2 Egyptians arrested for helping tourists climb Pyramid

CAIRO - 13 December 2018: Egypt's Ministry of Interior arrested a camel driver and another girl accused of helping two Danish tourists climb the Great Pyramid of Giza. The tourists photographed themselves naked allegedly on top of the 139-meter pyramid.

An investigation team was formed in cooperation with the Interior Ministry to investigate the issue. The 33 year old Danish photographer reached Egypt on November 19 and left on December 4, according to the investigation.

The camel driver, who works in the archaeological area, is accused of helping the two tourists on November 29 to climb the Great Pyramid for LE 4,000 ($223.3). A girl was also arrested over contacting the two tourists online and facilitating their mission.

Three attempts

In an interview with Copenhagen-based Ekstra Bladet, Andreas Hvid said he has always dreamt of climbing the Great Pyramid and taking naked photos over its top. He added that he is now very upset as some people are mad at him.

Hvid said he attempted to climb the pyramid with a Norwegian friend twice. In the first time, he asked the guards to allow them to climb the Pyramid, but they were not allowed, he said, adding that in the second time they were arrested while actually attempting to climb the Pyramid, and were then released following interrogation.

In the third time, Hvid seemingly managed to reach the top. He said he and another Danish friend took a different route away from the guards, and waited until tourists left the Pyramid. They climbed and could reach the top in 25 minutes only, he said.

Hvid said he did not have sex on top of the Pyramid, confirming that they have taken one photo while they were naked.

The Danish photographer said he did not intend to mock a historic or religious symbol, adding that he will not visit Egypt in the coming period in order not to get arrested.

Egyptian wrath

The explicit video claimed to be filmed atop the Great Pyramid of Giza by a Danish photographer has been referred to Egypt’s top prosecutor to investigate its authenticity.

Climbing the Giza Plateau is considered illegal, according to the head of the archaeological site, who ruled out the Danish couple have climbed up the Khufu Pyramid amid the tight security presence.

In the video description, Hvid wrote “In late November 2018, a friend and I climbed the Great Pyramid of Giza (a.k.a. Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Cheops). Fearing to be spotted by the many guards, I did not film the several hours of sneaking around at the Giza Plateau, which led up to the climb."

The video has been circulated on social media, with some angry comments describing it as tarnishing the historic site.

The director of the Pyramids archaeological area Asharf Mohey described the video as “fake and unreal,” saying that climbing the Pyramid is impossible due to restrictions. Mohey suspected the video's authenticity, referring to a “strange” light appearingin the footage that does not resemble the real view of the site that closes every day at 5p.m.

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Additional reporting by Egypt Today Staff