Egypt's Bent Pyramid opens to visitors

Egypt has opened to visitors the Bent Pyramid near Cairo, in a move that is part of a wider push to boost tourism.

The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur was built for pharaoh Snefru about 2,600BC, and was originally designed as a "true" pyramid with the steep 54-degree angle.

But the pyramid was being built on soft, silty clay - and there was a problem with stability and subsidence. This was solved by adjusting the angle to a flatter 43 degrees, 147ft (45m) up the face.

The angular shape contrasts with the straight sides of the Red Pyramid just to the north.

Visitors can now clamber down a 79m narrow tunnel from a raised entrance on the Bent Pyramid's northern side to reach two chambers deep inside the structure.

Archaeologists also presented mummies, masks and tools discovered during continuing excavation works that began near the Dahshur pyramids last year.

Tourism is an important source of revenue for the country.

• 360° Travel inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

• How were pyramids built?

All picture rights reserved