Giza pyramids’ stones turned into pages of tourist memories

CAIRO – 14 May 2017: The Giza pyramids’ stones have been engraved with the names of tourist couples immortalizing their memories. The Great Pyramids are visited by thousands of international tourists annually.

The Great Pyramids of Giza are considered the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and attract tourists from all over the world.

Although tourists visit many historical monuments in Egypt, none of them are more celebrated than the pyramids of the Giza plateau.

Tourists try to immortalize the moment of their visiting the Pyramids or any other monuments, so they carve their initials, or draw a picture, or inscribe the date of their visit on the stones.

Such acts are not preferable especially as they distort the historic importance of the monuments, taking away from their ancient significance.

Phrases written on the stones of the pyramids are in many different languages; however, Arabic phrases are most common, which leads to the question- are the Egyptian and Arab people visiting the pyramids plateau are the ones who commonly misuse the sight?
Unfortunately, these acts reflect the ignorance of visitors who are uninformed as to the importance of the Giza Pyramids area, caring more for inscribing messages into the ancient stones than for their preservation.

Many tourists are motivated by superstitious beliefs, believing that writing wishes on monuments may make them come true.

Here are some photos of stones with tourist inscriptions and graffiti: