T.J. Mueller
ART FROM ABOVE®
GREAT PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT
78"x66" oil paint on French polyester, 2016
Details
Experience in Egypt
It was winter 2010, and I arrived at the InterContinental in Cairo drenched in sweat, my nerves as taut as the humid air pressing down from the Nile. The luxury hotel felt more like a military fortress—blast walls, razor-wire, heavily armed guards at every entrance. Reading about past attacks on foreigner-targeted hotels only heightened my unease, but the visible security offered a strange sense of relief. I had come for one purpose: to capture the pyramids from above. Yet in Egypt at the time, no laws existed for drone flight. Every shot depended on negotiation, patience, and a little luck. I had weeks of Arabic study behind me and only one chance to get it right.
After tracking down the local police station, I managed to hire a guide, Mohamad, a man who knew the labyrinth of Giza like the back of his hand. He led me to a half-constructed building, the tallest near the pyramids, boasting a rooftop deck that would serve as my launch point. Piece by piece, I assembled my custom UAV, attaching a lens-zoom camera, preparing to steal the perspective I had traveled so far to capture.
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From late afternoon until nightfall, I flew above the pyramids, the scene unfolding like a revelation. I had anticipated the typical gray haze of the Middle Eastern sky—but instead, I was met with colors of such intensity they seemed almost unreal, saturating the stone structures in molten gold and violet. As darkness fell, the pyramids came alive with a light show, music booming through speakers, narrating their ancient history, giving depth, drama, and almost theatrical personality to the enormous, enigmatic stones.
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Just as the final shots were taken, chaos erupted. My guide ran toward me, shouting urgently—then, in an instant, a group of men appeared, dragging him away, striking him violently across the head. The leader, a figure commanding as if he had stepped from a Napoleonic painting, turned to me and asked a single loaded question: “Do you believe?” My heart pounded; the moment hung in suspended terror. Without hesitation, I whispered yes, and just as suddenly, they released me, stepping back as though satisfied with the answer.
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I followed from a distance, stunned and disoriented, until we reached the street. Every instinct screamed urgency as I flagged down the first taxi, racing back to the hotel, the city lights blurring past the window like molten stars. Heart still hammering, I clutched the camera, wondering if the memory cards held the proof of what had just transpired. That night, I realized I had witnessed—and survived—an experience that could never be replicated: the pyramids from the sky, the thrill of creation, and the shadow of danger all intertwined in a single, unforgettable moment.
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—T.J. Mueller
About The Egyptian Pyramids
The Great Pyramid of Giza—also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops—rises from the sands of Egypt as a silent colossus, the oldest and largest of the three pyramids guarding the Giza plateau. It is the only surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a testament to human ambition and ingenuity that has endured for over 4,500 years.
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Carved into eternity, the pyramid was built as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty, completed around 2560 BC. Its original height of 146.5 meters (481 feet) made it the tallest man-made structure on Earth for nearly four millennia, a daring reach toward the heavens. Once clad in gleaming casing stones that reflected the desert sun, the pyramid’s smooth, luminous exterior is now mostly gone, revealing the immense stone core that continues to awe and mystify. Even today, some of those casing stones remain at the base, silent witnesses to ancient ambition.
Inside, the Great Pyramid conceals mysteries within its colossal walls. The unfinished chamber cut into the bedrock, the Queen’s Chamber, and the King’s Chamber—each carved with precision, each shrouded in enigma—invite speculation and wonder. Surrounding this monumental tomb, the Giza complex unfolds like a city frozen in time: mortuary temples in honor of Khufu, pyramids for his wives, a satellite pyramid, a raised causeway, and mastaba tombs for the nobility, all stitched together in a deliberate, sacred geometry.
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How these enormous stones were quarried, dragged, and lifted into place remains a marvel that sparks both scientific study and imaginative speculation. The Great Pyramid is more than architecture—it is a monument to vision, ambition, and the human desire to touch eternity. Standing before it, one feels the weight of millennia, the ambition of a civilization, and the silent power of a structure that has withstood the sands of time, storms of history, and the gaze of countless generations.