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.
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