With its dark walls and dimly-lit open rooms, the crypt-like Royal Mummies Hall at Cairo's new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization opened to visitors for the first time on Sunday, displaying 20 mummies of ancient Egyptian kings and queens.
The mummies were among 22 transferred earlier in April from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo to the NMEC in a remarkable parade.
The opening of the magnificent mummies hall coincided with International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day.
"We have planned to open the Royal Mummies Hall on World Heritage Day after restoration of the mummies," says Fayrouz Fekry Selim, deputy director for management and operation of the museum.