Google is giving us the opportunity to virtually visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Google Street View is granting users the opportunity to visit the Great Pyramid of Giza and five other historic sites in Egypt from the comfort of their own WiFi-filled homes, Techtimes.com reported.
The 360-degree images of the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Saqqara, the Citadel of Qaitbay, the Cairo Citadel, the Hanging Church and the ancient city of Abu Mena were unveiled on Google Street View.
Google Street View has covered more than 7.2 million miles across more than 59 countries since 2007, photographing iconic landmarks such as the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and the Colosseum that are taken on 75-megapixel panoramic cameras. Google sent a team to collect images from the historical, ancient Egyptian sites last year using the “Trekker” technology that includes a camera at the top of a backpack.
Long Process
The Street View team carried the Trekker and its heavy rigs under the summer sun through the desert. The scenes were later seamlessly blended together into panoramas, blurring faces and license plates, a process that can take up to several months depending on the conditions and where the images were captured.
“It was a unique experience for us as well, because the equipment really got tested in the heat,” Google Maps Street View program manager Amita Khattri says.
The panoramic images grant Google Street View users the ability to virtually walk around the city. Users can explore the Great Sphinx and other sites that they may never get to visit in person.
The images provide educators an innovative way to present learning materials. Scientists and archaeologists will also be able to use the images as a reference to how the sites change over time.
The images allow tourists to safely continue to visit the sites despite heated tensions since Egypt’s 2011 uprising. While only 9.5 million tourists checked in to Egyptian hotels in 2013, perhaps the images will spark interest to see the sites in person.
