Category: Egypt

Exploring the Pyramids of Giza: A Timeless Adventure

by Leela Gopinath, posted in Egypt

Waking up to a pleasant morning at our hotel in Giza, we knew that it would turn out to be an iconic day for us. We were scheduled to visit the Pyramids which are synonymous with Egypt and undoubtedly the highlight of our Egypt trip. Before I get into the details of our visit to the Pyramids, let me take you through their history and highlights .

Some facts about the Pyramids…

The Pyramids of Egypt are monumental tombs built around 4500 years ago and were expected to last an eternity. These pyramids housed the bodies of the kings and kept it safe and was a demonstration of the social status. Egypt’s Pharaohs expected to become Gods in afterlife and built these temples and tombs filled with things they would need in the next world. That explains the enormous amount of treasures recovered during excavations here.

The fourth dynastic King Sneferu ( 2686 – 2667 BC) was the first to build the pyramid structure that we associate Egypt with today. He built three pyramids ; out of which the first two were failures due to structural instability and they were abandoned. The third one, called the Red Pyramid built of red limestone blocks became the world’s first successful true pyramid.

With the red pyramid, Sneferu set the outlines for future pyramids including burial chambers, mortuary temples and a causeway leading to the valley temple. This formed the basis of the largest pyramid ….. The Great Pyramid in Giza built by Sneferu’s son Khufu.

There are over 100 recorded pyramids in Egypt, most of them belonging to minor royalty or have no known owners. They stood out conspicuously in the landscape as potential troves of wealth attracting robbers. Soon the Pharaohs realized this and stopped building pyramids.

In common parlance, when we talk of the pyramids ; what we refer to is the pyramid complex at Giza.

Map of the various locations where pyramids were built

The Giza Pyramid complex

The complex which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Memphis and its Necropolis” consists of three main pyramids , many small pyramids, The Great Sphinx and several archaeological monuments

The three main pyramids in the Giza complex are The Great Pyramid (Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu), The Pyramid of Khafre and The Pyramid of Menkaure built on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile .

The Great Pyramid is the oldest of the pyramids and remains largely intact. It is an engineering marvel built over a twenty year period by the Pharaoh Khufu (2575 – 2566 BC) with approximately 23,00,000 limestone blocks each weighing 2.5 tonnes. It was entirely cased in white limestone creating a uniform surface. Destructive forces have ensured that none of this remains and the exterior appears irregular.

How the external surface was originally

The four corners of the Great Pyramid face four cardinal directions, the sides form an angle of 51 degrees and the original height was 481 feet. The pyramid was encased with smooth limestone paste for several centuries which was later destroyed. There are three known chambers inside the pyramid and visitors are allowed to the King’s chamber which has a granite sarcophagus which lies empty now.

The next Pyramid in the complex is The Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren ) built by Khafre ( 2558 – 2532 BC); the son of Khufu. This pyramid lies near the Great Pyramid and deceptively appears taller due to its location at a higher ground level. It is actually only 447 ft. tall. The peculiarity is that the apex still retains some of the limestone casing.

Khafre also built the Great Sphinx; a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and head of a pharaoh . The face of the sphinx is believed to be that of Khafre himself. Before the 1800s this was buried in sand with only the head visible. It has unfortunately been partly mutilated and reconstructed multiple times.

The smallest of the three pyramids is the Pyramid of Menkaure built by Menkaure (2532 -2503 BC) ;the son of Khafre. Its height is only 228 ft.

The Pyramids were looted and plundered internally and externally. Various accounts of mummies, and treasures having been found are available. In fact one report claims the presence of three shrouded bodies, a sarcophagus filled with gold, a corpse in golden armour and a ruby as big as an egg!!!!Most of the treasures are now missing and the limestone casing outside is destroyed except for the apex of the pyramid of Khafre.

The Pyramids of Menkaura (front), Khafre(middle) and Khufu(last) at Giza Pyramid complex. Multiple smaller partially damaged pyramids lie in front.

How were the pyramids built?

