Image copyright EPA Image caption Two pyramids are seen together in the distance on the pyramids’ west side, and two are seen on the east side
Egypt has reopened the route of the ancient pyramids in Cairo to the public, nearly 3,400 years after the last Westerners entered the Valley of the Kings to make the journey.
The reopening is a milestone in the recovery efforts of the pyramids, one of the oldest of the world’s major structures.
Officials led by Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani handed over keys to thousands of visitors.
The Nile Valley cities of Giza and Luxor were once the capitals of the ancient kingdom of Ptolemaic Egypt.
The pyramids were built on a pyramid, and were completed during the reign of King Amenhotep III between 1537 and 1569 BC.
Image copyright EPA Image caption The alignment of the two pyramids helped to determine the position of the sun, potentially predicting weather
One kilometre long and up to nine kilometres wide, the pyramid complex is known as the “Valley of the Kings”.
It is believed to be Egypt’s oldest cultural monument, and has sat undisturbed since the 19th century.
The “AC Avenue” that led to the foot of the three pyramids in its heyday had to be closed off in 1925 to allow the excavation and restoration of the structures.
The alignment of the three pyramids and the date of their completion gave scientists insight into the phases of the moon, and, based on those measurements, exact times of the months and seasons.
In the 1970s, a first rescue team entered the pyramids. To prepare for such access, the Egyptian government spent millions of dollars in 1970s and 1980s on subterranean excavations to create a man-made channel through the interior.
Photo credit: Khaled Desouki/AP Image caption The restoration of the pyramids has been a long process of clearing the network of drains of snow and rainwater and applying a new seal
The key decision in 2011 to open the road leading to the pyramids was the creation of a red and green pedestrian tunnel through the Nile River delta.
After years of cleaning, stabilising, repairing and conserving the pyramids, the process was inaugurated in March last year.
Plans to build a tunnel into the Valley of the Queens and pyramid structure first began in 1998 but were completed a decade later.
The engineering barriers faced by engineers was partly why they were initially unable to design a route for pilgrims and tourists to ascend the pyramid structure.
The planned tunnels allow busloads of visitors to ascend the pyramid to the inner chambers.