Yalla, Habibi. Sites near Cairo
March 3: Sakkara and Giza - The Great Pyramid and more
An almost 10 hour day kept us busy visiting sites near Cairo. Off at 7 am, our first stop was at the site of one of the best statues of Ramses the Great and the Alabaster Sphinx or Sphinx of Memphis. The statue of Ramses is now horizontal and under a roof for protection. The legs had broken near the knees so the conservators display it on his back with viewing ramps at two different levels.
Sunrise over the Citadel in Cairo
The carving is highly detailed. This statue shows much more anatomical subtleties in the contour of the muscles, knees, and elbows. Even the details of his eyes are much more detailed.
Nearby this statue sits a small Sphinx made of alabaster and again showing great detail. This statue is much smaller than the Great Sphinx at Giza, being about 3 metres long and perhaps a little over 2 metres high.
Statue of Ramses the Great
The alabaster Sphinx
Selling freshly roasted sweet potatoes with his potable oven on a cart
Also displayed were some interesting carvings which must have been housed originally in a small temple at the site.
We then drove to the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Sakkara. As far as Egyptologists know, this is the oldest standing pyramid and consists of 5 square platforms (mastabas) each one a little smaller than the one below creating ‘stepped’ sides. This pyramid is made of cut stone as opposed to mud brick which was used for most of the construction in ancient Egypt prior to this time. The pyramid was designed by the architect Imhotep who learned from this structure and went on to design more pyramids in the shape that we see at Giza.
The Step Pyramid, one of the oldest stone structures, and a little over 200 ft high and built around 2650BC.
The sides of the Step Pyramid are much steeper than the three big pyramids at Giza. This one is built with a steep slope which may have contributed to the bottom right corner collapsing (see above) while the Giza structures are built less steeply with a slope closer to 51 degrees.
At this site, some of us took the opportunity to enter a smaller pyramid. The entry tunnel slopes down and was only about 4 feet high. Some felt it was too claustrophobic and passed, but 5 of our group made it all the way down to the burial chamber where the empty stone sarcophagus sits in a room adorned with wall images.
Inside the pyramid of Pharaoh Unas. The passage to the burial chamber, just big enough for the granite sarcophagus to slide through.
Pyramids were tombs for kings, but on this site, the tombs of other royals and important members of the court have also been found. We visited the tomb of a princess, daughter of Pharaoh Unas. The walls of the tomb are covered with carved and painted images of daily life - fishing, boating, injured workers going to the doctor, food being delivered and animals being butchered. The detail and pigment is impressive.
Injured workers (left - bent over figures) being taken to the seated doctor. Across from him sits a scribe taking notes or writing prescriptions. The document may also have freed injured workers from paying taxes until they recovered.
Workmen moving a large animal.
Nile hippos and crocodiles above.
Butchers working on a large horned animal.
We visited a gallery that sold papyrus art. There, we saw a demonstration of how the ancients made papyrus through a fairly simple process. Following this excursion, we drove to the site of the Great Pyramid at Giza. We chose not to go into the pyramid, but did climb up to the entrance for a photo op, before walking all around the base of the massive structure. On the Giza plateau, 12 pyramids have been located. Some are much more worn down and crumbled. Only one of the pyramids still shows the smooth facing stones that, at one time, covered the pyramids' surface.
Corner of the Great Pyramid of Cheops
We did go into this slightly smaller pyramid (above) again along a very low and very narrow tunnel to the burial chamber. This tunnel was much longer than our first foray into the Sakkara pyramid.
Nile River boat
An almost intact Egyptian boat was found behind the Great Pyramid. It was raised up and a museum building constructed around it. We took a quick visit to see this wooden boat that would have carried the Pharaohs up and down the Nile River.
The Great Sphinx in front of one of the 12 Pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
Our guide and Egyptologist Akram patiently taking our photos
Our final stop, still on the Giza Plateau, was to visit the Great Sphinx. It is a very large statue, but is dwarfed by its neighbours, the two largest pyramids. The Sphinx is suffering badly from wear. Air pollution from the very nearby city is eroding the rock. Archeologists fear that the head of the statue may fall off. Originally, the statue had the typical ‘false beard’ seen on so many pharaonic statues. This served to offer support for the massive head of the Sphinx and now that the beard is gone, so is that support. One solution being discussed is covering the whole structure with a huge atmospherically controlled glass dome. That would keep it visible and protect it from the damaging pollution, but would not add any support to the Sphinx's head.
The Great Sphinx and visiting pigeons
On the bus heading back to the hotel, Akram collected our Whisper listening devices. We had carried and used these since the start of our visit to Egypt. When he came by with the case for us to hand back the devices, we knew our trip was just about over. Six of the eight original Jordan group met for a sumptuous repast to close out our time in Egypt.
