The Pyramids at Giza

 

The Pyramids at Giza

Located about 20 km from downtown Cairo, Giza is most famous, of course, for the Giza Plateau, an ancient desert necropolis that is home to the world’s most famous monument: The Pyramids!

The Pyramids at Giza were constructed around 2,500 B.C. as the burial place of early 4^th dynasty pharaohs and are the only one of the original seven Ancient Wonder of the World still in existence. The Pyramids have impressively withstood the ravages of time, but not the grave robbers, who long ago emptied the pyramids of their valuables.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu, is by far the most famous of the pyramids, being the biggest, tallest, and most intact. Built entirely of limestone, it’s considered an architectural masterpiece as well as being the largest single building ever constructed. Inside the pyramid there’s a long a descending corridor that after 20m connects to another that takes you up into the “Grand Gallery”, the heart of the pyramid, which in turn leads to the Khufu’s burial chamber where you will find his stone sarcophagus, fashioned from a single block of granite. Wow!

The Second Pyramid was built for Khufu's son Khafre and is easily recognised by the layers of its original casing stones still remaining near its summit. Almost as large as the Great Pyramid, Khafre's pyramid actually appears taller as it stands on a slightly higher part of the plateau, it has a steeper angle, and it is the only one with a smooth limestone cap - an optical illusion!

Think of the Sphinx and you automatically think of Egypt and the Giza Plateau. The Great Sphinx, or as the ancients knew it, “the living image”, is one of the most recognizable constructions in history. Constructed by Khafre it has the facial features of a man and the body of a recumbent lion.

Go for a short tour around the site and try to explore the magnificence of the location and its monumental structures.

 

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