Ancient Egyptian engineering was so impressive that even today, modern scientists and engineers are not sure of what techniques they used. The Nile and its network of waterways were probably used to transport granite and other materials from Aswan, Sinai peninsula and even Lebanon. Giant ramps are believed to have been used to move the blocks to the top. Imaging technology will in future probably provide the blueprint for how they built these timeless monuments.

Our Trip

Driving down from our hotel at Giza, we were at the entrance to the Pyramid complex. There was a long queue for the tickets but as our local guide had already arranged for the tickets, we had a quick entry .

The crowd and the modern entry plaque

Walking in , the Great Pyramid of Khufu was right in front of us and the sheer size of the structure was bewildering. In fact it was difficult to get the entire pyramid in one frame…

The Great Pyramid

At The Great Pyramid

The walls are made up of irregular stones, many of them showing signs of wear and tear.

The blocks that make the walls of the pyramid and the steps leading inside

There are two openings on the pyramid from where one can enter to reach the final burial chamber. The lower one which was created later is the one through which tourists are allowed to enter. It is called Robbers Tunnel.

The two entrances

Climbing the steps to reach the entrance is itself quite difficult with the height of the stones. After we entered the pyramid, it was a narrow passage with steps and people going up and down; it was like a traffic jam. The closed passage gives one a claustrophobic feeling apart from the humidity and sweating which can be uncomfortable. After the steps, there is a ramp and climbing that was also challenging. After the ramp is a very narrow passage where one has to literally crawl for a few meters before we enter the King’s Chamber. This is the burial chamber where the empty sarcophagus is seen.

Just entering the pyramid

The steps and narrow passages inside the pyramid

Inside the King’s chamber with the sarcophagus behind

The empty sarcophagus

After viewing the sarcophagus we made our exit from the pyramid through the same passage and were very happy to be finally outside with fresh air!!

After all of us had returned, we visited the Panorama Point. That’s the place where all the pyramids can be seen together and offers good photo options. (The pyramids are so huge that its difficult to get them all in a frame from close up)

Panorama point from where all three pyramids can be simultaneously visualized

Here there were plenty of camels available for taking camel rides.

Camels ready for rides

After some pictures at panorama point, we visited the Sphinx which is actually associated with the pyramid of Khafre.

The Great Sphinx front view with the Pyramid of Khafre behind (note the intact apex)

The side view highlighting body of lion and face of man

In the sphinx complex there was another peculiar feature. There were extensive fields of flat topped funerary structures. These are the Mastabas, which are arranged in a grid fashion and were used for burial of the relatives of the kings or officials. These smaller tombs symbolized the social inequalities between them and the kings .

The Mastabas…smaller tombs for the lower ones on the social ladder

After an exhaustive trip to the pyramids, we boarded our bus and continued our journey to other interesting Egyptian destinations.

The Sound and Light Show

Late in the evening we revisited the pyramids for a spectacular sound and light show which took us through the various important events in the history of these massive creations

Enjoy the pictures and video below

Video of the sound and light show

It was a once in a lifetime experience visiting this ancient wonder. I hope you enjoyed the visit to the Pyramids.

From Giza we moved on to Aswan. See you next week with more from Aswan.

Till then, do subscribe, like and comment.

Uncovering Alexandria’s Hidden Catacombs

by Leela Gopinath, posted in Egypt

Our first destination in Egypt was Alexandria and the last episode covered most of the sites we visited. However, the catacombs or underground tombs in the outskirts of Alexandria is where we are going today. Join me…

An insight into the catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa

These catacombs are essentially underground tombs widely believed to have been used between the 2nd and 4th centuries . It was initially intended as the burial facility for one family but it is still not clear how it went on to house numerous other tombs.

An accidental discovery; these ancient tombs are one of the most important archaeological sites here. A donkey wandering along, accidentally fell into the shaft of these tombs and they were discovered while rescuing the donkey. It stands as an excellent example of a combination of Greek , Roman and Egyptian architecture

Soon after this discovery, archaeologists started excavations and found the spiral staircase going around the shaft. At the bottom was a domed circular room known as rotunda.

