CAIRO: The mummy of Egypt’s King Ramses II will go on show in Saudi Arabia from next week as part of a global tour of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
The traveling exhibition, titled “Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs,” is organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences and its arrival in the Kingdom coincides with the inaugural Biennale of Islamic Arts.
The remains of the famous pharaoh will be on display at the Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from Jan. 23 to April 23.
The exhibition will give visitors an insight into the life and accomplishments of Ramses II, dubbed Ramses the Great, who was one of the most remarkable and celebrated rulers of ancient history.
As well as his mummy, the display will feature more than 180 Egyptian artifacts, including sculptures and treasures, and state-of-the-art multimedia reproductions that demonstrate the opulence and beauty of ancient Egyptian civilization.
There will also be a number of more recently discovered animal mummies and treasures from the royal tombs of Dahshur and Tanis.
The exhibition was inaugurated in Houston in November 2021 before moving on to San Francisco in August last year. In the Kingdom, the artifacts will be shown as part of the biennale alongside items of Islamic art relating to the holy sites of Makkah and Madinah.
The touring exhibition is being staged with the approval of the Egyptian government, which said it “highlights the value of our ancient civilization.”
After Saudi Arabia, the show will travel to Paris, where it will remain from April 1 until Sept. 17, before moving on to Sydney.