Ten things to know about Egypt’s Golden Parade

On Saturday Evening, Cairo’s streets are going to witness the unprecedented Pharaohs Golden Parade. Here is everything you need to know about it:

1. The Golden parade is a celebration for transferring the mummies of ancient Egyptian kings and queens from the Egyptian Museum of Cairo in Tahrir square to the Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in old Cairo’s Fustat . The new procession will see the royal mummies transported on the Nile and then accompanied by chariots and horses.

The National Egyptian Civilisation Museum

2. The parade will start at the sunset on Saturday and should take about 45 minutes maximum.
   

King Ramses II’s mummy participating in the parade

3. The mummies that are going to be transferred from the Tahrir Museum to the NMEC include 17 royal sarcophagi from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties.
   

King Siptah’s mummy participating in the parade

4. There are 18 mummies of kings and four of queens in total.
   

King Seti II’s mummy participating in the parade

5. The mummies include those of Kings Ramses II, Seti I, Seqnenre and Tuthmoses III, as well as Queens Hatshepsut; Meritamun; the wife of King Amenhotep I and Ahmose Nefertari, the wife of King Ahmose.
   

The design of the vehicle participating in the parade

6. The mummies will be transferred to a special decorated vehicle with their names inscribed in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs as well as in Arabic.
   

King Merenptah’s mummy will participate in the parade

7. The parade will be saluted by 21-gun salutes joined by a military band. Renowned and popular Egyptian singer Mohamed Mounir also recorded a song for the event.
   

King Ramses IV’s mummy will participate in the parade

8. Egyptian artists and actors participating in the parade include famous stars Mona Zaki, Yousra, Hussein Fahmy, Hend Sabry, Amina Khalil and Asser Yassin.
   

King Ramses V’s mummy will participate in the parade

9. According to Egypt’s interior ministry, to ensure smooth traffic for the parade the entry and exit points to Tahrir Square, including those from 6 October Bridge and 15 May Bridge, will be closed along with the shutting down of Qasr El-Nile Bridge, El-Gamaa Bridge, Abbas Bridge and Misr-Helwan Road.
   

A set of postage stamps have been issued to commemorate the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade

10. According to the Egyptian government, 400 TV channels are going to air the event live worldwide, including Egyptian and Arab TV channels. You can also watch on the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ official YouTube channel’s Live stream.

Source: Ahram Online