If you’re familiar with Google Street View, you might have used it to see the Burj Khalifa up close and personal or spanned the sweeping expanse of the Liwa desert (mapped by a camel!) from your home computer or smart device.
But have you seen the treasures of ancient Egypt through the eyes of one of Google’s Trekkers?
As of last month, the pyramids at Giza, the necropolis of Saqqara, the citadel of Qaitbay, the Saladin Citadel of Cairo, the Hanging Church, and the bygone city of Abu Mena are “Egypt highlights” that are part of Street View Special Collections, a newer feature of Google maps. The pyramids have also joined the ranks of the Street View Treks division.
The Street View technology is striving to capture the imagery of record-setting landmarks and other historically and culturally significant sites. It has traveled to places so remote you can call them “off the grid” – take Antarctica, for example – and even underwater.
Ancient Egypt – or what remains of it – most definitely deserved a place among the high-definition adventures. After all, the pyramids of Giza, dating back nearly 5,000 years, are the only wonder of the ancient world still standing today. Now, we can view 360° panoramas of one of the world’s most illustrious ancient civilizations, subject of intense study and curiosity for several centuries.
Although you won’t get a stamp on your passport by visiting Egypt this way, you can still feel like a globetrotter when you pan, zoom, and maneuver your way into Egypt’s goldmines (quite literally – see this article on King Tut’s bling). Maybe turn on some appropriate sound effects to get yourself desert-ready. Bon voyage!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd3E5dWunKo[/youtube]
Photo of the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Menkaure and Khafre from Shutterstock.
Author: Kelly Vaghenas
A recent graduate of Montclair State University, where she double majored in Dance and Anthropology and minored in Arabic, Kelly loves exploring cultural and performing arts, learning foreign languages, cooking healthy food, and frequenting her favorite ethnic restaurants. Her wanderlust keeps her intent on traveling the world, and starting in the summer of 2011 during her trip to Lebanon, CouchSurfing became her way of finding free accommodation and new friends. She is obsessed with Pinkberry frozen yogurt and, after recently discovering that the majority of the chain's international locations are in the Middle East, is determined to place an order at every counter in the region during her lifetime...
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