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Monday, February 13, 2017

Photo essay: Early tourists clambered to the top of Egypt's pyramids in fancy dresses and suits


http://mashable.com/2017/02/12/visiting-the-pyramids/

c. 1860-1935

Visiting the Pyramids

Exploring the depths and heights of Ancient Egypt

by Alex Q. Arbuckle

1938

Tourists take tea atop the Great Pyramid.

Image: Bettmann/Getty Images

Since the visit of Herodotus in the 4th century BC, the enduring monuments of Ancient Egypt have drawn tourists across the Mediterranean from Europe, most of all to the towering pyramids of Giza.

With the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, visits by wealthy tourists increased. That same year, travel mogul Thomas Cook offered his first tour of Palestine and the Nile, and launched regular steamer trips on the great river in the following years.

The discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 spurred a renewed Egyptian fascination among Europeans.

Though many tourists were content to pose for photos in front of the Great Sphinx and pyramids, some of the more adventuresome types were determined to see the view from the top of the 455-foot Pyramid of Cheops.

The smooth white limestone which had once encased the pyramid had long since been torn off for use in buildings in Cairo, leaving the massive structural blocks for tourists and local guides to clamber over.

These photos from the decades-long British occupation of Egypt record tourists exploring the awe-inspiring ruins, from the buried Sphinx to the graffiti-covered summit of the Great Pyramid.

(Climbing the pyramids is very much illegal today.)

c. 1900

Image: Chris Hellier/Corbis via Getty Images

c. 1910

Image: Chris Hellier/Corbis via Getty Images

c. 1900

Image: Imagno/Getty Images

c. 1905

Image: SSPL/Getty Images

c. 1900

Image: The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images

c. 1930

The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Gloucester climb one of the pyramids.

Image: Imagno/Getty Images

1895

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1880

Egyptians and tourists clamber up one of the pyramids.

Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

1882

Image: SSPL/Getty Images

c. 1930

Image: Gircke/ullstein bild via Getty Images

c. 1860

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1900

Image: Library of Congress

1867

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1900

Image: Library of Congress

1867

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1900

Men rest atop the Great Pyramid.

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1900

Photographer Lewis Larsson composes a photo from atop the Great Pyramid.

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1900

Image: Library of Congress

1931

Egyptian men watch as the Graf Zeppelin floats over the pyramids of Giza.

Image: Library of Congress

c. 1925

Image: George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images


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