A Danish photographer and his female companion caused a stir in Egypt after they took explicit shots of themselves on top of the world-renowned Great Pyramid of Giza. Two locals who helped the tourists achieve the shoot have been arrested and face an impending trial.
In a video that went viral online, entitled “Climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza,” the tourists can be seen scaling the the 4,500-year-old pyramid, smoking, removing their clothes, and lying on top of one another in a naked embrace as they look down upon Cairo.
A Danish newspaper reported that the man, 23-year-old Andreas Hvid, denies having sex with his female friend.
Revealing that he has “dreamed for many years of climbing the Great Pyramid” and has desired to take a naked picture at the landmark, Hvid clarified that the woman in the video was not his girlfriend. He added: “It was just a pose. We did not have sexual relations.”
Despite Hvid’s clarification, Egyptians and their local authorities remain outraged, especially as the three-minute video that was shot in late November and posted on YouTube on Dec 8 went viral with about 4.5 million views so far.
Egypt’s public prosecutor subsequently launched an investigation into the incident, since climbing pyramids is against the law in the nation. The camel driver who illegally transported the pair to the location for a sum of 4,000 Egyptian pounds and a woman who put them in touch with the camel driver have been arrested. Both locals face an impending trial