YouTube superstar Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, spent 100 hours inside the Great Pyramids of Egypt in his latest video after receiving an unconditional three-day filming and exploration permit from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
In what has become the number one trending video on YouTube with 78 million views and counting in its first two days, MrBeast got the extremely rare opportunity to explore the inner pathways of the pyramids in Egypt in cooperation with the Ministry. Donaldson was accompanied by Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Hawass, who gave a historical deep dive into the construction of the pyramids and their many secrets.
MrBeast traverses the pyramids
Mr. Beast squeezed through the narrow tunnels winding through this ancient wonder of the world, a stark contrast to his usual approach of renting out locations for extravagant sums.
“The YouTuber did not rent the area but obtained a permit to film outside official working hours,” said the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Later, Dr. Hawass shed some light on what exactly allowed MrBeast to do what very few have ever been allowed to do in history, saying “He [MrBeast] obtained an unconditional permit to enter the three pyramids and explore them.”
Donaldson crammed his way through secret passages, explored sarcophagi and rooms containing hieroglyphics, and even jumped into a water-filled pit that supposedly contained the portal to the underworld. Throughout the video, there are history lessons both from Dr. Hawass and from Mr. Beast himself. For example, in the beginning, he shows an animation of how the pyramids looked in the past, with their white faces and gold tops.
Outside of the three most famous pyramids, they also rode camels to their destinations, explored the three smaller pyramids built for Menakure’s wives, explored under the Sphinx, and even went to the tomb of Iymery. Under the sphinx, MrBeast did not find the gold he thought would be there. Instead he left a gold icon known as a swarm, worth $10,000, in a piece of paper that Dr. Hawass proceeded to bury.
They rode in a helicopter to the tomb of Iymery, a restricted site within the Giza complex that is typically off-limits to the public, with access granted only through special permits. Here they saw inscriptions on the walls describing how the ancient Egyptians made wine and how they made offerings.
According to tourism expert Mohamed Karam to Asharq Al-Awsat, MrBeast’s journey through the great pyramids and its surroundings was an advertisement for the country. His video has given millions a glimpse at these mysterious remnants of a remarkable ancient society.