Egypt Takes Wraps Off Its Mummies

CAIRO — Egypt’s royal mummies were once barred from public view to prevent tourists from ogling a national treasure. Now they’re being put back on display to lure tourists frightened away by extremist attacks.

Antiquities officials said a select group of 11 pharaohs and queens, including famed Ramses II, could go on display as early as February inside a refurbished Mummy Room in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.

The hope is that the mummies will again play a role as one of Egypt’s top tourist draws, now that attacks by Muslim fundamentalists have badly hurt the tourism industry.

“Having the mummies is a dream for history,” the museum’s Nasry Iskander said.