Merit and her son Thot are killed – the latter would turn out to be Sinuhe's offspring. When defeat has become reality, Akhenaten dies after having drunk a cup of poison mixed by the embittered Sinuhe. Queen Nefertite's father, Ay, takes the throne, after the boy king Tutankhamun 's short reign, despite Sinuhe having realised from Tiy that he himself
20925-511: The society of Thebes and of Egypt and the related world in general, ranging from Pharaoh and his neighbor kings to the outcast corpse-washers in the House of the Dead. We see, feel, smell, and taste Waltari's Egypt. He writes in a pungent, easy style and it is obvious that he has been wonderfully served by his translator, Naomi Walford." Gladys Schmitt , writing for The New York Times , commented on
21080-520: The story. The result has been praised not only by readers but also by Egyptologists . Waltari had long been interested in Akhenaten and wrote a play about him, Akhnaton, auringosta syntynyt ( Akhnaton, Born of the Sun ), which was published in 1936. In it, Waltari explored the disastrous consequences of Akhenaten's well-intentioned implementation of unconditional idealism in a society, and referenced
21235-492: The tensions at the borders of the Egyptian empire which resemble those on the Soviet-Finnish frontier. Waltari would later revisit these themes, which only had a minor role in the play, in greater depth in The Egyptian . The character of Sinuhe makes no appearance in this play. With the advent of World War II , Waltari's idealism crumbled and was replaced with cynicism; this was in no small part due to him serving as
21390-421: The themes of changelessness, and is in an "effective" tension with the archaic-style language. "The narration estranges the phenomena by portraying them as simultaneously archaic and timeless, alien and familiar," he writes. As examples of these cultural parallels, Envall lists: the pseudo-intellectuals exalt themselves by flaunting their usage of foreign loanwords; the language of Babylon is the common language of
21545-481: The threat of Syrian and Hittite invasion; his attempts at redistributing property to the poor; and his worship of Aten at the exclusion of the old gods, among the clergy of the mighty state god Amon. Sinuhe is attracted to the teachings that the new king proclaims and, as he feels, focus on light, equality and justice, and joins Akhenaten's court. After a particularly violent public incident, Akhenaten, fed up with opposition, leaves Thebes with Sinuhe to middle Egypt where
21700-584: The time, such as Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden. When a town was founded in the village of Forsby (later Koskela ) in 1548, it was called Helsinge fors , 'Helsinge rapids'. The name refers to the Vanhankaupunginkoski [ fi ] rapids at the mouth of the river. The town was commonly known as Helsinge or Helsing , from which the modern Finnish name
21855-492: The time, was also moved to Helsinki and eventually became the modern University of Helsinki. The move consolidated the city's new role and helped set it on a path of continuous growth. This transformation is most evident in the city centre, which was rebuilt in the neoclassical style to resemble St. Petersburg, largely according to a plan by the German-born architect C. L. Engel . As elsewhere, technological advances such as
22010-518: The unparalleled two years – 550 000 copies were sold in that time. Marion Saunders, the agent who had arranged its US publication, remarked that she had never seen anything like it during her 15-year career. It remained the most sold foreign novel in the US before its place was taken over by The Name of the Rose , by Umberto Eco . Overall the reception was highly positive and some predicted Waltari as being
22165-524: The unresolved philosophical dilemma posed between Ekhnaton's generosity for bettering the world and Horemheb's pragmatic belligerence for stability, and praised the vibrancy and historical research evident in the characterisation of countries and social classes; however, she criticised social struggles surrounding Akhenaton as obscured, and found events oversensational and the characters composed of predictable types. Kirkus Reviews wrote: "He [Sinuhe] observes- and remembers- and in his old age writes it down, –
22320-515: The village of Koskela near the rapids at the mouth of the River Vantaa , where Helsinki was to be founded. Helsinki was founded by King Gustav I of Sweden on 12 June 1550 as a trading town called Helsingfors to rival the Hanseatic city of Reval (now Tallinn ) on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland . To populate the new town at the mouth of the Vantaa River , the king ordered
