Visiting the Pyramids

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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.

1860 -A tourist gets a helping hand to climb the pyramid.

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.

1867

1867

1880 -Egyptians and tourists clamber up one of the pyramids.

1882

1895

1900

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1900

1900

1900 -Men rest atop the Great Pyramid.

1900 -Photographer Lewis Larsson takes a photo from atop the Great Pyramid.

1900

1900

1905

1910

1925

1930 - The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Gloucester climb one of the pyramids.

1930

1931 -Egyptian men watch as the Graf Zeppelin floats over the pyramids of Giza.

1938 - Tourists take tea atop the Great Pyramid.