... thanks for triggering my memory SU-GCM ...
All the B747's I ever saw were middle-eastern registered... I seem to remember that they were all -200's...
and to answer your question: No, this is not a joke.
Ryanair were flying into Prestwick when i was there so maybe some of their pilot's might remember these long-term parked a/c?
oh! i just remembered something else: they had been used exclusively in the middle-east, africa and far east to mass-move pilgrims to the middle east. They were ferried empty to Prestwick just for cleaning!