Egypt to investigate video showing Danish couple climbing, posing nude at top of Khufu Pyramid

Ahram Online , Friday 7 Dec 2018

Police at Giza Pyramids
File Photo: A member of the Egyptian police seen in front of Egypt's Great Pyramids of Giza (Photo: AFP)

Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Anany filed on Friday a memo with the prosecutor-general to investigate a short viral clip showing a Danish couple illegally climbing to the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza and posing naked for pictures.

The antiquities ministry said in a statement that it is investigating the matter.

The three-minute video, which has stirred outrage and controversy among Egyptians on social media, depicts a man and a woman climbing to the top of what appears to be the Great Pyramid of Giza, with a still image at the end of the video showing them in a naked embrace.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on 5 December by self-described Danish photographer Andreas Hvid, who posts images on social media of different sites from high vantage points around the world, sometimes depicting nudity.

It’s unclear if the couple is still in the country.

Earlier on Friday, Ashraf Mohi, director general of the Giza Plateau, asserted to Ahram Online that the video is fake given the fact that there is heavy security at the pyramids from the time the area closes at 5pm. He also said that the area around the pyramids is too brightly lit in the video, and that this area is immersed in darkness during night time.

Climbing pyramids is punishable by law in Egypt.

In 2016, Egypt sent an official notice to the German embassy banning a young German tourist was from visiting Egypt in the future after he illegally scaled a pyramid in Giza.

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