Sphynx & Pyramids

These are heiroglychics ouside a tomb for King Titi.


Us at the Pyramids.



The famous Great Pyramids at Giza. The one on the far left is actually the largest. The one in the middle looks bigger because it was built at a higher elevation. Notice the limestone cap on the middle pyramid. You can imagine what they would all look like encased in limestone. You would have been able to see them reflecting the sulight for miles around.



Here you can see the Sphinx guarding the causeway to the second pyramid. This vantage point is from the opposite side of the pyramids. The stones in front of the Sphinx are part of a temple that is thought to have been used in mummification rituals. The King's body would have been brought here on a boat; there was a man made canal that ended at the temple. Where the man in the picture is standing used to be covered in water.
While we were here, we were constantly bombarded with offers by the locals to buy little baubles and postcards. A useful phrase we used to deter them was "La'a Shookrun" (Phonetically spelled) meaning "No thank you" in Arabic. They were shocked into silence and often left us alone. They also liked my beard.
From here we also visited the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, and the Bent and Red Pyramids at Dashur. We were able to climb inside the Red Pyramid and visit the burial chamber. There was nothing but rubble and stones there, but the knowledge that I was standing where a great Pharoah was buried was humbling. I was able to sit there alone for a minute, and the silence was absolute.
The climb out was fairly strenuous as the hole is only a four foot by four foot square and you litterally had to climb hunched over up a ramp. I hope my Ferrell's instructor counts that as an alternate workout!
- Scott