Teen Risks Life, Limb, And Prison To Climb Great Pyramid, And His Pictures Are Gorgeous


Like most teens, Andrej Ciesielski has a knack for taking risks and little concern for rules. The 18-year-old kid from Munich, Germany, has taken a bird’s eye view of cities around the world for a couple years, and just recently broke the law in Egypt to climb the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Andrej calls it “roofing,” and he shares pictures of his vertigo-inducing adventures online. He’s perched on roofs in Hong Kong, New York City, Warsaw, Berlin, and his hometown, the Huffington Post reported.

Now, he can add a pyramid to his list. And he took some great risks climbing the historic monument — he could’ve been arrested, or worse, fallen to his death.

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For decades, it’s been illegal to scale any of the pyramids, RT reported. Nonetheless, the youth traveled to Egypt just to climb the 4,500-year-old, 479-foot limestone Great Pyramid. And he didn’t intend the climb to be a secret either, bringing along a camera to both snap pictures and film his dangerous trek, the Independent reported.

Ciesielski wrote about his climb in a post that accompanied some stunning photos. The illegal feat was accomplished on January 18, in broad daylight, in just eight minutes (and it took the teen 20 more minutes to get down), the Telegraph noted.

“Walking around in the complex I was waiting for the right moment to start climbing The Great Pyramid of Giza. When I started climbing a street seller was standing behind me but I didn’t care about him I turned around he laughed and I continued climbing.”

His exploits on the pyramid caught the attention of passersby when he was halfway to the top, giving the teen away to nearby police. They shouted to him in Arabic, but Andrej didn’t care, he said; he “kept going while listening to music.”

While he took in the incredible view and snapped some pictures at the top, police kept watch from the bottom and waited to arrest the teen. That is, if he didn’t fall to his death instead.

He later recalled the climb and its reward.

“It was absolutely surreal standing on top of one of the wonders of the world and something that I will never forget. I wanted to experience Egyptian culture and I definitely managed that. Before my trip I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go to Cairo but I was happy that I went there. Together against terror. At the last day there was a terror attack near the pyramids. A few people have been killed. That made me even thoughtfully.”

He also experienced the Egyptian justice system. When he safely reached the bottom of the pyramid, police “were quick” to take the teen to the station for questioning and probed his camera to “see what I had been up to.” Andrej said they almost took him to the German embassy but decided to release him without charges or further incident.

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For the teen’s climb of the Great Pyramid, Ciesielski could’ve ended up spending three years in prison. And he does consider himself lucky.

“I had asked the locals what they thought of my attempt and they warned me that it was illegal to climb the pyramids, although I thought it would be fine, what with Egypt’s dependence on tourists,” he wrote. “I was told, though that I did risk prison, although on balance I thought the photos would be worth it.”

And they certainly are. His footage and pictures of a sight most people were never see, either because they’re too afraid of heights or not willing to break the law, have gone viral. He makes a habit of “roofing” all over the world, sharing his death-defying experiences online as only a teen can do.

“I do roofing because I love it. It makes me feel free,” he said in a 2014 interview. “The first time I sat on the edge of a roof was a real adrenaline kick but now it’s become quite normal to me. I’ve never had an accident because I’m always very careful and I think twice before doing anything.”

[Photo via Andrej Ciesielsk Facebook]

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