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A new home for Egyptian pharaohs: a royal mummy parade in the heart of Cairo
The mummified bodies of 22 kings and queens of ancient Egypt were transferred in splendor to the National Museum, and authorities used the event to spark interest in the country’s historic wealth.
The mummies were transported in special capsules, and President al-Sisi was also present at the glorious ceremony
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Egypt
Mummies
Reuters
Sunday, 04 April 2021, 12:34 Updated: 12:35
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Were received with a barrage of cannons of honor.
The Mummy Parade in Cairo (Photo: Reuters)
22 royal Egyptian mummies were transported yesterday (Saturday) in a festive convoy and inside special capsules to a museum in the capital Cairo.
The caravan carried 18 kings and four queens, most of them from the Egyptian Empire, from the Egyptian Museum in the heart of Cairo to the National Museum in the more magnificent Fustat district.
Authorities have closed roads along the Nile ahead of the ceremony, which is intended to spark interest in Egypt’s rich antiquities collection, in the shadow of an almost complete halt to tourism under the country’s corona restrictions.
With the arrival of the royal mummies at the museum, which was officially inaugurated yesterday, cannons fired 21 barrages of honor.
President 'Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi arrived at the ceremony, passing vehicles adorned with golden pharaonic motifs.
The heads of UNESCO and the World Tourism Organization were also present at the scene.
To keep the mummies, each was put in a nitrogen capsule on their way to the ceremony. The vehicles were also specially designed to strengthen stability, so that the mummies would stay in place.
(Photo: Reuters)
(Photo: Reuters)
(Photo: Reuters)
The mummies began to be uncovered in 1871 by archaeologists in two groups at a burial shrine complex in Luxor and the nearby Valley of the Kings.
The oldest mummy is that of King Tao II, the last of the 17th dynasty, who ruled in the 16th century BC and apparently died violently.
The parade also featured the mummies of Ramesses II, Sati I and Yachams-Nefertari.
Fustat, his new home Hel Hamazon, was the capital of Egypt under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty after the Islamic conquests.
"We chose the Museum of Civilization because we want, for the first time, to display the mummies in a civilized and educational way, and not for fun as they were in the Egyptian Museum," said Zahi Khawas, the chief archaeologist of Egypt.
(Photo: Reuters)
(Photo: Reuters)
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