Majestic Cairo Parade as Egyptian Mummies Move Museum

FILE PHOTO: Men pass in front of poster for pharaohs golden parade after the renovation of Tahrir Square for transferring 22 mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, amidst the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Men pass in front of poster for pharaohs golden parade after the renovation of Tahrir Square for transferring 22 mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, amidst the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Majestic Cairo Parade as Egyptian Mummies Move Museum

FILE PHOTO: Men pass in front of poster for pharaohs golden parade after the renovation of Tahrir Square for transferring 22 mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, amidst the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Men pass in front of poster for pharaohs golden parade after the renovation of Tahrir Square for transferring 22 mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, amidst the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

A grand parade will convey 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies in specially designed capsules across the capital Cairo on Saturday to a new museum home where they can be displayed in greater splendor.

The convoy will transport 18 kings and four queens, mostly from the New Kingdom, from the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, about 5km (3 miles) to the south-east.

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

Each mummy will be placed in a special capsule filled with nitrogen to ensure protection, and the capsules will be carried on carts designed to cradle them and provide stability, Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said, Reuters reported.

“We chose the Civilization Museum because we want, for the first time, to display the mummies in a civilized manner, an educated manner, and not for amusement as they were in the Egyptian Museum,” he said.

Archaeologists discovered the mummies in two batches at the complex of mortuary temples of Deir Al Bahari in Luxor and at the nearby Valley of the Kings from 1871.

The oldest is that of Seqenenre Tao, the last king of the 17th Dynasty, who reigned in the 16th century BC and is thought to have met a violent death.

The parade will also include the mummies of Ramses II, Seti I, and Ahmose-Nefertari.

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

“By doing it like this, with great pomp and circumstance, the mummies are getting their due,” said Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo.

“These are the kings of Egypt, these are the pharaohs. And so, it is a way of showing respect.”



Many US Ice Cream Producers to Phase Out Artificial Food Dyes by 2028

Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Many US Ice Cream Producers to Phase Out Artificial Food Dyes by 2028

Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

Dozens of US ice cream producers are planning to remove artificial colors from their products by 2028, a dairy industry group and government officials said on Monday.

The producers, which together represent more than 90% of ice cream sold in the US, are the latest food companies to take voluntary steps to remove dyes since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said the US aimed to phase out many synthetic dyes from the country's food supply.

Several major food manufacturers, including General Mills, Kraft Heinz, J.M. Smucker, Hershey and Nestle USA, have previously announced their plans to phase out synthetic food coloring.

The 40 ice cream companies will remove Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from their retail products, excluding non-dairy products, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

The IDFA announced the plan at an event at the US Department of Agriculture headquarters on Monday with Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

"We know that our current health outcomes, especially for our children, are unsustainable and that American agriculture is at the heart of the solution to make America healthy again," Rollins said at the event, referencing a slogan aligned with Kennedy.

Rollins and Kennedy have worked closely together on food sector efforts like encouraging states to ban soda from the nation's largest food aid program.

Kennedy has blamed food dyes for rising rates of ADHD and cancer, an area many scientists say requires more research.

The IDFA said artificial dyes are safe, but that ice cream makers are taking the step in part to avoid disruption to sales from state efforts to phase out dyes from school foods and West Virginia's recent food dye ban.