If anyone did something like that in any country outside Egypt, especially in the West, I can just imagine the outcry. But since it's their own cultural heritage, they can do what they want.
Yes, and considering the expenditure involved, it reminds me of the celebration of the Shah of Iran, marking the 2,500 years since the founding of the Persian Empire, at Persepolis in October 1971. That event was on a much larger scale.
The "parade" is to move the mummies to a new facility and thus a celebration of their heritage while its done. I see it being no different than what we have done in the US for the Space Shuttle as well as dignitaries though out history when we moved their graves to more "appropriate" areas...
@robinjojo, that evokes Philip I's celebrations of the millennial anniversary of the foundation of Rome. Yeah, in both cases, the timing was less than auspicious.
Crowds gathering for viewing of celebrities like Valentino is okay in the West and of course parades and viewings of political figures passed. But you're right, as for normal folk, it wouldn't fly in the US. Of course the country of Ghana is a bit innovative and views death as a celebration of life.
@JPD3, sorry to get all semantic, but it's more like, in Ghana, the funerals are a celebration of the individual's life. Evoking, kind of in cultural and chronological reverse, the second lines in funerals in New Orleans. The reason they call them 'second lines' is that the first part of the music is devoted to conveying the grief over whoever passed; only then do they segue to celebrating their life. It isn't hard to hear the transition. Here's my favorite example on YouTube. ...Yes, the guy with the ponytail is Dr. John.
I just hope the Grand Egyptian Museum is better than the Cairo Museum off of old Tahrir Square, French-built and quaint but also charming, and close to some great colonial-era hotels to stay including Sheapard's, Pensione Roma, Tulip, and others. A few years ago they christened the new Library of Alexandria to great fanfare, but practically nobody has heard of it.
