After being concealed for over a century by the directive of Abdul Hamid II, the 34th Emperor of the Ottoman Empire, the ‘two-headed ancient Egyptian mummy’ was officially unveiled to the public on July 6, 2018.
The ‘Two-headed ancient Egyptian mummy’ comprises the mummy of an ancient Egyptian princess alongside a Nile crocodile, both with their heads and bodies preserved.
According to legend, the young princess, daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, met her demise at the jaws of a giant crocodile. Grief-stricken by his daughter’s tragic fate, the pharaoh chose to inter her with the very crocodile that caused her demise, believing that in the afterlife, she would be resurrected as formidable as the crocodile.
Transferred from Egypt to Turkey during the rule of the 32nd Ottoman Emperor, Sultan Abdulaziz, in the mid-1800s, this unique mummy is housed at the Yıldız Palace in Istanbul, the residence of Emperor Sultan Abdulaziz during that era.
When the 34th Emperor Abdul Hamid II reigned (in office from 1876 to 1909), the mummy was kept in secret at Topkapi Palace by order of Abdul Hamid II.
After a century of secrecy, official images of the peculiar mummy were finally unveiled to the public on July 6, 2018.
Historians note that in ancient Egypt, it was customary to inter royal family members with precious burial items like gold and silver. However, the practice of burying a princess alongside a Nile crocodile is exceptionally rare. It is speculated that the king’s father’s specific wishes may have influenced the decision to lay his daughter to rest in such an uncommon manner.
