Egypt - Pyramids

The only great wonders of the ancient world to be still standing – The Pyramids of Giza but did you actually know that there are at least 118 pyramids in Egypt?  Some look like mounds of sand and dirt.  We got to see a few of the main ones both at night and during the day, but I didn’t get to see the nighttime show.

Whilst we were waiting for a sound and light show to start in Giza, we were fortunate to see the sunset behind the pyramids and then were treated to a historical recount about the pyramids with some dramatic music and lighting.  After that the tour guide took us to a restaurant for a delicious buffet meal of the finest Egyptian cuisine, including some yummy koftas and for dessert, basbousa (sweet semolina cake soaked in syrup).

Thank goodness that it starting to be the quiet season in Egypt for tourists so there were no queues at the pyramids.  It was hard enough to compete with the searing heat without having to deal with lots of people gawking at me!

Let’s see if we can recall the history relayed to us, which was a lot!  The pyramids were built to be elaborate tombs for pharaohs and were designed to protect the pharaoh’s body and possessions, ensuring a safe passage to the afterlife.   The three main pyramids at Giza were built from roughly 2550 to 2490BC by Pharoaoh Khufu, the largest one originally towering at 147 metres (top fell off), 2.3 million blocks each weighing 2.5 to 15 tonnes.  His son, Khafre, built the second one which looks taller, but it was built on higher ground and the smaller one was built by Khafre’s son, Menkaure.  These weren’t the only pyramids built in this family, Khufu’s Dad built one further away which is referred to as the Broken Angle Pyramid which is alongside one that is called the Red Pyramid.

To this day, it is a mystery as to how the pyramids were actually built but they do know that the many blocks were transported by barge along the Nile River over the 30+ years it took to build them.

In front of the great pyramids stands the Great Sphinx, the oldest of Egypt’s colossal statues which was carved out of one block of limestone.  With a length of 72m and a height of approx. 20m, it is also the largest.  It represents the kings with the body of a lion, in a clear demonstration of his power.  I took quite a liking to him, giving him a wee kiss.

To have a break from looking at pyramids, we visited the Papyrus Museum where there were some beautiful artworks on papyrus, a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times for writing.  It is made from the pith of the papyrus plant that grows in wetland areas, particularly around the Nile River.  Widely used to write documents, letters etc but also used to make boats, mats, baskets and sandals.  Of course, Rosie bought a small art piece which will look great framed when get home.

In the Saqqara area of Cairo is the oldest pyramid, the Step Pyramid.  This was built by Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty, around 2700BC, and is considered to be a giant stairway that he would climb after being resurrected to join the sun god Ra in the sky.

We were fortunate to be able to go into a tomb that had a lot of hieroglyphics on the walls telling stories of those historical days.

Another lunch of falafels, molokhia (stew made from jute leaves, served with rice) and mahshi (rice-stuffed vegetables) with an Egyptian ‘traffic light’ (strawberry, guava and mango juice) we were escorted back to the hotel for a well-earned swim in the pool!