The term Kom El Shoqafa in Arabic means “Mounds of Shards”. When discovered , the area was strewn with broken clay pots and containers and hence the name. It is believed that the relatives of the dead who visited the tombs carried food and wine for their kin and after offering it to them, broke the pots there leading to the accumulation of such debris.

Our Visit

Reaching the excavation site, we were quite intrigued by the presence of apartment dwellings adjacent to the site. In fact, the whole area is like a courtyard surrounded by buildings; most of them dilapidated .

The central courtyard around which the tombs are located with dwellings surrounding it.

A board outside explains the layout of the tombs

The catacombs consist of three levels cut into solid rock and can be approached via a circular stairway going around the central shaft.

The winding stairway going around the central shaft

Standing at the bottom of the central shaft

There is a domed circular room called the rotunda with several portrait statues having multicultural elements.

A mummification painting showing multicultural features

The Medusa head on the ceiling appearing to guard the chamber

There are multiple burial recesses at various levels.

The hall and the tomb chambers

A hall with multiple pillars with a flight of stairs leads to the principal tomb chamber

The hall with pillars leading to the stairway towards the principal tomb chamber

The Principal Tomb chamber

There is a temple like facade in front of the principal tomb chamber with the winged sun disc decorating the top .

Two columns flanking the entrance have a snake sculpture showing features of Greek ,Roman and Egyptian architecture and topped by a shield decorated with the Medusa. The imagery is believed to be to ward off grave robbers.

The entrance with the winged sun disc on top and snake and Medussa at the side.

The tomb chamber is decorated with the sculpture of the jackal headed God Anubis (God of mummification) performing a mummification of a body on a lion headed bed. Vulture headed Gods supervise the process. The organs of the body are believed to have been removed from the body and preserved in jars called canopic jars.

The central panel of the tomb chamber showing the jackal headed Anubis engaged in mummification process. Below the bed are three canopic jars used for organ preservation.

On either side are statues of a man and woman carved into the wall again showing mixed architecture. Greek and Roman characteristics with Egyptian decorations are typical of these statues conveying evidence of a multicultural society.

The statue of the lady on one side showing multicultural features

Along the sides of the chamber are three huge stone coffins with unremovable lids. Bodies are believed to have been inserted here through an outer passage way.

On going further down, there are chambers with multiple burial recesses presumably for the commoners.

The hall with multiple burial recesses for commoners

I must admit that the place generates an eerie feeling as one goes from one burial chamber to the other. But the as yet preserved paintings and inscriptions are indeed a wonder.

With mixed feelings we exited the tomb chambers but not before a picture…

Time for a picture before we exited the tomb complex

We moved on to explore the other sights at Alexandria, which have already been covered in the last episode.

The contents of this episode call for an end on a somber note….so let me leave you with that.

See you at the Pyramids next week…

Till then, do subscribe, comment and give your feedback…

Exploring Alexandria: A Rich Tapestry of History

by Leela Gopinath, posted in Egypt

Our first destination at Egypt was Alexandria, the second largest city of Egypt lying on the Mediterranean coast. The city was founded by Alexander the Great around 330 BC and was the capital under Ptolemy and the other successors of Alexander including the period of Romans till the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD. It must be mentioned here that the city was also a major center of Christianity.

From the 18th century, it grew to be a major industrial center and shipping hub due to the proximity to the Suez Canal.

Multiple invasions and wars had ensured that most of the ancient city has been destroyed and what we see today is whatever little was left and what has been rebuilt in modern times. Many of the historical and architectural monuments we visit today at Alexandria are the result of excavations and attempts at conservation.

The most important sight is the underground tomb complex dating back to the 2nd and 4th centuries known as the Catacombs which we visited. That requires more detailed description and will be covered in the next episode. In this episode, I will cover the other interesting details of Alexandria.

Our Visit

Driving down from Cairo, Alexandria is 220 kms away and it took us around 3 hours to cover the distance. Most of the drive was through open desert land and the landscape looked daunting.

The vast desert….

The road through the desert

Enroute, we had a small refreshment halt ….

The stop enroute….like an oasis!!

We came across small towns all along.

