Egypt casts doubt on naked pyramid video

Egyptian authorities have said they were investigating whether a controversial video in which a Danish couple appears to pose naked on one of the Giza pyramids is real.

The footage, which has since been taken down, showed Danish photographer Andreas Hvid and an unnamed woman climbing what appears to be the Great Pyramid, with a view of Cairo in the background. The pair then take off some of their clothes and could be seen in a naked embrace on the summit of the Khufu Pyramid.

Hvid's post prompted outrage in Egypt, who saw the stunt not only as illegal, but as disrespectful.

Fulfilling a dream

"For many years I had dreamed of climbing the Great Pyramid," Hvid told the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet. He added that he was "sad" some Egyptians were offended by his post, but said he had gotten some positive feedback as well.

Hvid has since left Egypt, and said he has no plans to return in the future.

Police initially set up an investigation into which laws the couple had broken —  public nudity is forbidden, as is climbing the pyramids. Now, however, they are also probing whether the video was real in the first place.

Ashraf Mohi, director general of Giza, told the state-run al-Ahram daily that he found it hard to believe the rumors that Hvid had bribed a guard.

He told the newspaper that there is an 18-kilometer fence around the presence and highlighted the extremely tight security around each entrance at night.

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