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An unprecedented procession of Egyptian pharaohs, or rather their mummies, passes tonight through the streets of the Egyptian capital Cairo
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An unprecedented procession of Egyptian pharaohs, or more precisely their mummies, is passing through the streets of the Egyptian capital Cairo tonight, world agencies reported.
The “participants” are actually 22 mummies of pharaohs, including Ramses II and the woman-pharaoh Hatshepsut, crossing for an hour the distance from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, which officially opens tomorrow and which is located on the outskirts of the city.
The mummies are transported in special gilded capsules-sarcophagi with a controlled environment inside, protected from the action of oxygen, loaded on platform trucks, strewn with gold ornaments and with the names of the pharaohs written on them. The transportation ceremony began with 21 cannon salutes, BTA described the event. The procession is also a real feast of lights and music. It was preceded by a symphony concert and accompanied by outdoor dancing and a parade of men and women disguised as ancient Egyptians.
Mummies in Cairo Photos: Reuters
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The transported mummies are mostly of rulers from the New Kingdom, which ruled Egypt between 1539 BC to 1075 BC. 18 of them belong to pharaohs and 4 to other rulers. They were originally buried about 3,000 years ago in the Valley of the Kings and neighboring Deir el-Bahri, near the southern city of Luxor. The mummies were exhumed from there in the 19th century.
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The mummy procession is broadcast live on television and on the Internet in over 60 countries. However, visitors to the new mummy monastery, the new museum, will not be able to see them until April 18, after they have been “comfortably accommodated” in the new exhibition areas.
UNESCO Director-General Audre Azule is also in Cairo today. She called the relocation of the mummies to the new museum “the end of a long work for their better preservation and better presentation to the public”. UNESCO is participating in these efforts.
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