Yahoo News 'Nude pyramid photo shoot' investigated by Egyptian authorities
A foreign photographer has sparked outrage in Egypt after sharing a picture of himself lying naked with a woman on what appears to be the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Censored footage shared on the YouTube account of Danish “urban explorer” Andreas Hvid shows the videographer and a woman climbing a pyramid in the dark before reaching the top and looking out over the Cairo skyline.
After they pose for a picture at the top of the structure, the woman begins to remove her top then the video cuts out.
The act is now being investigated by authorities.
Egypt, which is mostly a Muslim country, regards its ancient pyramids among its most important monuments.
The original uncensored video reportedly ended with a picture of the pair in a naked embrace on top of the iconic structure, but has since been removed. However, an image of a man lying naked on top of the woman on the summit of the 4,500-year-old pyramid can be found on Mr Hvid’s website.
“In late November 2018, a friend and I climbed the Great Pyramid of Giza (a.k.a. Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Cheops),” he wrote in the YouTube caption.
“Fearing to be spotted by the many guards, I did not film the several hours of sneaking around at the Giza Plateau, which lead up to the climb.”
Calling the action a “violation of public morality”, Egypt’s minister of antiquities Khaled el Anany referred the picture and video to the attorney general for investigation, according to local news site Ahram Online.
Climbing the structure is illegal without special permission from Egyptian authorities, and the site is patrolled by police after 5pm when it is closed to the public.
A post shared by Andreas Hvid (@andreas.hvid) on Dec 8, 2018 at 7:26pm PST
There are doubts over the video’s authenticity, with the site’s archaeological director Ashraf Mohi claiming an unexplained “illumination” near the horizon could mean the clip was a fake, CNN reported.
“The pyramids are the most important historical landmarks in the world. People have different ambitions and passions when it comes to expressing their love for them.”
