Made by Castle Films, “Land of the Pyramids” shows views of Egypt and Cairo as it appeared in the 1940s when it was a “shining example of 20th Century progress.” The film opens with a stunning image — a modern airliner flying past the Great Pyramid. At 1:00 modern Cairo is shown with its train station. A long camel train brings goods into the city. At 1:40 there are street scenes in Cairo, and a policeman directs traffic. At 1:50 the entrance and interior scenes of the famed Shepheard’s Hotel is seen. Shepheard’s Hotel was the leading hotel in Cairo and one of the most celebrated hotels in the world from the middle of the 19th century until it was burned down in 1952 in the Cairo Fire. Five years after the original hotel was destroyed, a new one was built nearby and was named the Shepheard Hotel.

At 2:40, the film shows the recovered treasures from the tomb of King Tut or King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian Museum. Sarcophagus and coffins are shown, as well as a perfume vase made of alabaster. Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom or sometimes the New Empire Period. He has, since his discovery, been colloquially referred to as King Tut.

At 3:28, more street scenes are seen. Stone masons are shown repairing buildings, and an electric trolley car is shown. At 4:00, the pyramids are seen through the trolley windows and a Muslim woman is shown riding the trolley, adjusting the prayer wheel on her nose.

At 4:30, a camel caravan moves through the desert. At 4:55, Luxor is seen with a 4,000 year old mummy wrapped in tattered linen removed from an archaeological site. At 5:10, excavation of a tomb is seen. Scenes of ancient temples and tombs in the Valley of The Kings are shown at 5:40.

At 6:45, horse racing at the Gezird Sporting Club is shown. At 7:18 the Mosque of Muhammad Ali is shown, and at 7:26 the suburbs of the city with modern apartment buildings. At 7:44, a night club is seen in Cairo with club patrons sucking on water pipes watching a belly dancer.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com