One teenager’s daredevil stunt to procure aerial photographs and video of the Egyptian desert has earned him a lifelong ban from the country. 18-year-old German tourist Andrej Ciesielski scaled the Great Pyramid of Giza, where he snapped sweeping views of the city from a height of 455 feet, including a stunning shot of the Pyramid of Khafre. Unfortunately, while the Munich-based video editor completed his journey unscathed, Egyptian authorities detained him when he touched ground, releasing him after questioning. One hopes Ciesielski’s climb and his images that quickly went viral were worth the trouble: Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty this week sent official notice to the German Embassy in Cairo that Ciesielski may never return to Egypt, as Egyptian Streets first reported.
The Egyptian government has forbidden pyramid-scaling since 1951, with those who break the law facing up to three years in prison, but authorities apparently rarely enforced it until 1973. Ciesielski, who has pulled similar stunts in Dubai and in Hong Kong, is one of the many photographers testing such trespassing laws through the global trend of “rooftopping,” which has grown in recent years. His most recent climb followed a day of scrambling up buildings in central Cairo to photograph Tahrir Square and Talaat Harb Square from above, as he related in a blog post from January 25. In that same post, he recounts his epic climb up the ancient pyramid, noting that he faced little security as he started what seems to have been a pretty casual and carefree ascent.
Ciesielski claims he scaled the pyramid in just eight minutes and took 20 minutes to climb down. According to Ahram Online, although antiquities and tourism police initially arrested the teen, they released him because he was reportedly unaware of the law and had promised to never do it again. They also confiscated his photographs and video, but he still managed to share the material on Facebook, where they still reside.
I took a taxi to the area of Giza where the pyramids are located. The hotel ordered me a taxi with a fair price.
It is inconceivable that the pyramids were made without any machines. If you are standing in front of the pyramid, it’s stunning.
Walking around in the complex, I was waiting for the right moment to start climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza. When I started climbing, a street seller was standing behind me, but I didn’t care. I turned around he laughed so I continued climbing.
At the half point, some people saw me and looked up. That’s how the police spotted me. They shouted something in Arabic I think, but I didn’t care and kept going while listening to music.
From the very top of the Cheops Pyramid. It took me around 8 minutes to reach the top. Climbing down took me 20 minutes. Safety first!
In the background, you can see Giza. Before my trip, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go to Cairo. But I am so happy that I went there.
Sources: hyperallergic.com, huffingtonpost.com
Authors: hyperallergic/Claire Voon, huffingtonpost/Andrej Ciesielski
Photo credits: Andrej Ciesielski
Video source: andrejcie
More photos and news about: facebook/Andrej Ciesielski