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Twenty-two chariots with mummies of ancient Egyptian kings and queens paraded through the streets of Cairo on Saturday night in a pharaonic show to head to their new “home”, the National Museum of Egyptian Culture.
The first black chariots, with gilded motifs and built to resemble the funeral ships of old, departed at 8 p.m. from Tahrir Square and the Cairo Museum, where the pharaohs had rested for more than a century. The square was closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Traffic was also banned along the seven-kilometer procession through the procession to the NMEC in Fustat, south of the capital.
As shots rang out, the cars arrived at the new museum half an hour later and were greeted by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In chronological order, the Pharaoh Sekenenre Tao (16th century BC), the so-called “the Brave One”, opened the parade, which closed with Ramses IX (12th century BC). Among the most famous mummies that crossed Cairo tonight are those of Hatshepsut and Ramses II.
Bathed in blue light, the procession of 18 kings and four queens, mostly from the New Kingdom, was accompanied by an impressive spectacle: chariots driven by horses and women, dressed in ancient Egyptian costumes, and men from left to right in the way. drum. The festivities began with a song, written especially for the occasion, by popular Egyptian singer Mohamed Munir. Shortly before the parade began, many Egyptian actors, such as Ahmed Zaki and Mona Zaki and Hed Sambri from Tunisia, recited texts about Egyptian culture.
Earlier, President Sisi went to the NMEC, accompanied by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuli and UNESCO Director General Ondrej Azule, to inspect part of the collection. “I am very proud to welcome the kings and queens of Egypt after their journey,” he wrote on Twitter. NMEC will open its doors to the public tomorrow April 4. But the mummies will be on display after April 18. Audrey Azoulay said in a statement that the “relocation” of the former kings to NMEC was “the culmination of a long process of preservation and exposure.” UNESCO also participated in this project.
The 22 mummies were discovered near Luxor after 1881 and most of them had not left Tahrir Square since the early 20th century. They have been on display in a small room since the 1950s, but at NMEC they will be housed in modern display cases to better control the room’s temperature and humidity, said Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology. The decoration will refer to the underground tombs of the pharaohs, with their sarcophagi and personal effects.
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