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Egyptian mummies paraded through Cairo

Egypt held a parade celebrating the transport of 22 of its prized royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum.

Royal mummies parade in Egypt
A performer rides a two-horse chariot at the start of the parade of 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies. [Mahmoud Khaled/AFP]
Published On 4 Apr 20214 Apr 2021
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Egypt held a spectacular parade to celebrate the transport of 22 of its royal mummies through the capital, Cairo, to their new home in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation.

Crowds gathered on Saturday to witness the multimillion-dollar spectacle of 18 kings and four queens making the 7km journey (four miles) from the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square to their new resting place.

The 22 royals in the convoy were mostly from the New Kingdom.

Authorities shut down roads along the Nile for the elaborate ceremony, designed to drum up interest in Egypt’s rich collections of antiquities at a time when tourism has almost entirely stalled because of COVID-19 related restrictions.

As the royal mummies arrived at the museum, which was officially inaugurated on Saturday, cannons fired a 21-gun salute.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stood at the entrance of the museum to receive the mummies as they filed past on vehicles bedecked with golden pharaonic motifs.

The heads of the UN cultural agency UNESCO and the World Tourism Organization were also present at the ceremony.

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Each mummy had been placed in a special capsule filled with nitrogen to ensure protection, Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said.

They were carried on vehicles designed to cradle them and provide stability.

Fustat, the home of the new museum, was the site of Egypt’s capital under the Umayyad dynasty after the Arab conquest.

A convoy transported 18 ancient Egyptian kings and four queens from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square across the capital city to their new resting place at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Fustat. [Kaled Elfiqi/EPA]
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Performers dressed in ancient Egyptian costumes march at the start of the parade. [Khaled Desouli/AFP]
The mummies were originally buried some 3,000 years ago in secret tombs in the Valley of Kings and the nearby Deir el-Bahri site. Both areas are near the southern city of Luxor. The tombs were first excavated in the 19th century. [Khaled Elfiqi/EPA]
Performers at the end of the parade. [Mahmoud Khaled/AFP]
A light display is seen in Tahrir Square as royal mummies are transported in a convoy. [Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters]
Most of the mummies belong to the ancient New Kingdom, which ruled Egypt between 1539 BC and 1075 BC, according to the ministry of antiquities. [Mahmoud Khaled/AFP]
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Artists perform near the Pyramids of Giza in a video screened at a ceremony of a transfer of Royal mummies. [Reuters]
A marching band at the start of the parade of 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies. [Mahmoud Khaled/AFP]
Each mummy had been placed in a special capsule filled with nitrogen to ensure protection. [Khaled Desouli/AFP]


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