All fans of the famous Halloween holiday have at least mentally worn popular mummy costume. It looks impressive, it is easy to make, it is inexpensive. But it was not always that way, and it looked completely different in ancient Egypt. At that time, mummification was expensive and inaccessible to every mortal, the whole process took a long time and did not look attractive. You can see all the details of this funeral ritual in the Museum of Mummification in the modern city of Luxor, in the area of former Thebes.

The Archaeological Museum of more than 2000 square meters is located on the Nile quay, not so far from the Luxor Temple. It was opened in 1997 with the support of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to demonstrate the ancient art of mummification.

The museum building includes several rooms with artifacts, the lecture hall, and the cinema. Collections of artifacts are divided into several parts. These are primitive medical equipment and instruments, liquids and substances for embalming, ritual items, and, of course, the mummies themselves. Besides, it presents numerous papyri, describing all stages of the funeral ceremony, and painted sarcophagi, necessary in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians were mummifying not just bodies of people but also animals they worshiped. The museum keeps mummies of fish, crocodiles, and baboons. There are mummies of rams, sacred animals of the fertility God of Khnum, and cats of the legendary Bastet Goddess. 

The most valuable exhibit of the museum is the mummy of the Masarhat, High Priest of the Sun God of Amon. It is one of 40 mummies of the Ancient Egypt rulers, found on the territory of Deir al-Bahri archaeological complex.

The statue of Anubis, the god of the dead, who created the first mummy from the body of Osiris, protects the entrance to the museum. Besides, in the museum, you can find statues of other ancient Egyptian gods, Osiris and Isis.