22475-613: The world as he knew it. It's a rich book, a bawdy book, a book that carries one to distant shores and makes one feel an onlooker as was Sinuhe. The plot is tenuous, a slender thread never wholly resolved. But the book opens one's eyes to an ancient world, nearer to ours than we think." Soon after its release in the USA , it was selected book of the month in September 1949, and then entered the bestseller lists in October 1949, where it remained
22630-402: The worship of Akhenaten's Aten, and the books of the bible. Ecclesiastes was an influence, both stylistically and thematically. A device Waltari uses to emphasise a theme is the "chorus" – the reiteration of an idea. On the first page Sinuhe states: "Everything returns to what it was, and there is nothing new under the Sun, and man never changes". Shortly afterwards, the opposite of this idea
22785-425: Was a surprise hit, selling 8000 copies and turning Mika Waltari into a famous author. Waltari also was, for a while, a member of the liberal literary movement Tulenkantajat , though his political and social views later turned conservative . He was married on 8 March 1931 to Marjatta Luukkonen, whom he had met during military service the preceding year, and on 4 January 1932 they had a daughter, Satu. Satu also became
22940-650: Was attracted at first to the National Socialist theories about a new man. He visited Germany in 1939 and wrote a mostly favourable article titled Tuntematon Saksa ('Unknown Germany'). In 1942 he and 6 other Finnish writers visited Germany to attend the Congress of the European Writers' Union in Weimar and wrote yet more favourable coverage; a story goes however that he, being slightly drunk, refused
23095-407: Was essential to Waltari, and on evenings he wrote long love letters to one Helena Kangas (later known as Leena Ilmari) throughout the summer. Waltari's extramarital relationships were no danger to his marriage, as he and his wife Marjatta had developed a mutual understanding regarding these matters and Waltari would always remain loyal to her in the end. His mother died during this; his wife managed
23250-485: Was established in 1948. Helsinki's official plant is the Norway maple and its official animal is the red squirrel . The Helsinki capital region ( Finnish : Pääkaupunkiseutu , Swedish : Huvudstadsregionen ) comprises four municipalities: Helsinki, Espoo , Vantaa , and Kauniainen . The Helsinki urban area is considered to be the only metropolis in Finland . It has a population of about 1.26 million, and
23405-416: Was first published in late November 1945. Initially knowledge of the novel spread through word of mouth in Finland; WSOY hadn't advertised it due to concerns over erotic content. It gained some early notoriety through an incident by historical novelist Maila Talvio : after hearing lewd sections read out beforehand in an autumn 1945 literature event, she took offense, marched into WSOY's office and demanded that
23560-549: Was not possible. Some of them, including The Kremlin Letter (1970), Reds (1981), and Gorky Park (1983). was possible due to such Russian cities as Leningrad and Moscow also having similar neoclassical architecture. At the same time due to Cold War and Finnish relations with the USSR the government secretly instructed Finnish officials not to extend assistance to such film projects. There are some films where Helsinki has been represented on its own in films, most notably
23715-409: Was sparked as a 14-year-old by the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun , which became widely publicised and a cultural phenomenon at the time. On his trips to foreign countries he would always first visit the local egyptological exhibitions and museums. Waltari didn't make notes, instead preferring to internalise all this vast knowledge; this allowed him to interweave his accumulated information smoothly into
23870-795: Was the Helsinki Central Station . Opposite the Bank of Finland building is the Renaissance Revivalish the House of the Estates (1891). The only visible public buildings of the Gothic Revival architecture in Helsinki are St. John's Church (1891) in Ullanlinna, which is the largest stone church in Finland, and its twin towers rise to 74 meters and have 2,600 seats. Other examples of neo-Gothic include
24025-454: Was the first regional center in the 1980s. Efforts have also been made to protect Helsinki in the late 20th century, and many old buildings have been renovated. Modern architecture is represented, for example, by the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma , which consists of two straight and curved-walled parts, though this style strongly divided the opinions from the citizens. Next to Kiasma is
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