Eerie Footage: Pyramids Go Dark

The Pyramids of Giza were plunged into darkness last night as part of Earth Hour, marking the first time in five years the landmark has taken part in the international stunt. The pyramids joined dozens of other famous sights across the globe in the annual initiative to raise climate change awareness.

Earth Hour’s CEO and co-founder Andy Ridley praised the government's decision to take part. “The Pyramids are the greatest human-built icon on the planet. It is the most recognisable symbol for the progress and development of a society,” said Ridley, “Since my school days, I have always been a big fan of Egypt, inspired by their inventions. In 2009 the Pyramids switched off the lights for the first and only time until today. Seeing them do it once more will definitely touch my heart again.” It is unclear what Mr Ridley makes of the government's decision to force certain parts of Cairo (not Zamalek) to partake in Earth Hour every day thanks to constant power shortages blamed on a lack of fuel.

However, Ridley was definitely quick to lash out at critics who consider Earth Hour a pointless waste of time, adding that “Earth Hour is not about the direct carbon impact, it’s about creating a platform where hundreds of millions can connect and create positive change and outcomes." Amen! Let's try and go green, people (voluntarily - not by the coercive daily lights-out decisions of our government) - although we know it's tough with Egypt's incredibly environmentally unfriendly lifestyle. Ridley added that “Earth Hour 2014 is breaking all records…even though climate change is not really on top of the political agenda this year. People care for our planet!”  

“Two things are crucial to fight climate change: awareness and action. Earth Hour aims to do exactly that…we try to provide an hour of inspiration, and we have hundreds of millions of people joining the hour,” Ridley says. Here at Cairo Scene we're all for green initiatives, climate change awareness, etc. - but just once it would be nice not to be forced to eat dinner in darkness.