Tag: Sarcophagus

A Tour of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and Historical Sites

by Leela Gopinath, posted in Egypt

Cairo, the capital of Egypt was our last destination on the tour. Though we first flew in to Cairo, we went to Giza and from there on to Aswan. From there we took the Nile cruise and stopped at various temples and archaeological sites before reaching Luxor . From Luxor we flew back to Cairo and this episode covers this part of our incredible journey through Egypt.

One of the main attractions we visited at Cairo was the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities , commonly known as the Egyptian Museum. Located centrally at Tahrir Square, it is the largest repository of Egyptian antiquities and is housed in a building built in 1901. With over 1,20,000 displays, notable among them being the treasures of Tutankhamun, it literally symbolizes ancient Egypt.

The building itself has undergone restoration work as it is more than a century old. The interiors, lighting and other facilities have also been upgraded over the last decade.

The entrance to the museum

Walking through the museum, one can get lost due to the sheer size and number of antiquities displayed. A guide who takes you around is required here so that at least the most important displays are covered. Join me on a walk through this storehouse of Egyptian history…

The large statues are located on the ground floor.

The lower hall and view from upper gallery highlighting the vastness of the place

The colossal statues of pharaohs (note the height from floor to next level)

Pharaohs with Gods

The painted head of Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s statue from her temple in the valley of kings

Undoubtedly, Tutankhamun is the most popular of the pharaohs and there is a separate hall where many of his treasures are preserved. The sarcophagus and mummy are still in the tomb in the Valley of Kings. No photography is allowed inside that hall. Some of his treasures are exhibited outside. Have a look…

Entrance to King Tut’s hall with a gilded statue

A chest and a gold chair ….part of King Tut’s treasures

One of the most popular exhibits of the museum are the mummies and the coffin boxes (sarcophagi). We have all probably seen mummies in pictures but seeing a real mummy was a different experience. During the process of mummification, certain visceral organs were taken out and preserved in what is called Canopic jars .

Egyptians strongly believed in after-life and so materials required for that was interred in the tombs. Actually making food mummies ( preserved meat and poultry) and burying it with the mummy was definitely a surprise!!!

Stone sarcophagi

A mummy

Sarcophagi with mummies inside


Victual or food mummies (meat wrapped and stored for after life in tombs)

Bird mummies and a Canopic jar used for viscera storage during mummification

Many of the mummies are in multiple coffins one inside the other and wearing mummy masks .

Multiple coffins and a gilded mummy mask

If all this was not enough, entire tomb chambers are also seen apart from hieroglyphics

A tomb chamber and hieroglyphics

By this time we were all quite saturated with the wealth of information that we had encountered in this great museum. The richness of their civilization is aptly displayed here. With a very satisfied feeling of having seen most of it, we walked out of the museum and continued our tour of Cairo.

Post lunch, we visited the Cairo Citadel and mosque.

Mohammad Ali Mosque

Located at Cairo citadel, it overlooks the city and is one of its prominent landmarks. What sets it apart from other monuments is the Ottoman style of its building. Muhammad Ali, an Ottoman governor built this mosque within the Cairo citadel after demolishing some of the partially ruined palaces there.

The mosque follows the design of Sultan Ahmed mosque in Istanbul and was initially built with alabaster found in the region but later the alabaster was removed.

In front of the Mosque

The interior of the mosque is ornate with a central dome and four surrounding domes with colored mosaic glass windows on the sides. Huge chandeliers and lights add to the beauty.

The ornate interiors with chandeliers and decorated domes

The central courtyard is surrounded by arched porticoes and has a fountain in the center.

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The arched courtyard with clock tower and the central fountain

At one corner of the main hall is the tomb of Muhammad Ali hidden behind bronze metal work. A decorated pulpit for sermons is also present.

Muhammad Ali’s tomb and the pulpit

Khan el-Khalili market

The last stop on our Cairo sojourn was the famous Khan el-Khalili market. A market set between narrow streets lined by shops selling all kinds of articles from food to souvenirs, hard bargaining is the rule. Some pictures from there.

The market and enjoying some tea at a cafe there

With this we come to the end of the journey through Egypt. It had been a very educative trip where I learnt a lot about ancient Egyptians and their rich civilization. I have tried to put it all together and bring it before you. The vast amount of information had to be split in multiple episodes to cover everything. Hope I have been able to convey the feeling of awe that I experienced during this journey.

Next week we start the next series….Meghalaya, abode of the clouds.

Till then, do subscribe, like and comment.

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.

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