Google Maps transports visitors to the pyramids

Google has introduced its newest 360-degree maps and high-tech imaging programs for online navigation of the last remaining Wonder of the World, the pyramids of Giza, along with five other historical sites in Egypt.

The Saqqara Necropolis, the Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria, Salah al-Din’s Citadel in Cairo, the Hanging Church in Old Cairo, and the monastery complex of Abu Mina near Alexandria, have all been added to Street View Egypt in Google Maps.

According to Time Magazine, these latest high-resolution maps of historic Egyptian sites were introduced on Tuesday morning.

Google recently deployed a team of cartographers to Egypt to make the initiative possible. They used "Trekkers" to capture the images — specialized 75 mega-pixel digital cameras mounted on backpacks. The digital images collected are then stitched together to form “seamless panoramas,” reported Time.

The Google Street View project was introduced in 2007. Since then, the company’s cartographers are said to have covered nearly 12 million kilometers in 59 countries worldwide to compile their high-tech maps.

Other historic sites included in the Google Street View project include: Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples, India’s Taj Mahal, Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, the Base Camp of Mount Everest in Nepal, Arizona’s Grand Canyon, and the Colosseum of Rome.