Shops that once sold papyrus, perfumes, and tourist trinkets near the Giza pyramids are mostly closed. Business owners who remain offer to guide visitors through the area to supplement their vastly reduced incomes. All photos by John Beck.*
A man sleeping outside a disused shop and a closed hotel in a tourist area by the pyramids. Hawkers and guides far outnumber tourists both here and at the pyramids themselves.*
The pyramids themselves are almost deserted. Men and boys with horses and camels make up by far the biggest part of the crowd inside the complex. Some are resigned and subdued. Others are desperate and aggressive, coaxing tourists onto their animal for a photograph then not letting them down until demands for more and more money are met.*
Empty shelves where vendors used to sell their wares by the pyramid exit. A few still wait with a selection of trinkets for any visitors that pass. Some, less scrupulous, hawkers have started selling pieces of the pyramids.*
Camels sit by the pyramids waiting for people who might want to ride or take pictures with them. Zawawy said that before 2011 there were often too many visitors to cope with. “We would run from the tourists, we'd be so tired and wouldn't get off a horse or camel all day.”*
A sign at the Pharaonic Village entrance which suggests there wasn't a huge number of visitors last month.*
The tour begins with a boat trip around the "village," which is situated on a small island in the Nile. A voiceover set to a soundtrack reminiscent of an atmospheric 1980s action-film trailer introduces statues of ancient Egyptian gods, a recreation of the baby Moses being found in the marshes, and actors re-enacting domestic and farming scenes.*
A man and a mannequin posed as ancient Egyptian painters. Actors also recreate various other arts and trades, including sculpting, stonemasonry, mummification, and beer- and wine-making. Each actor slowly repeats the same tasks for each tour group then undoes the work they just completed and starts again.*
The on-foot section of the tour begins with a small, but gaudy recreation of the Luxor Temple. The tour guides instructs visitors to ask permission to enter from an actor wearing a fake leopard skin who plays a high priest. The same actor doubled as a “poor man” in a subsequent section of the tour.*
Inside a reproduction of a wealthy ancient Egyptian's house, his “wife” sits in an alcove wearing a paper crown.*
A camel eating a piece of carrot from an Egyptian boy's head. Zoo staff offer families photo opportunities in the hope of receiving tips.*
A closed-up ticket booth with a red handprint. Parts of the zoo are closed off or in disrepair.*
A boy stands in front of horror masks at the zoo's market section. The shops selling souvenir items have few customers and a number of cafes and restaurants are closed.*
A man sits in a rest area surrounded by rubbish. The zoo is frequented by Egyptians who pay a fraction of the price charged to tourists, many visit to take advantage of one of the few green spaces in town rather than to see the animals.*
Two monkeys sit motionless in their cages. The zoo does not have a good history of care for its animals and many look sickly.*