The pyramids located in Giza plateau which is located just outside of the outskirts of Cairo on the esplanade known as the Giza Plateau, the Great Pyramids of Giza is the must-see Ancient Egyptian landmark. Known as Khufu's Pyramid, it is the greatest pyramid of the complex: a truly overwhelming sight. Being one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it is the only one still standing to this day! When gazing at this colossal structure, there's no way to escape the feeling of being dwarfed. The two smaller - but still huge - pyramids in Giza are those of Khafre and Menkaure. A few steps to the east you will notice three small (20 m high) piles of rumble: the queens' pyramids, tombs of Khufu's wives and sisters. Nearby, on the Giza Plateau, you'll also find the Great Sphinx and the Solar Boat Museum. The site is also where the Sound & Light Show at Giza takes place, and where every newcomer to Egypt experiences Giza camel rides for the first time.
The Great pyramids of Egypt are main aim for any comer to be visited to see the greatness of the ancient Egypt civilization. They are so iconic, so astonishingly ancient, that it is hard to imagine that 4,600 years ago the plateau where they stand was a desolate, dune-covered wilderness where a scattering of tombs lay under the burning Egyptian sun. Along with the enigmatic Sphinx and other smaller tombs and monuments, Giza has three principal pyramids: Khufu (originally 481 feet high, and sometimes called Cheops, or the Great Pyramid); Khafre (471 feet); and Menkaure (213 feet). Emerging out of the complex dynastic needs of Egypt’s 4th dynasty, they are the triumphant product of one of the most daring and innovative engineering projects the world has ever known. The high plateau allowed greater visibility for the pyramid. It was near Heliopolis, basis of the cult of the sun god Re. Since there were already some tombs in Giza, the land had already been sanctified and so was fit for a pharaoh’s tomb of a stature never seen before, or surpassed since.
Egypt’s Great Pyramid ‘’ Khufu Pyramid ‘’:
Size: The Great Pyramid, the largest of the three, was built by the pharaoh Khufu and rises to a height of 146 meters (481 feet) with a base length of more than 230 meters (750 feet) per side. The greatest difference in length among the four sides is a mere 4.4 cm (1 Ă‚Âľ inches) and the base is level within 2.1 cm (less than an inch), an astonishing engineering accomplishment.
The kings of the 4th dynasty ruled Egypt from around 2575 to 2465 B.C. Presiding over the golden age of the Old Kingdom, their center of power was the sophisticated Nile-side city of Memphis, about 15 miles south of Giza. The dynasty’s second king, Khufu, ruled during a period of relative peace in Egypt, although the Greek historian Herodotus later depicted him and his son as cruel and proud. Khufu’s architects and engineers embarked on a project that transcends any other structure in the Bronze Age. Its completion utterly transformed the plateau. Khufu had selected it, in part, to distance himself from the magnificent pyramids built by his father, Snefru, in Dahshur, another necropolis near Memphis. Several other factors also made it an ideal site.
Construction: The pyramid contains an estimated 2,300,000 blocks, some of which are upwards of 50 tons.
Interior: The interior chambers and passageways of Khufu’s pyramid are unique and include a number of enigmatic features. There is an unfinished subterranean chamber whose function is mysterious as well as a number of so-called ‘air shafts’ that radiate out from the upper chambers. When entering the pyramid, one has to crawl up a cramped ascending chamber that opens suddenly into a stunning Grand Gallery. This corbelled passage soars to a height of 8.74 m (26 feet) and leads up to the King’s Chamber, which is constructed entirely from red granite brought from the southern quarries at Aswan. Above the King’s Chamber are five stress-relieving chambers of massive granite blocks topped with immense cantilevered blocks forming a pent roof to distribute the weight of the mountain of masonry above it. The king’s sarcophagus, also carved from red granite, sits empty at the exact central axis of the pyramid. This burial chamber was sealed with a series of massive granite blocks and the entrance to the shaft filled with limestone in an effort to obscure the opening.
Khafre Pyramid:
The pyramid has a base length of 215.5 m (706 ft) and rises up to a height of 136.4 metres (448 ft). It is made of limestone blocks weighing more than 2 tons each. The slope of the pyramid rises at a 53° 13' angle, steeper than its neighbor.
Construction: Like the Great Pyramid, a rock outcropping was used in the core. Due to the slope of the plateau, the northwest corner was cut 10 m (33 ft) out of the rock subsoil and the southeast corner is built up.
The pyramid is built of horizontal courses. The stones used at the bottom are very large, but as the pyramid rises, the stones become smaller, becoming only 50 cm (20 in) thick at the apex.
Interior: Two entrances lead to the burial chamber, one that opens 11.54 m (37.9 ft) up the face of the pyramid and one that opens at the base of the pyramid. These passageways do not align with the centerline of the pyramid, but are offset to the east by 12 m (39 ft). The lower descending passageway is carved completely out of the bedrock, descending, running horizontal, then ascending to join the horizontal passage leading to the burial chamber.
One theory as to why there are two entrances is that the pyramid was intended to be much larger with the northern base shifted 30 m (98 ft) further to the north which would make Khafre's pyramid much larger than his father's. This would place the entrance to the lower descending passage within the masonry of the pyramid. While the bedrock is cut away farther from the pyramid on the north side than on the west side
Menkaure’s Pyramid:
The Pyramid of Menkaure has a height of about 215 feet and a base side length of about 339 feet, had an original height of 65.5 meters (215 ft), and was the smallest of the three major pyramids at the Giza Necropolis. It now stands at 61 m (200 ft) tall with a base of 108.5 m (356 ft). Its angle of incline is approximately 51°20′25″.
Construction: It was constructed of limestone and Aswan granite. The first sixteen courses of the exterior were made of the red granite. The upper portion was cased in the normal manner with Tura limestone. Part of the granite was left in the rough.
Sphinx:
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a mythical creature. Facing directly from West to East, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. Cut from the bedrock, the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks. Constructed by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the pharaoh Khafra (c. 2558–2532 BC).
It is impossible to identify what name the creators called their statue, as the Great Sphinx does not appear in any known inscription of the Old Kingdom and there are no inscriptions anywhere describing its construction or its original purpose. In the New Kingdom, the Sphinx was revered as the solar deity Hor-em-akhet and the pharaoh Thutmose IV (1401–1391 or 1397–1388 BC) specifically referred to it as such in his Dream Stele.
Solar Boat Museum:
Khufu’s mortuary complex also included seven large boat pits. Five of these are located to the east of the pyramid and were a sort of model; these brick-lined boat shaped elements were probably intended for use in the afterlife to transport the king to stellar destinations. Boat burials and models of this type had a long history in royal mortuary contexts—a fleet of 14 such pits, containing actual boats averaging 18-19 meters (60 feet) in length encased inside, were discovered at a Dynasty 1 mortuary enclosure in Abydos, the cemetery of Egypt’s earliest kings. Often, however, as with Khufu, the pits were simply boat shaped models rather than containing actual boats.
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