The Great Pyramid of Giza

Egypt, oh Egypt!  What an amazing place!  Here since the beginning of time and later written about in the Old Testament as Mitsrayim, it is an unreal reality to visit.  The Nile, the Pyramids – I have dreamed of visiting Egypt and seeing the Pyramids all my life.  I remember opening a textbook or an encyclopedia as a child in elementary school and longingly gazing at the photos of these grand structures that were hard to believe were actually real. And the possibility of ever seeing them for myself was akin to ever seeing the surface of Mars myself. 

It is still a mystery as to how the Pyramids were built. Each one points to the sun – even those built in other parts of the world, and each was built with mathematical and architectural precision. How did they do it?? The Great Pyramid of Giza near Cairo was built over the course of 27 years beginning in the 26 century BC, and covers a tremendous 13 acres at its base. It has four sides, each 755.75 feet long and 481 feet tall. It once was taller, but its 25-foot pointy top is no longer present. The Great Pyramid has 2.3 million stone blocks that each weigh 2.5 to 15 tons. Pharo Khufu, also known as Cheops, began the first Giza pyramid project around 2550 BC along with his architectural brother and Egyptian prince, Hemiunu. Its sole purpose was to be a burial place for himself, Egyptian King Khufu. Five thousand years ago, Egyptians believed at death, people attained a higher life. Kings became Gods, Noblemen became kings and people of lesser status would become noblemen in their next life. To prepare for the afterlife, every single person in ancient Egypt was mummified at death and sealed away in a proper burial chamber.. Burial chambers for peasants might have been made of wood, some people used sealed-off caves for burial chambers of loved ones. But kings and their queens, like King Khufu and the boy king, Tutankhamen, were sealed away in a solid gold sarcophagus which like Russian nesting dolls, was placed inside another sarcophagus, inside another, sometimes seven cases thick for protection. Then they were sealed away in multi-room burial chambers along with everything the person might need in the next life.

King Tut died at age 19 from malaria.  He was a lesser king who had no accomplishments to his credit.  In life, he was not special, but we celebrate his golden sarcophagus, his gold burial mask, and other fabulous items not because he was important.  We celebrate him because we have his fabulous belongings.  His tomb was not plundered. Unlike the burial chambers in many pyramids, King Tut’s burial chamber was discovered by an archeologist and not a tomb raider.  His rich burial items along with his mummy, two mummified stillborn children, lying in his golden sarcophaguses were found just as they were left at his death in 1323 BC. 

Our photos of the pyramid and artifacts in the museum are amazing but sadly taking photos of King Tut or any of his articles is forbidden. And. the King Tut exhibition touring the United States at this time is indeed fabulous and worth seeing but the artifacts in the exhibition are reproductions. The authentic items are under very heavy security and are never allowed to leave this museum, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

We could not leave the area without also seeing the nearby Great Sphinx.  This tremendous unimaginable, mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion still rules the area as the entrance perhaps to the field of pyramids.  While parts of the Sphinx’s face have worn away, this 5000-year-old show of power, wealth, and strength seems to represent the face of Pharaoh Khafre.  Astounding! 

The Great Pyramid, the two other large pyramids, and the four lesser queen pyramids as well as the Great Sphinx are often described as lying on the west bank of the Nile.  Let me set the record straight, the Nile may be near but the river is nowhere in sight. 

Why did Egyptians stop building pyramids?  No one knows for sure, but a popular idea is that over time, they lost the knowledge. 

Maybe it was Aliens who had the expertise. Maybe these beings instructed the King, the architect, and the workers. Maybe they brought advanced technology on their visit. Then maybe they simply left the area.  Just my own conjecture. Science holds tight to the premise they were built by human beings. 

Here are two useful points in a game of Trivia for you.  The name Nile translates to river in the Greek language.  The name Sahara translates to desert.  Never let yourself be caught saying, Nile River or Sahara Desert. 

Seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Nile, and seeing the Sphinx is an experience that can only be described as stupendous, amazing, awesome, and spiritual. Yet the sight inspires thoughts of perspective to human life. In the grand scheme of things, we and our time here is temporary, and not nearly significant as we might hope. We are like grains of sand.