A photo, which according to users according to the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt was covered with snow, has spread on social media. The photo actually shows a model of the Great Sphinx in Japan.
Examples of the reports can be seen here, here and here, with the caption: ‘On a rare photograph that has been updated, the statue of the Sphinx in the pyramids of Giza area was covered with snow in the winter of 1910. Egypt, ”or similar variations.
A reverse image search shows that the Sphinx itself, the figures and snow in the photo here look exactly like a photo on a blog. The user says the photo was taken in February 2008 in Nikko, Japan (see the top of the blog post) on ‘Tobu World Square’ (see caption to the photo of the Taj Mahal model).
Tobu World Square is a museum in Nikko, Japan, with 1/25 scale reproductions of world-famous buildings (www.tobuws.co.jp/en/), including the Great Sphinx, of which a small photo can be seen be on the museum’s website here.
In the bottom right corner of the photo shared on social media, under the “THIS.IS.EGYPT” watermark, the number 23, written in green, is visible. A map of Tobu World Square here shows that the Great Sphinx exhibit is number 23.
Here’s another photo of the Sphinx replica where the figures and items around the Sphinx exactly match the social media images (but without the snow).
Buzzfeed also refuted this allegation in December 2013 (here) when the image circulated when a powerful winter storm across the Middle East brought snow to Egypt (here).
Photos of the real Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt can be seen here on Getty Images, here and here.
VERDICT
Untrue. This photo shows a model of the Great Sphinx in Japan.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.