In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Egypt with his army and a contingent of scholars who wrote about the magnificent monuments they visited. That began a global fascination with the pyramids of ancient Egypt. As the 19th century progressed, more and more tourists made it a point to climb the Great Pyramid of Giza while in Egypt. Some of those pyramid climbers included Mark Twain, Amelia Edwards, and Arthur Conan Doyle, all of whom wrote about their experience. It wasn't an easy climb- 479 feet, or 146 meters over large stones- but it was a once-in-a-lifetime achievement they could brag about for years. Some folks even carved their names in the stones, and the Egyptians didn't mind. Or more accurately, they looked the other way because of the tourism dollars. But eventually they came to see what damage all those tourists were doing to their ancient monuments, and the practice of climbing the pyramids was prohibited in 1930. Some folks got away with it even after that, but today the thought of damaging these ancient structures just for a thrill is horrifying to us. Read about the tourists who climbed the pyramids and see plenty of pictures at Danny Dutch.
(Im age credit: Maison Bonfils)