ISSE’s Logo
The society’s logo contains a photograph of a group of early 20th Century, Western tourists—along with their guides—climbing the Great Pyramid at Giza.
The ascension of this monument—known as ‘pyramideering’—was a common past-time for early visitors to Egypt (from as early as the 16th Century CE). It was especially popular during the mid-late 19th Century-early 20th Century CE; tourists hired two to three professional guides to help them climb the pyramid, often taking the opportunity to carve their names into the stone at the top to mark the occasion.
The identity of the tourists in this photograph—along with its exact date—is unfortunately unknown. The photograph itself is of stereographic form—designed to viewed via a stereoscope, which provided an image for each eye (much like a modern-day ‘view-master’) which made the scene appear 3D. It would have formed part of a set of widely-available popular images of Egypt, allowing the public to ‘experience’ and engage with Egypt’s ancient past from the comfort of their own homes.
‘Tourists ascending the Great Pyramid’ stereographic photograph, early 20th century CE.
This particular photograph encapsulates historic (fervent) fascination with Egypt and her ancient past. It is undeniably a provocative image and one which highlights how ‘Egyptophiles’ sought to possess her ancient wonders—in a very literal sense.
‘Modern Iconoclasts at Work on the Monuments of Ancient Egypt’: early tourists defacing the ancient monuments (from: The Daily Graphic 1890)
During the period of early travel in Egypt (16th Century CE–early 20th Century CE), tourists experienced a level of access to Egypt’s sites and monuments, which would be unimaginable to modern-day visitors. It was not uncommon for tourists to graffiti temples and monuments and remove temple/tomb paintings, sculptures, artefacts and even ancient, mummified human remains as a memento of their trip. These ‘souvenirs’ form large parts of museum (and private) collections around the world today.
It is important to consider the level of impact that early tourists had on the development of ‘Egyptomania’, but we must also be mindful of the very real damage caused by the attitudes and actions of those seemingly obsessed with Egypt at this time. We should be open to discussion and debate over the impact of their actions, and embrace the evident issues of the nature in which we previously engaged with, studied and collected Egypt’s ancient past; we should strive to be mindful that though we cannot change—or deny/shy-away from—the history of our developing fascination with ancient Egypt, we need to relinquish this historic sense of entitlement and ensure that modern engagement with the subject is both respectful and ethical.
‘It certainly is a gay life’: satirical cartoon depicting tourists clambering over an Egyptian temple; from George Ade’s (1866-1944) travelogue: In Pastures New (1906)
For further information about this stereographic image, please follow this link to the Library of Congress, where a copy of this stereograph can be found among their photographic collections (within the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection: LC-M32- 865).
For more information on early tourism in Egypt and the history of studying—and collecting—of Egypt’s ancient past, please visit our Resources page.