Have Street View, will travel. I suppose that can be considered to be the new mantra these days, especially when you consider how Google’s Street View has gone places, such as the Angkor Wat as well as the higher institutions of learning. How about dropping by the deserts of Egypt, where the Great Pyramids beckon, not to mention the eternal Sphinx staring into space? New Street View imagery is available in Google Maps, allowing you to take a virtual walk through the timeless monuments that is full of rich history, all without running the risk of a wayward bullet zipping past your head.
One is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world, the other could be called a wonder of the modern one. Now Google Street View has come to the pyramids of Giza to allow viewers from anywhere in the world to wander around the most famous site in Egypt. The internet company has unveiled navigable images of the ancient monumen tand other Egyptian attractions – including the pyramids of Saqqara, Saladin’s citadel, and the ancient city of Abu Mena. Though Google has photographed most roads in Europe and North America since 2007, and other famous sites such as the Taj Mahal in India, it is the first time it has documented any part of Egypt. It was hard work. Usually, the Street View team captures a street with a camera fixed to car that automatically records its surroundings. But the bumpy terrain near the pyramids allowed no such luxury. Instead, Google dispatched its troops – known as “trekkers” – on foot, laden with a camera on their backs that looked like an oversized water-cooler. In the Egyptian summer, which regularly tops 40C, both the trekkers and the cameras struggled. “It was a unique experience for us as well, because the equipment really got tested in the heat,” Google Street View’s programme manager, Amita Khattri, told Time.