22 mummies of the Egypt’s ancient rulers began their journey through the capital to their new resting place: from the Egyptian Museum to the newly opened ‘National Museum of Egyptian Civilization’.
The lavish and rich spectacle saw 22 mummies of 18 kings and four queens transported from the peach-coloured, neo-classical Egyptian Museum to their new resting place 5km (three miles) away, the country’s new national museum, on climate-controlled floats decorated with wings and pharaonic design in an ancient Egyptian style. With tight security arrangements befitting their royal blood and status as national treasures, the mummies were relocated to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in what is called The Pharaohs' Golden Parade. They were transported with great fanfare in chronological order of their reigns - from the 17th Dynasty ruler, Seqenenre Taa II, to Ramses IX, who reigned in the 12th Century BC.
Among the mummies are those of kings Ramses II, Seti I, Seqenenre, and Tuthmosis III, in addition to four queens: Ahmose-Nefertari, Tiye, Meritamun and Hatshepsut. The parade was saluted by 21-gun salutes and joined by a military band. The mummies were transported on special decorated vehicles with their names inscribed in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs as well as in Arabic. The mummies who took part in the parade were discovered in two cachettes. The first was unearthed in 1881 at Deir El-Bahari in Luxor's West Bank in tomb TT320. All 22 royal mummies are from the New Kingdom, an era where tombs were built underground with hidden entrances to ward off grave robbers.
The parade is part of Egypt's efforts to revive its tourism industry. It was been reeling from the political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.
