The main source of the scandal is a photo, circulated widely on social networks, made by the Danish 23-year-old Andreas Hvid. We see a couple naked and entwined, on the terrace of the Cheops pyramid: how to raise a wave of anger in muslim countries.
at the same time, a video, showing the photographer and a friend of him, was posted on YouTube on 8 December. It shows the couple climbing in the darkness a pyramid is presented as that of Giza. The woman is then filmed from behind undressing.
The egyptian minister of Antiquities, Khaled El-Enany, as quoted by the national daily Al-Ahram , has assured that the authorities should check if a «pornographic video» had been shot in the top of the pyramid. He also added that the incident would be a «violation of public morality». «The video hosea has raised fury and outrage among the Egyptians,» stressed the minister, adding that those responsible for the monument would be punished if the offence is verified. Andreas Hvid said to have climbed the pyramid with a friend at the end of November. His video has garnered nearly three million views.
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In an interview with the Danish newspaper extra skills Bladet , Andreas Hvid explained that it had «dreamed of many years to climb the great pyramid. The idea to do a nude photo is there for a long time also», he added. «I am sad that so many people are put in anger but I’ve also received many positive responses from many Egyptians,» he says. In addition, the photographer explains that he does not «wish to absolutely not trigger a new crisis, such as the caricatures of Muhammad». Finally, it indicates that the young woman with him on the pictures is not his girlfriend. «It is a pose. We have not had a sexual relationship», he says.
In Egypt, very soon, the photo and the video have sparked anger and controversy, as many have seen in these scenes of illegal acts, and disrespectful of the national heritage. «A civilization of 7000 years has turned into a scenery for a sexual scene,» wrote an internet user egyptian on Twitter. «They want to undermine the dignity and the pride of the Egyptians, because the pyramid reflects the glory and greatness of our people,» said another.
«The public prosecutor of egypt has opened an investigation into the behaviour of Andreas Hvid, and the authenticity of the video»
The authorities qualify the actions of the Danish couple of crime, issuing in addition to doubts about the veracity of the images. «The public prosecutor of egypt has opened an investigation into the behaviour of Andreas Hvid, and the authenticity of the video and photos from the top of the pyramid of Khufu that he has published,» said Mustafa Waziri, general secretary of the supreme Council of Antiquities. If these images were really shot to the top of the pyramid, it would be a «crime extremely serious», he stated.
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climbing the pyramids is forbidden in Egypt. But each year, many people try to climb to the top of the monument. At the foot of the pyramids of the Giza plateau, the panels provide information that the ascent is not permitted. In 2016, a German tourist who had taken pictures after you have climbed the Great pyramid had been forbidden to enter the egyptian territory «to life».
The pyramid of Khufu, on the Giza plateau, near Cairo, is the only one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world still visible today. Built 4500 years ago, it throne to the sides of the Sphinx and the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure. The funerary monument massif was built by Cheops, the pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty, who reigned over Egypt more than 2600 years before Christ.
