Giza Pyramids

Okay so here's some info. This is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the tomb of the pharaoh, Khufu. It is the oldest and the largest of the three Pyramids at Giza. It was built in 2560B.C. and it is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that has survived more or less in tact. It is believed that it took approximately 20years to build the structure.

What we see now is really the core of the Pyramid as it was once covered with smooth casing stone, pieces of which can now be seen scattered at the base of the Pyramid.

The Second Pyramid or The Pyramid of Khafre still has a small portion of this casing stone at the very top of the pyramid. The Second Pyramid is often mistaken as the larger of the three partially because of the casing stone that remains at the top. This pyramid has three known chambers but most times tourists are only allowed into one chamber

The pyramid towards the back is really the Great Pyramid but as you can see from the picture, it appears smaller from certain angles. The smallest pyramid is the Pyramid of Menkaure and the three at the base of it are known as the Leen Pyramids. The three shown in this picture are the tombs for the wives of the Menkaure.

The Pyramids of Giza are probably one of the biggest if not the biggest tourist attraction in Egypt. It costs 60 Egyptian pounds (avg. 12US Dollars) to enter the Pyramid grounds where you can touch the Pyramids, climb a small portion of one, take a camel ride and the general picture taking.

This is the tomb room of Khafre. To enter a pyramid however, will cost you extra, depending on which pyramid you choose to enter. We went into the second one and it cost us 30 Egyptian pounds per person. To enter the Great Pyramid costs 100 egyptian pounds.

The passageway into the Pyramids is very narrow and for most of the way very low so you must bend over to climb in. It is extremely hot and for anyone who is claustrophobic, I do not recommend going inside.

So generally you're not allowed to take photos inside the pyramid and I'm sure if there were security guards inside they wouldn't have allowed us to lie in the tomb either. (It would be really difficult to find someone who would be willing to sit in that heat all day)

So after going inside the pyramid, we decided to drive down to this area where you can get a panoramic view of the pyramids.

There are many Sphinxes in the world and a few in Egypt itself. The one seen here is The Great Sphinx of Egypt. It is a reclining lion with the head of a human. It is the biggest monolith statue in the world. It is 241 ft long, 65ft high and 20ft wide. Since the questions of when it was built, who built it and who designed it, are very much debated questions, the "Riddle of the Sphinx" has become popular. Most Egyptologists believe that it was created by the pharoah Khafre and that it is either a statue of him or a member of the royal family such as his father or brother.