A typical street scene in an Egyptian town

As we reached the outskirts of Alexandria, the streets looked more like that of any modern city.

Approaching Alexandria.

Once we left the main part of the city, the appearance was generally like that of an under developed country with narrow crowded streets, unfinished and unclean exteriors of buildings .

Typical street scenes in Alexandria

Driving through the narrow streets, we reached Pompey’s pillar.

Pompey’s Pillar

A reminder of the Roman past of this area, it is a triumphal pillar in honor of the Roman emperor Diocletian built between 298 and 302 AD consisting of a monolithic Corinthian column . This column once had the statue of the emperor atop it. There are two sphinxes , one on either side of this column.

This monolithic column is 26 mts tall and held a 7 mts tall statue of the emperor on top and is made of pink granite. There are some Greek inscriptions at the lower part of the column.

The connection of this pillar to the Roman politician Pompey is not yet clear though it was believed in the Middle Ages that the his ashes were in a pot on the column.

The Pompey’s pillar and the Sphinxes (under renovation)

The entire area surrounding this column consists of the ruins of the Serapeum, an ancient Greek temple dedicated to the God Serapis. The God Serapis has a mix of characters of the Egyptian Gods, Osiris and Apes and Greek Gods Zeus and Dionysus.

The temple is believed to have been looted and what remains today are only the ruins….some broken pillars and stones. There are underground tombs too.

The ruins of the Serapeum

Heiroglyphic inscriptions

After visiting Pompey’s Pillar, we proceeded for lunch at a local restaurant with views of the Mediterranean sea.

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Lunch with a Mediterranean view….

Our next halt at Alexandria was at the Library.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

This is actually a library and cultural center overlooking the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria. There was an ancient library in Alexandria which was one of the largest in the world. The revived library inaugurated in 2002 contains space for eight million books and a reading area of 20000 sq mts on eleven cascading levels. It also houses a conference center, specialized libraries for the blind, museums, art exhibitions and a manuscript restoration library and a planetarium.

The outer wall is made of grey granite with inscriptions in 120 languages.

The exterior of the main building with inscriptions in 120 languages

Once inside, there is a model describing the unique shape of the building.

The model depicting the unique shape of the building

The planetarium at the complex

The main reading room stands below a glass roof shaped like a sundial illuminating the room equally throughout the day.

The spacious reading room

Sharing some pictures of the exhibits in the museums

Bust of President Sadat and some of his personal items in the Sadat Museum

Bedouin jewellery and a papyrus painting

One other unique display was of the covering of the Kaaba (holy shrine) of Mecca.

The covering of the holy shrine in Mecca

Driving from the library towards the Citadel of Alexandria, the views of an Alexandrian evening by the sea were beautiful…

An Alexandrian evening by the Mediterranean

Qaitbay Citadel

The Qaitbay Citadel or the Citadel Of Alexandria is a defensive fortress on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the site of The Lighthouse of Alexandria which was one of the wonders of the Ancient World.

The lighthouse of Alexandria called the Pharos of Alexandria was built during the reign of Ptolemy II (280-247 BC). It was one of the tallest man made structures of that time .The lighthouse was damaged during multiple earthquakes that rocked the area between the 11th and 14th centuries.

The citadel was built at that site by the Mamluke Sultan Qaitbay in the 15th century as part of his coastal defense against the Turks. It functioned under the Ottomans but gradually fell into neglect. In the 20th century, the Egyptian Antiquities council restored it. An Egyptian Maritime Museum also functions here now.

The Citadel as seen across the bay

The entrance leads to a central courtyard, with the main fort towards the sea.

As one enters

The central courtyard

The main structure is a square building with towers on the four corners giving it the typical look of a fort. There are three levels and windows at different levels for shooting in case of attack.

The Citadel located on the seaward side of the central courtyard

Inside the main building are a series of halls and corridors with distinctive architectural style.

As one goes up the ramp built along the side, one reaches the seaward side offering great views of the Mediterranean sea.

The ladies pose for a picture with the Mediterranean sea behind.

