Google Maps' New Conquest: Street View Takes You to Ancient Egypt

You can now use Google Maps’ Street View to tour ancient Egypt. (Photo: Google Maps’ Street View)

Now’s your chance to tour ancient Egypt for much less than the price of a plane ticket.

On Wednesday, Google Maps announced its latest accomplishment in its quest to map the entire planet with its addictive Street View. For the first time, you can now take a 360-degree Street View virtual tour of the monuments of ancient Egypt, right from your desktop. You can pan the landscape, maneuver your way around the scene, and even zoom in on landmarks that catch your attention\Street View has mapped ancient Egypt, providing 360-degree views of all the famous landmarks. (Photo: Google Maps’ Street View)

Google’s touting it as your chance to walk like an Egyptian.

The tour starts at the 5,000-year-old Pyramids at Giza, including the Great Pyramid.

Related: Crazy Google Street View Photos

You can then maneuver your way east toward the Great Sphinx, the world’s oldest and largest monumental sculpture.

The tour also takes you to several historic churches in the region — including Abu Mena and the Hanging Church — plus the Cairo Citadel and the Citadel of Qaitbay.

You can even drop in through the Cairo Citadel. (Photo: Google Maps’ Street View)

Google captures most of its Street View images with cameras mounted atop its Street View cars. That wasn’t an option in Egypt, so Google sent in live camera operators to capture the 360-degree images on foot.

The Street View car wouldn’t fare well here, so Google sent in human camera operators to catch the 360-degree images on foot. (Photo: Google Maps’ Street View)

Street View has already covered 7.2 million miles across the Earth, including theme parks, campuses, and landmarks such as the Grand Canyon and the Colosseum.

Last month, Street View even expanded its influence underwater. Google teamed up with U.S. government researchers to start mapping the coral reefs off the Florida Keys.

Related: Stalk the Reefs With Google Maps for Under the Sea

WATCH: ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’

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