File this under ‘Ballsy’: Thrill-seeking teenager Andrej Ciesielski, traveled all the way to Egypt from his native Germany, with the sole purpose of climbing to the top of the Great pyramid of Giza, all this while recording it with a Go-Pro for (incriminating) posterity. After the feat was done, he was arrested and taken to the police station for questioning –what is it about Germans wanting to give such headaches to the Egyptian Department of Antiquities, anyway??
(Mind you, I don’t equate this little escapade with what those two ‘amateur archeologists’ did back in 2013, which was the cause of a major public quarrel between Zahi Hawass and alternative historian Robert Bauval –even though it’s now clear Zahi’s claims were intended to unfairly blame Bauval for something which had happened on his watch while he was still Minister for Antiquities Affairs.)
He continued: ‘I had asked locals what they thought of my attempt and they warned me that it was illegal to climb the pyramids, although I thought it would be fine, what with Egypt’s dependence on tourists.
‘I was told that I did risk prison, although on balance I thought the photos would be worth it.
‘It was absolutely surreal standing on top of one of the wonders of the world and something that I will never forget. I wanted to experience Egyptian culture and I definitely managed that.’
Andrej’s was probably not as ‘surreal’ an experience as Graham Hancock’s, who has also climbed on top of the Great Pyramid (in his case, it was done before the site was open to the public, and it may or may not have involved a bit of greasing the palms of the guards *ahem*). Aside from the majestic view, Graham managed to synchronistically stumble upon a small marking, left there by none other than his own grandfather in 1916 –an event which he later confirmed by reading his grandfather’s diary.
So, the only question is if a century from now Andrej Ciesielski’s grandson will feel compelled to follow on his granddad’s foot steps…
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