High cheekbones, a long nose, full lips and a prominent chin: Pharaoh Akhenaten’s facial features, as seen in various sculptures, often stand out among the various depictions of ancient Egyptian kings.
While it cannot be known for certain if Nefertiti’s husband actually looked as the sculptures suggest or if they were a result of artistic expression, a photo of Egyptian influencer Youssef Mohamed posing next to one in the Grand Egyptian Museum has gone viral – and it suggests that the bust was a naturalistic representation.
The resemblance between 23-year-old law student Mohamed and the bust of Akhenaten is striking, and no one is more surprised than Mohamed.
“I didn’t expect that,” Mohamed says.
Before he went to the museum to take photos for social media, he had no idea about his resemblance to the legendary pharaoh. The answer from his fellow internet users, however, has been loud and clear.
“People wrote that I was evidently a descendant of the pharaohs. There’s no need for a DNA test.”