Unquestionably, the most famous feature of Egypt are it’s Pyramids. They are at the top of any travel list for anyone considering to visit Egypt. The Pyramids of Ancient Egypt were built as tombs for Kings and Queens, and it was an exclusive privilege to have one. The most representative are the Pyramids of Giza, the Pyramids of Sakkara, the Pyramids of Dahshour and the Pyramid of Meidum.
Without a doubt, the biggest, most remarkable and most famous of all are the 3 Pyramids of Giza.
I. THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA
The Great Pyramid of Giza (The Pyramid of Cheops)
The only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Khufu's Pyramid, Pyramid of Khufu and Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis. Situated near Cairo, the Great Pyramid of Cheops is by far the most famous Pyramid in Egypt, the tallest, the biggest, and the most intact. It is believed the pyramid was built over a 20 year period around 2560 BC. The Great Pyramid is considered an architectural masterpiece. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tons to 15 tons and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230m! The original height was 146.5m – only 137m in the present, due to the theft of the fine quality limestone covering, or casing stones.
The entrance of the Pyramid is located at the northern side, as almost every Pyramid in Egypt. There are actually 2 entrances, one is the original, 17m above ground level, and a man-made forced entrance located below it, created at the orders of Khalif El-Mamoun in the 9th Century A.D, who thought there might be treasures kept hidden inside the Pyramid. His stonemasons opened up an entrance, and cut it midway across the centre of the northern side. The tunnel they cut goes almost 35m into the Pyramid, and at the end connects with the original inner corridors. They found nothing inside, as it was plundered in antiquity. Today’s visitors use Mamoun’s entrance to enter the Pyramid, as it is considered a shortcut.
From the main entrance we find a long narrow corridor descending for about 100m, that takes you to an unfinished burial chamber, about 24m below ground level, and inaccessible today. 20m in the descending corridor there’s a connected corridor, that takes you up into the Pyramid’s heart. This ascending corridor ends at the Grand Gallery, that is a large, long, rectangular hall, 49m long, and 15m high, with a long tunnel, at the bottom, that takes you the 2nd chamber, the “Queens Chamber”. But it has nothing to do with a Queen, it was given this name by the early Arabs, who went inside the Pyramids.
At the end of the Grand Gallery lays the entrance to the real burial chamber of King Cheops, and this is where you will find his stone sarcophagus, made out of one block of granite. The chamber has a rectangular form, a flat roof, and the granite it is built of was brought from 1000Km away, from Aswan. The roof is made of 9 slabs of granite; each one about 50 tons in weight! To be able to sustain the huge pressure of the weight above that could have caused the burial chamber to collapse, the Ancient Egyptians build 5 small relieving chambers above the roof of the burial chamber. These 5 chambers are also made of granite, and about 1m above each other. The tops of the first 4 are flat, while the 5th one has a pointed top to divert the enormous pressure away from the burial chamber. The northern and southern walls of the burial chamber have two small tunnels with rectangular entrances. They are believed to be “star shafts” that in the ancient cult were designed to connect the King with the stars.
The Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren in Greek)
The Pyramid of Khafre, son of Cheops, is the second Pyramid, and it’s recognizable by the layers of its original casing stones that still remain near its top. Standing on a higher part of the plateau, the optical illusion is that it’s taller than the Great Pyramid although it’s height is 136m.
It’s internal architecture it’s more simple than the Great Pyramid, the only similarity being the entrance in the same, north side. You can not reach the heart of the Pyramid, the burial chamber is underground, and to reach it you must pass a long descending passageway. The entrance is 15m above ground level, and the passage descends at a 25-degree angle into the large burial chamber. A large, black sarcophagus is found in this room.
The Pyramid of Menkaure
Menkaure was Khafre’s son. His is the smallest of the 3 main Pyramids on the Giza Plateau. It was only 65.5m (62 now) tall. It is thought that it was planned a lot smaller, but it was altered during its construction. The smaller Pyramid had a simple descending corridor and burial chamber, but when it was enlarged, another burial chamber, a storeroom, a new corridor with 3 portcullises and a small paneled chamber were added at a lower level. Apart from the size, Menkaure’s Pyramid differed from the other 2 in the choice of casing stones. Unlike the 2 other Pyramids that were completely cased in fine, white, Turah limestone, Menkaure’s Pyramid had the first 15 meters cased with pink granite from Aswan and from 15m up cased in Turah limestone. Like the other 2 Pyramids, this one has the entrance facing north.
The Great Sphinx
One of the most recognizable constructions in history, the Great Sphinx (or “the living image” as the ancients called it) was sculpted from soft sandstone. For that reason, it is believed it would have disappeared long ago if it wasn’t buried in the sand for such long periods in it’s lifetime. This remarkable structure faces the sun, and it is 60m long and 20m tall. The face is 4m wide and it’s eyes measure 2m high. The ancient Egyptians revered it so much that they build a temple in front of it. King Thutmose IV installed a stele between its front paws, describing how, when he was a young Prince, he had gone hunting and fell asleep in the shade of the Sphinx ‘s head. He then had a dream where Ra, the sun God, spoke to him, talking through the Sphinx, and told him to clear away the sand because the Sphinx was choking on it. The Sphinx told him that if he does this, he will become the King of Egypt. Thutmose cleared away all the sand and after 2 years, the god fulfilled his promise to the Prince and he was made King of Egypt.
Hungry for more?
Coming soon:
• The Pyramids of Sakkara
• The Pyramids of Dahshour
• The Pyramid of Meidum
Find out how to build your own Pyramid! Click Here! :)
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