via CEAT

Egypt continues to fascinate the world with its rich culture and ancient heritage. Surely, this has inspired many filmmakers to come to the land of the Pharaohs and make use of its stunning scenery and legacy. From passionate love stories set amongst the Great Pyramids of Giza to historical epics set in Luxor and Aswan, here are five movies shot in Egypt for the international silver screen!

1-     Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

via Kompas

This one may come as a surprise to our Marvel fans; Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was partially filmed in Egypt. The 2007 film was shot in a total of 14 different locations, one of which was Giza. So rewatch the movie and keep an eye out for the scenes showcasing the Pyramids and Sphinx in the background!

2-     Fair Game (2010)

via The Guardian 

The 2010 spy drama, Fair Game, brought Sean Penn and Naomi Watts to Cairo to shoot some of its covert operations scenes. On top of that, the late Egyptian actor Hanaa Abdel Fattah played the Iraqi nuclear scientist disguised as a professor at Cairo University, and our beloved Khaled El-Nabawy also played another of the film’s Iraqi scientists.

3-     The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Via Camera Roll

British secret agent 007 has travelled all over the world, including Egypt! In the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore’s Bond visits Om El Dunya, and you can easily recognise the Karnak Temple in Luxor in several of the movie’s scenes. Sean Connery’s James Bond is also shown to visit Egypt in Diamonds Are Forever, but what you see is a studio-crafted Cairo Casino rather one in the actual city.

4-     Malcolm X (1922)

Via Parent Previews

The biographical film starring Denzel Washington narrates the life of the American Muslim minister and human rights activist, Malcolm X, including his vacation to Cairo, where he prayed at the Mohamed Ali Mosque. The film also has scenes meant to display Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, but the director shot these scenes in Egyptian locations too!

5-     Jumper (2008)

Via Mubi Cdn

This gripping science fiction thriller, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Hayden Christensen and telling the story of a man with teleportation abilities who is pursued by a secret society, was shot in 20 locations across 14 nations, including Egypt’s Giza. And out of all its filming locations, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx are the ones that made it onto the movie’s poster!