Row erupts over Cairo mural depicting Tutankhamun and Nefertiti with dark skin

On the eve of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s state visit to Cairo last month, the city authorities were busy removing a 66-metre-long mural from the esteemed guest’s line of sight. Depicting the Pharaoh Tutankhamun and Queen Nefertiti, the painting was among 40 murals commissioned to beautify the city for Xi’s arrival and was painted by volunteer youth group Rasmet Basma, in Tahrir Square. But it drew a furious reaction for depicting the two historical figures with dark skin – angering those Egyptians who saw it as reviving Afrocentric claims about the Pharaohs’ origins. The artwork vanished under fresh paint just…