Golden Pharaohs Parade, a historic procession through the streets of Cairo. (photo / video)
On April 3, the Egyptians witnessed a historic procession of the country's ancient rulers through the capital Cairo. The Golden Parade of the Pharaohs of Cairo cost several million dollars and was dedicated to transporting 22 royal mummies - 18 kings and 4 queens - from the old Egyptian Museum to their new resting place - National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), located 5 km away.
Egyptian authorities hope that National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), which will open fully this month, will help revitalize tourism, a major source of income for the country. The industry has been affected by the political turmoil of the last decade and, more recently, by the pandemic of the new coronavirus.
The mummies of the pharaohs were transported with great fanfare, in the chronological order of their reign.
The security of the event was high, according to their royal blood and their status as national treasures. The mummies were moved to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, in what has been called the "Golden Parade of the Pharaohs." They were transported with great fanfare, in the chronological order of their reign, from the leader of the seventeenth dynasty, Seqenenre Taa II, to Ramses IX, who ruled in the twelfth century BC.
Each mummy was transported in a vehicle decorated and polished with gold, equipped with special shock absorbers and surrounded by a specially built casing, a replica of the horse-drawn chariots, to withstand the 40-minute journey. While most of the remains of ancient rulers were brought from Luxor to Cairo by boat on the Nile, a few were transported by train.
The mummies of the pharaohs will now be hosted in the Royal Hall of Mummies and will be on display to the general public starting April 18.
The mummies of the pharaohs will now be hosted in the Royal Hall of Mummies and will be on display to the general public starting April 18. The hall was designed so that visitors could experience the illusion of being in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, where they were discovered in the XNUMXth century.
Separately, a new large Egyptian museum will house Pharaoh Tutankhamun's famous collection and is set to open next year near the Great Pyramids of Giza.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is one of the most important projects carried out by Egypt in cooperation with UNESCO and is one of the largest museums of civilization in the world.