Pyramids

We try to share stuff that's a little off the beaten track and that can even happen when visiting The Pyramids. How? Well, it seems there are lots of 'em out there, not just the Big Three at Giza. You'll get to see those, but first some of their predecessors.

First up, The Step Pyramid of King Zosser. It's found at Saqqara, south of Giza and is the first (we think) variation on the earlier tomb design, called by the Arabic name of mastaba (bench). It kinda shows how they shaped up, so to speak.

We try really hard to adhere to our policy of not attempting to sound knowledgeable on every damn place we visit, but nonetheless we have add some context to what you see or it's just a bunch of old rubble. Anyway, this is the entrance to the mortuary temple of Zosser's Pyramid. This is where they gave offerings and said prayers for the deceased pharaoh, but not where he was buried.

Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Kings often had high officials buried nearby so they could be of service in the hereafter. This is from the tomb of an official named Idut. It depicts a scene of herding cows into the Nile by tying a calf to the stern of a boat and getting the mother to follow.

In the same mural we see a baby hippo entering a very uncertain world.

Some things never change. Here we see tax collectors in action, auditing the books while the hapless taxpayer is forced to look on.

In extreme cases the tax cheat would literally get the shaft. You can't make this up.

At the temple of another official we see a lovely but modestly attired infidel woman.

Like most such tombs, this one had many false doors to thwart tomb robbers. In addition, the actual burial chamber was hidden. Nonetheless, it got looted.

A pile o' rubble when the outside casing is removed.

Memre-Ruka served King Titi. Like many early pyramids it consisted of a mud-brick core encased in stone. Once the casing was hauled off for other projects the core started to fall apart.

Going down in the bowels of pyramids can be awfully claustrophobic if not extremely hard on knee joints. This pyramid with the straight down approach is a boon for orthopedic surgeons, not to mention that the passageway is very low and one almost has to crawl. The step were added later, so maybe one was supposed to crawl, but then this was not intended as a tourist attraction when built 4500 years ago.

Too bad the architects didn't think of the easy way down, such as an airline chute.

The Red pyramid of Sneferu is named for the color of the limestone used for construction. Its the second largest pyramid in Egypt, biggest being Khufu's (Cheops) in Giza.

This is likewise a tough climb. Pictures of the interior are forbidden, requiring furtiveness and no flash.

This blackness is the roof inside the Red pyramid. Dark huh? The lack of hieroglyphs and ornamentation is typical. The corbelling of these huge stones is thought to manage the stress of the weight overhead. This chamber is maybe 50' high, 80' long.

The Bent pyramid was the first pyramid to be begun as a true pyramid. It owes its name to the change in angle of slope which went from 54 degrees 27' to 43 degrees 22'. If the structure had been finished according to plan, it would have been the greatest.

What's left of the Black Pyramid.

The admiral cuts it up in Memphis, Egypt that is. There is very little left of the old capital, probably because the materials were carted off to build Fustat, then Cairo. Yet another statue of Ramses II.

The admirable admiral admires the Alabaster Sphinx.

The Colossus of Ramses II.

A boy and his......donkey.

OK, let's get to the main event, The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) in Giza. Note the antlike people near the base. The shape is somewhat distorted because this is a composite of 3 pictures. This shows the 2 entrances, the original one near the middle and the one made by fortune hunters below it.

This is the view from the Great Pyramid showing how close modern Cairo encroaches on the site. This is why it had to be done as a panorama, i.e. it's hard to get far enough away to shoot in without a wide-angle lens.

A close-up of the 2 openings. We didn't go into The Great Pyramid. There isn't anything there other than a shaft and an empty chamber in the center, much like the Red Pyramid shown earlier. It costs extra and you have to line up for a limited chance to go in. You can't do everything...

A view of the climb up, which you're not allowed to do anymore.

This is a shot of some of the few casing blocks left. Originally the pyramids of Giza all had smooth, white limestone casings, with the blocks so precisely cut that you can't insert a piece of paper between them. Unfortunately, the casing blocks were looted by the Muslims building the Citadel and other buildings of Fustat and Cairo, so this is about all that's left other than the casing at the top of Khafra's pyramid.

All part of a hard day being a tourist.

The 3 pyramids in the background (l-r) are the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the slightly smaller one of Khafra and the little on of Menkaura. The middle one looks larger because it's closer and higher on the hill. Side bar: After visiting Cairo in the 1980's,a certain party was interesting in sharing the sights and sounds of the pyramids. One must say, that change is not always for the better. Though the sensational structures still were breath taking, the intense battering to buy from the vendors was enough to be glad to say good riddance to Egypt. Though the archeological beauty is second to none, we were joyous to get into the Med!

The Great Sphinx ever lasting and ever present. He guards the mortuary temple of Khafra.

Resting after a hard day of pan handling. Yes, Egypt does have its street people and its usually the fairer sex. Unfortunately, this has become the standard outfit of the modern Egyptian woman, a far cry from Nasser's day.

We took tons more pictures but try to emphasize stuff that's seems more interesting or different than the usual tourist shots. We hope you enjoyed this and will visit Luxor and Cairo before you leave Egypt. Thanks!

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