See you at the Pyramids!

I can't help but mention our trip to the capital of Egypt - Cairo. We were lucky enough to visit the Egyptian Museum dedicated in 1902. The museum presents unique collections of ancient sarcophagi, papyri, mystical animals, statues and ornaments of pharaohs. We have very good memories of visiting the "hallmark" of Egypt, one of the seven wonders of the world - the pyramids, which even today can impress anyone.

During the National Museum tour

At the entrance to the Great Pyramids area

At the pyramids of Giza

At the pyramids of Giza

We were impressed by the great pyramids of Egypt, their history and mysteries of their construction. Of course, the pyramids are the first thing a visitor wants to see when he or she arrives in Egypt. According to our tour guide, there are as many as 118 pyramids in Egypt built over 3,000 years ago - from 2630 BC, when the first pyramid was built, until the 4th century AD. Those pyramids are different - they are large and small, stepped and with smooth sides, those which have come down to us in an almost unchanged form and those that look more like a shapeless pile of stones. The most famous pyramids are in Giza, a part of Greater Cairo, among them, the most massive one - the Pyramid of Cheops. This pyramid still remains the greatest architectural creation of human hands. The Pyramid of Cheops remains the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that has survived and ranks first in the list of national treasures of Egypt.

At the pyramids of Giza

The Great Pyramids is the name of three giant tetrahedra located in Giza, on the left bank of the Nile.

• The pyramid of Khufu is the oldest and largest of them. I got used to the name that ancient Greeks gave to this pyramid - Cheops. The length of each of its sides is 230 meters and the height is 146 meters. Now, however, it is nine meters lower due to destruction and weathering.
• The second largest pyramid is the tomb of Khafre, the son of Cheops. Its height is 136 meters, although visually it looks higher than the pyramid of Khufu, because it is built on a hill. Not far from it you can see the famous sphinx, whose face, according to legend, is a sculptural portrait of Khafre. The pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre was built 40 years later than the first one. The side of the square foot of the pyramid of Khafre is 215 meters, the height is 136 meters.
• The third pyramid is the pyramid of Pharaoh Mycerinus. It is only 66 meters high, and it was built much later. However, this pyramid looks very harmonious and is considered the most beautiful of the Great Pyramids. The Pyramid of Pharaoh Mycerinus emphasizes the greatness of the pyramids of Cheops and Khafre. The latter are easy to distinguish from each other: the pyramid of Khafre has partially preserved white basalt cladding near its top.

The Great Pyramids are part of the great necropolis of Giza. Next to them - a few small pyramids, where the wives of pharaohs are buried, the tombs of priests and high officials. The pyramids allegedly served as the ancient tombs of the powerful of this world.

Visiting the Sphynx

Funeral temples and the Great Sphinx are located at the foot of the Giza Plateau. The Sphinx, a resting lion with a human head, is the largest monolithic sculpture. Its length is 80 meters and height is 20 meters. It is believed that the sphinx was cut down during the construction of the Pyramid of Khafre, and the face of Sphynx represents that of Pharaoh Khafre.

As for the pyramids, I agree that there are too many annoying sellers of camel/phaeton services and small souvenirs. As a friend of mine said, "After shaking hands with a Cairo man, count the number of your fingers!"

During the bus ride, our Russian-speaking tour guide told many interesting stories about the life in Egypt. Live and learn! He said that the most honorable specialty in Egypt is the military, followed by police, doctors and in fourth place teachers. Schools are free for 70 students in one class, and there are also paid ones.
We had a short Nile cruise after our guided tours to the Great Pyramids.

During our River Nile boat tour_2

After the Nile cruise, we were taken to Egypt Papyrus Institute, which was, in fact, a big store, where they sold pictures painted on modern papyrus.

Even though the papyrus institute looks more like a store, it has a certain cognitive value. During the visit, we were told about papyrus, about the technology of turning the papyrus stem into the thinnest sheet, an about the history of the origin of papyrus paper.

By the way, the word “papyrus” itself is translated as “gift of the river”. Modern Egyptians completely lost their skills in making papyrus from reed. In the ancient manuscripts, however, the method of making papyrus was described. However, either the ancients wrote with spelling errors, or they deliberately wanted to mislead future generations. Egyptians had to reinvent the technology for making the forgotten writing material.

Thank you for the tour, dear guides!