Going to Giza

I couldn’t leave Egypt without getting an up-close look at the pyramids. Although there are actually more than 120 pyramids in Egypt, nine pyramids are located on the Giza Plateau, including the three main pyramids that everyone recognizes from photos. Giza is located just west of the Nile and nowadays, it’s essentially a suburb of Cairo, the sprawling capital city. 

 

It only took about half an hour to reach the windswept site of the pyramids from our hotel in downtown Cairo.  These three pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom by three kings of the same bloodline. The largest and oldest, known as the Great Pyramid, is the pyramid of the 4^th dynasty pharaoh Khufu. To get all of the Great Pyramid in a photo, you have to stand quite far back. 

The second largest pyramid at Giza was built by Khufu’s son Khafre. Because it sits at a higher elevation, it looks taller than the Great Pyramid. The smallest of the three, though still quite impressive, is the pyramid of Menkaure, the son of Khafre.  

 

I never imagined how large the pyramids were until I walked across the sands of the Sahara and stood next to the Great Pyramid. It’s as high as a 42-story building. 1.7 million blocks of stone were used in its construction. Each block of stone at the base level weighs five tons. (They get somewhat lighter as they go up.) Recent scans show that the inner core of the pyramid is the bedrock itself. Hussein told us it would take 45 minutes to walk completely around the base of the pyramid. 

 

When it was originally built, the sides of the pyramid were smooth and shiny because they were encased in highly polished blocks of white limestone that were held in place with plaster. The pyramid must have gleamed in the harsh desert sunlight, especially since the capstone at its apex may have been plated in gold. It’s strange to think of the pyramid that way since we’re so used to seeing its rough yellowish limestone core and a shaggy step-like profile. I thought back to the step pyramid of Djoser that we’d seen in Saqqara, which was built c. 2667-2648 BCE, i.e. only 100 years before the Great Pyramid. The ancient Egyptians had truly developed their architectural and engineering skills in a relatively short time. 

 

Over the centuries, the appearance of the Great Pyramid changed. Some of the limestone casing stones gradually fell off. In the 10^th century BCE, pharaohs started to disassemble the outer walls of all the Old Kingdom pyramids in order to re-use the building materials.  An earthquake in 1303 CE loosened many of the casing stones that remained. Finally, during the Middle Ages, more casing stones were stripped off to be used in the construction of mosques and fortresses in Cairo. 

 

The original entrance to Khufu’s tomb was located 56 feet above ground level on the north face of the pyramid. It was well concealed by the limestone casing. This is not the entrance used by tourists today, which is on the same face but slightly lower. I decided not to go inside the pyramid after Hussein told us that the ascending interior passageway was very narrow, steep, and hot – and there wasn’t even any carving to see. 

 

The internal chambers of the pyramid were sealed and reopened on several occasions since the tomb was initially sealed after Khufu was buried, c. 2560-66 BCE. Archaeologists and historians believe it remained sealed for approximately 400 years before being forced open during the First Intermediate period, a time of instability in Egypt. 

 

To put the building of the pyramids of Giza in historical perspective, it’s helpful to remember that they were ancient history by the time Tutankhamun became pharaoh in 1250 BCE. 

 

So, why did the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom build pyramids as their burial places? It’s likely they wanted to distinguish their tombs so the gods would recognize them. The ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaohs were deities who talked to the gods on behalf of the entire nation. It was therefore important to ensure that even after death, the pharaoh could communicate with the gods and that all of the people who participated in building the pyramid would enjoy the afterlife. 

 

And who actually built the pyramids? Well, the construction wasn’t done by slave laborers. There’s archaeological evidence of a huge, well-organized labor force of native Egyptians. Farmers and laborers worked on a rotating basis during the Nile flooding season. This would have been a type of “labor tax.” I was amused to learn that the workers left graffiti scrawled inside the tombs. 

 

Archaeologists have uncovered the site of a village near the pyramid site that was occupied by year-round skilled workers, such as masons and architects. Excavations done in the village reveal that the skilled workers enjoyed a protein-rich diet. And the human remains found in workers’ cemeteries indicate that the ancient Egyptians knew how to set broken bones and how to perform brain surgery. That’s quite impressive, when you consider that this was 4500 years ago! 

 

There are other structures on the site, including three individual queens’ pyramids made of a softer type of limestone. In addition, the large pyramids are surrounded by mortuary temples and flat-topped tombs (mastabas) where notables were buried. The ritual called “the opening of the mouth” took place in the king’s mortuary temple after his body was mummified. This is all that remains of the mortuary temple associated with the Great Pyramid. 

 

It’s a walkable distance from the three pyramids to the Great Sphinx.

 

The iconic statue was built by the pharaoh Khafre, son of Khufu, in the 24^th century BCE. It’s carved from a single piece of limestone that’s actually part of the bedrock. Contrary to legend, Napoleon did not use the nose for target practice. In fact, he was quite cognizant of the value of Egyptian antiquities and brought several archaeologists and artists with him on his expedition to conquer the country. Hussein suggested a more likely explanation for the missing nose. The people living in a nearby village thought the sphinx was eating people at night, so the local imam brought a hammer and knocked the nose off.

 

While the pyramids are located at an elevation of 200 feet above sea level, the sphinx is located in a depression. 

 

I also passed up an opportunity to ride a camel. I did that a few years ago in Morocco and once was enough.

We ate lunch at an on-site restaurant, which understandably was mobbed. The food was pretty basic, but we had a view of six of Giza’s pyramids. You can get a closer look at the smaller pyramids in the second photo. 

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a papyrus shop in Cairo. Papyrus plant is an aquatic plant native to Africa. At one time it grew in great abundance in the Nile delta. With its thick green stems, it looks like a tall grass and it can grow as high as four or five meters (13 to 16 feet). Its flower of thread-like rays is said to resemble the sunrise. Papyrus often depicted in the art of ancient Egypt. 

 

As far back as 2900 BCE, the Egyptians developed a way to turn the pith of the papyrus plant into writing material. At Golden Eagle Papyrus, we saw a demonstration of the process. It involves peeling off the outer green layer of the stalk to reveal the inner white pith, cutting the pith into strips, pounding and rolling them flat, soaking them in water for five days. The strips are then laid out in perpendicular fashion and put into a mechanical press. The plant contains a natural sap that bonds the strips together. Afterward the pressing, the sheet of papyrus is left out in the sunshine for one day. 

The walls of the shop displayed papyri of both traditional and contemporary design. After much consideration, I chose a small papyrus that depicts the goddess Isis in her role as guardian. The pose with outstretched wings symbolizes divine protection, resurrection, and motherhood. (Note: I brought the papyrus to the framing shop a few weeks after I returned from my trip and I’m still waiting for it to be ready.)

I ended the day with a delightful dinner at the hotel’s open-air Lebanese restaurant. Teri and Dave joined me for an excellent meal of mezze (small plates) that included several unfamiliar dishes as well as some old favorites. Along with a wonderful assortment of breads, we sampled tiny stuffed vine leaves; an arugula salad with beets, feta and walnuts dressed with olive oil and pomegranate molasses; chicken kibbeh; grilled halloumi cheese with tomatoes and peppers; and manakish, delicious little flatbread “pizzas” topped with salty cheese and za’atar paste (dried thyme, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds blended with olive oil). If you ever see manakish on the menu of a Middle Eastern restaurant, do yourself a favor and order it. 

 

Looking out at the lights of Cairo, I realized that my time in Egypt would soon come to an end. Only one day of this wonderful adventure remained, and that day would be devoted to the brand new world-class Grand Egyptian Museum.