Certain people are none too pleased with a Danish photographer after he decided to add one extra bone to the giant grave that is the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Andreas Hvid, a Danish photographer, released a video and a series of photos Friday which showed him and a naked woman, uh, copulating on top of the pyramid. These photos weren’t received too well by both the general public of Egypt and Egypt’s government. According to Egyptian outlet Ahram Online, Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anany has ordered prosecutors to investigate the validity of the images and look into whether Hvid and his model friend “really filmed an explicit pornographic video atop the Pyramid.”
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One former official talking to NBC, has indicated that the footage and photo is fake because there “is no way anyone can enter the Pyramids area at night” and the size of the stones don’t match. That said, it must be noted that others have been able to scale the pyramid in the past with a German man being arrested in 2016. I probably don’t need to point it out but it’s quite darn illegal to trespass on and climb the pyramids.
Hvid did not respond to VICE’s request for comment but did give an extensive interview with Ekstrabladet, a Danish outlet, that’s been posted online. In the translated copy of the newspaper, Hvid indicates the photos are real and that he’s going to “stay out of Egypt in the future, as I probably risk being [arrested] if I go back.”
Hvid said that he was obsessed with taking the photo for years and planned to make it happen. In late November Hvid and his partner pulled the trigger on the escapade. Hvid said he and the woman snuck across the fence well away from the pyramid and slowly made their way towards the pyramid. When they spotted guards, they hid in a temple for an hour and a half waiting for the traffic to pass and had a route to the monument all planned out.
Once they got to the side of the Great Pyramid they were able to scale it in just under half an hour. Hvid described the feeling of reaching the top as “euphoric” and the view as “magical.” Alongside the photo, Hvid also released a video of their stunt which shows the couple sneaking around and quietly climbing the pyramid at night. At the end of the video the woman, whose face is blurred, takes her shirt off and looks at Cairo down below.
Then the two took a photo where they’re, as Shakespeare so eloquently puts it, making the beast with two backs.
It seems the photo offended people on two fronts, with some being obsessed that he trespassed on historic site like the Great Pyramids and others being incensed that he uhhh… took a picture implying he was fucking on there. “On behalf of historians and archaeologists everywhere, I hope you both end up in jail,” reads one comment on the YouTube video.
In the interview, Hvid states that the photo he took—which hilariously translates to “pyramid fuck”—was a statement on Western society. “’Pyramid fuck’ was the dumbest idea I could get on,” reads the translated interview. “Western, privileged youth at its worst. All that is missing is a joint and a bottle of vodka.”
Hvid said he didn’t expect people to be so angry and that he followed the urban explorer’s code, taking “nothing but pictures and leaving nothing but footprints.”
This seemingly isn’t Hvid’s first foray into illegal photography. On his website, he says he’s ventured into Chernyobl and has several pictures from that trip along with photos from the top of skyscrapers. In the bio section, the 23-year-old Hvid said he’s been urban exploring for over 10 years. Also on his website are photos of Hvid and a model boning—much like on the pyramid. In his conversation with Ekstrabladet Hvid did clear up the biggest question we all had and stated he and his model buddy weren’t having sex but just posing.
I guess the Dane will have to find a different way to join the Nile high club. (Editor’s note: BOOOOOOOOOOO)
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