Egypt’s has opened to visitors the Bent Pyramid near Cairo, in a move that is part of a wider push to boost tourism.
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EPA
The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur was built for pharaoh Snefru about 2,600BC, and was originally designed as a “true” pyramid with the steep 54-degree angle.
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EPA
But the pyramid was being built on soft, silty clay – and there was a problem with stability and subsidence. This was solved by adjusting the angle to a flatter 43 degrees, 147ft (45m) up the face.
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AFP/Getty Images
The angular shape contrasts with the straight sides of the Red Pyramid just to the north.
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Reuters
Visitors can now clamber down a 79m narrow tunnel from a raised entrance on the Bent Pyramid’s northern side to reach two chambers deep inside the structure.
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AFP/Getty Images
Archaeologists also presented mummies, masks and tools discovered during continuing excavation works that began near the Dahshur pyramids last year.
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AFP/Getty Images
Tourism is an important source of revenue for the country.