By then, the sun was setting on Alexandria and we had a long drive back to Cairo. So we all got back into the bus and reached Cairo looking forward to another exciting day of the tour…. to the catacombs of Alexandria

See you next week at the catacombs. Till the, do give your comments and feedback.

Discovering Egypt’s cultural ethos on a dinner cruise

by Leela Gopinath, posted in Egypt

Egypt and it’s history had always fascinated me and it was in November 2024 that I had the opportunity to visit Egypt . It was a journey that led me through a lot of history, taking me to some gigantic monuments and temples that were waiting to tell me the story of lost civilizations. The sheer vastness and expanse of some of these monuments held me in awe and at times kept me thinking of human nature; of how entire civilizations were erased from the face of this earth. The ruins led me to stories of human greed and at the same time, the excavations and restorations told me a story of man’s resolve and determination. As I start this series on Egypt, I hope to unfold many of these facets in front of you.

From my introductory remarks, it should be clear that the episodes that follow will be loaded with information on the gigantic monuments built by the pharaohs over many centuries. Most of them considered themselves as intermediaries between God and the commoners. Some considered themselves as God and that explains temples with colossal statues of kings. The belief in life after death had led most of them to bury the dead with all materials needed for an after life. That explains the vast amount of treasures unearthed during excavations. The richness of their civilization will leave one astounded. So gear up for some exciting episodes to follow. Let me start on a lighter note focusing on their music and dance. Let’s go….

Flying in to Cairo, I was fortunate to have a window seat and that gave me the opportunity to witness the infinite expanse of sand and sand dunes as we cruised over the Sahara. A patch of blue caught my attention and as we neared it, I could see it was a water body with ships . This was the Suez canal, an economic lifeline of Egypt.

The Suez Canal (the white spots are ships)

Landing at Cairo, I almost felt I was landing in a desert…even the runway was sandy and seemed to merge with the desert landscape…

The desert landing….

I started this journey with a group of 24 senior citizens and a young and charismatic tour manager.

Starting our journey through history….at Cairo airport

After the formalities at the airport, we boarded the bus to our hotel at Giza close to the pyramids. The Pyramids slowly came into our view as we approached Giza.

The first views of the Pyramids

We checked in to our rooms and settled down for sometime .

At the hotel entrance with my roommate

Soon we were on our way for a dinner on board a cruise boat. The wharf from where the cruise started was all lit up and decorated. The decor there highlighted some of the architectural features of the monuments we were to visit in the next few days.

Our group near the wharf entrance

The decorated wharf side. A model obelisk and a sphinx can be seen.

We walked on to the illuminated cruise boat

Entering the cruise boat

Taking our seats we proceeded to the buffet table to collect our food. The spread was good with a variety of Egyptian food including the famous Koshari , Falafel and Hummus. Koshari is rice with some lentils, falafel is similar to our dal vada and hummus is more like a dip. The rice we had throughout our trip was a little sticky and had a different flavor.

The dinner spread with falafel, hummus and pita bread

Enjoying the dinner on board the cruise boat

Once we had settled down, the boat started cruising on the Nile letting us savor the night views of Cairo. The boat had two decks and we could go up and enjoy the views too…

Night views of Cairo from the cruise boat

Meanwhile, the entertainment on the boat started off with an Egyptian song and very soon, the guests also joined in for a dance.

The singing and dancing added to the fun of the cruise

The ace drummer

A graceful belly dancer glided on to the stage setting many a heart on fire!!….Belly dance is a very famous dance form of the middle east and some parts of Africa and she danced gracefully and enthralled us with her movements…

The twist of the belly!!!

A Sufi whirling dervish performance was the last of the cultural treats of the evening. He whirled around with such perfection and grace that made me wonder how me manages to not lose his balance…

The dervish dance

Having immersed ourselves in the cultural and culinary feast we had not realized that the boat had reached back at the starting point. We soon alighted from the boat and took our bus to the hotel.

With instructions on the next days plans, given by our tour manager, we all rested for the night looking forward to an exciting stay in Egypt..

Our next day tour was to Alexandria….so see you next week at Alexandria. Till then, do subscribe, like and give your comments.