Following news reports of Egypt’s first snowfall in 112 years, photos began circulating online which showed snow on the Great Pyramids and Great Sphinx. Are these images real or fake?

The photos are fake.

While snow did fall in Egypt in December 2013, the iconic structures were not covered in snow.

Fake Pyramid Snow Photo, Version 1

This photo was shared over 10,000 times when it was posted by the Twitter account History in Pictures, with a caption that read, “Snow has fallen on the pyramids for the first time in 112 years.” Daily Mirror reporter Mikey Smith responded by tweeting out “the same photo, but without the crappy filter.” Below you can see the fake snow photo alongside the original.

Fake Pyramid Snow Photo Version 2

After the above photo was revealed to be a fake, another photo allegedly showing snow on the Pyramids surfaced. This one could be seen on imgur, with a caption, “The Pyramid pic we’ve been waiting for…” This, too, however was discovered to be a fake, as seen below. The original photo has existed in multiple stock photo libraries for several years.

Fake Sphinx Photo

Another photo in heavy circulation showed a snow-capped Sphinx. The photo is real, but it shows a miniature model of the iconic structure at the Tobu World Square park in Japan. Below you can see the image in heavy circulation, followed by a higher-definition shot of the model in which a corner a plaque describing it can be seen.

Although snow did fall in Egypt, the Mirror reported that “the wintry weather wasn’t enough to cover Egypt’s most famous monuments, the Pyramids or the Sphinx.”

Bottom Line

Photos showing the Pyramids and Sphinx covered in snow are fake.