An almost 10 hour day kept us busy visiting sites near Cairo. Off at 7 am, our first stop was at the site of one of the best statues of Ramses the Great and the Alabaster Sphinx or Sphinx of Memphis. The statue of Ramses is now horizontal and under a roof for protection. The legs had broken near the knees so the conservators display it on his back with viewing ramps at two different levels.
Sunrise over the Citadel in Cairo
The carving is highly detailed. This statue shows much more anatomical subtleties in the contour of the muscles, knees, and elbows. Even the details of his eyes are much more detailed.
Nearby this statue sits a small Sphinx made of alabaster and again showing great detail. This statue is much smaller than the Great Sphinx at Giza, being about 3 metres long and perhaps a little over 2 metres high.
Statue of Ramses the Great
The alabaster Sphinx
Selling freshly roasted sweet potatoes with his potable oven on a cart
Also displayed were some interesting carvings which must have been housed originally in a small temple at the site.
We then drove to the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Sakkara. As far as Egyptologists know, this is the oldest standing pyramid and consists of 5 square platforms (mastabas) each one a little smaller than the one below creating ‘stepped’ sides. This pyramid is made of cut stone as opposed to mud brick which was used for most of the construction in ancient Egypt prior to this time. The pyramid was designed by the architect Imhotep who learned from this structure and went on to design more pyramids in the shape that we see at Giza.
The Step Pyramid, one of the oldest stone structures, and a little over 200 ft high and built around 2650BC.
The sides of the Step Pyramid are much steeper than the three big pyramids at Giza. This one is built with a steep slope which may have contributed to the bottom right corner collapsing (see above) while the Giza structures are built less steeply with a slope closer to 51 degrees.
At this site, some of us took the opportunity to enter a smaller pyramid. The entry tunnel slopes down and was only about 4 feet high. Some felt it was too claustrophobic and passed, but 5 of our group made it all the way down to the burial chamber where the empty stone sarcophagus sits in a room adorned with wall images.
Inside the pyramid of Pharaoh Unas. The passage to the burial chamber, just big enough for the granite sarcophagus to slide through.
Pyramids were tombs for kings, but on this site, the tombs of other royals and important members of the court have also been found. We visited the tomb of a princess, daughter of Pharaoh Unas. The walls of the tomb are covered with carved and painted images of daily life - fishing, boating, injured workers going to the doctor, food being delivered and animals being butchered. The detail and pigment is impressive.
Injured workers (left - bent over figures) being taken to the seated doctor. Across from him sits a scribe taking notes or writing prescriptions. The document may also have freed injured workers from paying taxes until they recovered.
Workmen moving a large animal.
Butchers working on a large horned animal.
We visited a gallery that sold papyrus art. There, we saw a demonstration of how the ancients made papyrus through a fairly simple process. Following this excursion, we drove to the site of the Great Pyramid at Giza. We chose not to go into the pyramid, but did climb up to the entrance for a photo op, before walking all around the base of the massive structure. On the Giza plateau, 12 pyramids have been located. Some are much more worn down and crumbled. Only one of the pyramids still shows the smooth facing stones that, at one time, covered the pyramids' surface.
Corner of the Great Pyramid of Cheops
Limestone facing still in place high on this Pyramid. Some of the Cairo Citadel was built using the facing stones from the Great Pyramid.
We did go into this slightly smaller pyramid (above) again along a very low and very narrow tunnel to the burial chamber. This tunnel was much longer than our first foray into the Sakkara pyramid.
Nile River boat
An almost intact Egyptian boat was found behind the Great Pyramid. It was raised up and a museum building constructed around it. We took a quick visit to see this wooden boat that would have carried the Pharaohs up and down the Nile River.
The Great Sphinx in front of one of the 12 Pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
Our guide and Egyptologist Akram patiently taking our photos
Our final stop, still on the Giza Plateau, was to visit the Great Sphinx. It is a very large statue, but is dwarfed by its neighbours, the two largest pyramids. The Sphinx is suffering badly from wear. Air pollution from the very nearby city is eroding the rock. Archeologists fear that the head of the statue may fall off. Originally, the statue had the typical ‘false beard’ seen on so many pharaonic statues. This served to offer support for the massive head of the Sphinx and now that the beard is gone, so is that support. One solution being discussed is covering the whole structure with a huge atmospherically controlled glass dome. That would keep it visible and protect it from the damaging pollution, but would not add any support to the Sphinx's head.
The Great Sphinx and visiting pigeons
On the bus heading back to the hotel, Akram collected our Whisper listening devices. We had carried and used these since the start of our visit to Egypt. When he came by with the case for us to hand back the devices, we knew our trip was just about over. Six of the eight original Jordan group met for a sumptuous repast to close out our time in Egypt.
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