One of the first things that struck us in Egypt was how accessible the monuments are. Touchable, in fact. In the US, everything would be behind ropes, under plexiglass, and kept safely away from fingers and breathing. Here, virtually everything is displayed in a way that doesn't encourage touching, but doesn't prevent it, either. The other thing that continually amazed us is how much has survived. Things are out in the open, in the sun, exposed to exhaust fumes and whatever else, and the detailing (like the Anubis on Amenhotep's sarcophagus (from 1290 BC) is still so clear and easy to see.
Egypt used to be divided into 2 kingdoms, Upper and Lower Egypt. When they were united in about 3100 BC, the capital was located in a place called Memphis. Most of the temples and monuments here have disappeared, but the huge statue of Ramses II (the building was built around the statue where it was found) was well worth the quick stop.
The Egyptian pharoahs did nothing on a small scale. If a statue was good, a huge statue was better. If one looked great, then 10 were 10 times more impressive. The statue of Ramses II was originally over 40 feet tall!
The first sphinx we saw was sculpted from a single piece of alabaster. The sphinx measures approximately 13 feet high and 24 feet long and weighs an estimated 80 tons. Looking at how well-preserved it is gives an idea of what the more famous Sphinx must have been like!
What is the oldest stone monument? Not Stonehenge, or the Great Wall, or even "the" pyramids. It's the Step Pyramid, built in 2650 BC. Like most of the monuments we saw, it was buried under sand until the 19th century when the French and English arrived. Saqqara, where the pyramid is located, was the site of a huge cemetary for Memphis. Originally it was about 7 km (4 miles) long. An enormous funerary complex surrounded it, part of which is still visible today.
While trying to perfect a smooth-sided pyramid, archictects began building a step-type pyramid. Partway through finishing what was going to be a 300 foot tall pyramid, the foundation began to crack. The only way to salvage the work was to reduce the angle of the pyramid. This gave the Bent pyramid its name.
It's hard to describe the feeling of standing in front of something so iconic, something you've seen thousands of times in magazines and parodied on television and in movies. Harder still to describe the massive impact the momument has on visitors. I felt absolutely dwarfed and rather insignificant. Approximately 2.5 million blocks, each weighing 2.5 tons, were used to build the largest pyramid which is 479 feet tall!
The pyramid of Khafre still has the original limestone cap, giving an idea of what they looked like when they were whole. We were able to go inside--the passage was about 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall, angling very sharply downhill, then very sharply uphill. At the end was the room where the sarcophagus was found. Because everyone knew that these monuments were for pharoahs, it was pretty easy to know where the treasure was, so nothing has been found within them of any note.
One of the highlights for Ava (ok, and me, too) was a quick jaunt on horseback around the pyramids. Anyone who thinks it's just camels has not watched enough desert movies ala Lawrence of Arabia, or read "The Black Stallion." You could ride a camel, but everyone knows the cool sheiks rode the Arabian horses. Including Ava, who made the guide eventually get off his horse so she could ride alone. The best part was that we could ride anywhere as fast or slow as we wanted, not in a nose-to-tail line. Giddyap!
The Sphinx can inspire awe. Or it can inspire people to try to take silly pictures. The Greeks gave it the name because it reminded them of the monster with the woman's head and lion's body who asked the riddles and killed anyone who couldn't answer them. Khafre had the Sphinx carved from the bedrock, rather than removing it. Considering it is one of the most identifiable sights in the world, it is one that our guide had the least to say about. It was also the most crowded site of the ones we saw in and near Cairo.
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