Boon's Jordan, Israel & Egypt Trip (Dec'10): Day 15

GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA

"The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu^[1] (Cheops in Greek) and constructed over a 14 to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at 146.5 metres (480.6 ft), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, the longest period of time ever held for such a record."

One more item struck off from my bucket list. It was great to see the Pyramid - 4500 years old monument.

Imagine this: You are born 2000 years ago around the same time as Jesus Christ. When you see this monument, it was already built 2500years ago!!! That's one of the ways to have a good perspective of the long history of the Pyramid. AMAZING!!! Unmatched by any other monument in the world.

Sphinx & Pyramids

Sphinx

Deceiving pics => there were hordes and hordes of tourists.

Remaining Marble Shield @ the top.

Three Pyramids

The Largest Pyramid in the world.

Closeup

The Second largest pyramid in the world.

I like this pyramid more because of its remaining marble cover at the top.

Beautiful.

I must admit that I wasn't awestruck by the Pyramids, as my expectation was too high. In fact, the Pyramids are not as huge as what I expected. Nevertheless, I am still very happy to visit this remaining World Wonder of the ancient world.

Om.....

Red Pyramid @ Dashur

This was supposedly the first complete pyramid built before the Giza pyramids.

Climbed into this Pyramid to explore the inner passage and chambers. The smell was awful, the tunnel was small, the air was stale and it was hot, but it was a wonderful experience!!! =)

Inner Chamber. There are a few fake burial chambers, and the real one was hidden at the entrance which was about 4 storeys high.

Bent Pyramid @ Dashur

"he Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo, built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu (c. 2600 BC). A unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, this was the second pyramid built by Sneferu.

The lower part of the pyramid rises from the desert at a 55-degree inclination, but the top section is built at the shallower angle of 43 degrees, lending the pyramid its very obvious "bent" appearance.^[1]

Archaeologists now believe that the Bent Pyramid represents a transitional form between step-sided and smooth-sided pyramids (see Step pyramid). It has been suggested that due to the steepness of the original angle of inclination the structure may have begun to show signs of instability during construction, forcing the builders to adopt a shallower angle to avert the structure's collapse.^[2] This theory appears to be borne out by the fact that the adjacent Red Pyramid, built immediately afterwards by the same Pharaoh, was constructed at an angle of 43 degrees from its base. Another theory suggests that at the initial angle the construction would take too long because Sneferu's death was nearing, so the builders changed the angle to complete the construction in time."