Pyramids

 

You can't go all the way to Egypt and not see at least one pyramid.

There's a law or something.

Like any reasonably curious kid, I was fascinated by the pyramids growing up.

Kids usually go through an ancient Egypt phase, and mine just never

completely stopped.

So, my inner child was freaking out a bit the day we visited the

Great Pyramids of Giza

The Giza Pyramids are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A UNESCO site is one that is:  "of outstanding universal value to humanity"
This means they are protected and preserved for all people to experience and enjoy.

And there it is.

Standing next to history itself.

They are simultaneously bigger and smaller than I was expecting, which is difficult to explain.

An engineering feat, for sure.

As you can see, this pyramid (Khafre) originally was clad in limestone blocks to smooth

out the sides; only the cap remains. But over the centuries, the limestone

covering was removed and used in other places by other peoples.

There are at least 104 pyramids in Egypt, with many others with

pyramidal structure.

The three main Giza pyramids are from the 4th Dynasty (c. 2575–c. 2465 bce)

They were built for kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure.

Fossils in the limestone

Khufu (Cheops)

Some Egyptian names are more well-known from the Greek

names that were given to them in later centuries.

A look at the joints between the stones.

Me for scale

Took the opportunity to go inside of Khufu.

There are a maze of chambers in each pyramid, but visitors are

permitted to climb up to one room.

It's an extra ticket to purchase to get inside, and cameras

aren't allowed, only phone cameras, so I did what I 

could with my phone.

The passageway is very narrow, hot, and steep.

It's a climb.

And traffic goes both ways so it's very cramped.

The first landing. Catch your breath and keep climbing.

Looking back down.

If I look like I'm glistening, it's because I was dripping sweat.

Not a great look, but no time to worry about that.

The tombs have long since been robbed of anything of value.

In fact, robbers were some of the first to discover the tombs and mummies.

This room is 4500 years old. More or less.

A full size boat was discovered here.

There are at least three spaces for these large boats surrounding Khufu.

There are also several smaller pyramids surrounding the larger ones.

These were for family members of the kings.

The line to enter Khufu.

Gotta climb up the steps to the entrance.

Have your ticket ready.

Using the shuttle bus, we then moved on to the Sphinx side of the Necropolis.

Khafre on the left, Khufu on the right.

The third pyramid is out of the frame, off to the left side.

The Great Sphinx was discovered covered in sand up to its neck.

It has been slowly excavated of the decades to reveal a reclining lion body.

I've been enjoying looking up old pictures of this area to see the progress.

I'm crushing your head!

The mortuary complex around the Step Pyramid of Djoser,

one of the first kings of Egypt.

This is the colonnade entrance.

These columns originally reached to the ceiling.

This is the oldest pyramid in Egypt.

You can also go inside this one, for a small extra fee.

I took the opportunity and went inside.

Much easier to move about here.

And, as this site isn't quite as busy as the Giza site, it was

very quiet. I was all alone on my visit.

It was a short walk from the entrance, located just below ground level.

At the end of the path, you look down to see the sarcophagus.

Hello my camel friend!

Way off in the distance you can see the Great Pyramids.

I hadn't realized they were all so close.

This mound also had an entrance. (King Unas funerary complex)

And a magic trick!

See the stars on the ceiling?

Demonstrating how alabaster stone glows with light.

The limestone to the left does not glow.

When the guide inside shined his flashlight at an angle,

this figure appeared! An ancient magic trick.

You can't see it otherwise.

There is another figure on this side.

Driving on to Dahshur, I got to see the Bent Pyramid.

Built under the reign of King Sneferu, it shows bent angles

The architect had miscalculated, and rather than risk the structure

collapsing in on itself, the angle was broken, bending the sides inward.

I chose not to go inside this one, as it was extremely narrow and cramped.

But I was happy to visit it.

Red Pyramid.

As seen from the Bent Pyramid.

Red Pyramid, so called for the colour of its stone.

First successful attempt at a smooth sided pyramid.

Also built under Sneferu, it also had a smooth outer layer

that was taken and used for other projects over the centuries.

The Red Pyramid is the third largest pyramid in this area.

False doorway

Dates.

Yum

The older pyramids were part of a half day private tour I took after the

Intrepid tour ended. It was a great way to round out my Egypt adventure before

getting myself to the airport for the long journey home.

Next on the blog, I'll show you the temples and mosques that I visited.