The Giza Plateau and the main attractions: the Great Sphinx and the Pyramid of Cheops
Every year many tourists visit Egypt, heading here, attracted by the monumentality and mystery of this area. This Giza plateau - the most visited place in Egypt, with its great pyramids and the mysterious Sphinx. The plateau is rightfully considered the hallmark of Egypt, this country is associated with the plateau.
Where is the Giza plateau and how to get there?
Giza - This is a rocky plateau, consisting of limestone, and located about 25 kilometers southwest of Cairo - the current capital of Egypt. Eight kilometers from the plateau, on the east bank of the Nile, is the ancient city of the same name - Giza (Arabic El-Giza - plain). Now it is a small town that has become a suburb of Cairo. Before the emergence of the Arabic name of the plateau, it was called “Imentet” - the west, or “Per-Neter” - a cemetery.
In general, the Giza Plateau represents the northern necropolis of Ancient Egypt. The beginning of which was laid by the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, when Memphis was the capital (the first capital of the already united Upper and Lower Egypt). The plateau is a kind of "place of power" are various burials of pharaohs, members of royal families, high dignitaries and courtiers. Their mortuary temples, and, of course, the pyramids and the sphinx. For the construction of the complex, local limestone was mainly used, mined in a mine near the buildings. This mine has survived to this day. For the exterior, white limestone from Tura and granite from Aswan were used.
Attractions of the Giza Plateau
The Giza plateau with its buildings is one of the oldest places in Egypt. The place became most famous after the construction of the pyramids. However, the necropolis existed, and they knew about it long before that (approximately 4 thousand years BC). If you plan to visit these places, here is a good one. tour option with transport, lunch and camel rides.
The construction of the plateau began with mastabas (from Arabic - bench). These are burial grounds, consisting of internal chambers, where a sarcophagus with a body was placed, as well as ritual objects and offerings to the gods. From the outside, where the mortuary room or temple was located. The mastabas of the kings and rich Egyptians were whole “houses” of a rectangular shape with a flat roof, built from many blocks. The mastabas of ordinary people were rectangular slabs or blocks laid on the grave. More than 100 buildings of this type have been found on the Giza plateau.
What else caused the huge popularity of this area? Of course - the Great Pyramids - Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure. These are the most popular sights of the Giza plateau and are known under these names, although in Egyptian their names sound like this: the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaur. These greatest buildings were erected around 4 thousand years BC, but they have survived quite well to our times.
Great Sphinx, which is a huge statue. There is also the Temple of the Sphinx, located near the statue. The most mysterious monument of historical culture left by the ancient Egyptians.
Small pyramids. They are really small, especially compared to the Great Pyramids. All these buildings are considered to be the tombs of queens and members of royal families.
Mortuary Temples of Khafre, Menkaure, Temple of the Valley. Unlike the pyramids and mastabas, the temples are poorly preserved, now they are mostly ruins.
Solar Boat Museum. It is located near the pyramid of Cheops - it contains only one exhibit, an ancient boat (about 4 thousand years old), in which, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the pharaoh will go to the afterlife.
You can visit almost all the main attractions of the Giza Plateau on an organized tour. Option from Cairo for 8 hours - here.
The Pyramid of Cheops
But the most famous attraction of the plateau is the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) - the last of the ancient "seven wonders of the world." This truly grandiose structure is the largest structure of its type. It is to this pyramid that the attention of both tourists and researchers is most riveted.
The Great Pyramid was the first pyramid built on the Giza Plateau, and its predecessors were built at Dashkhur. The great architect, astronomer and priest, Imhotep, designed and supervised the entire construction process under the pharaoh (or for the pharaoh) of the IV dynasty of Cheops (Egypt. Khufu).
The date when the construction of the pyramid of Cheops began is August 23, 2470 BC, but these data are rather arbitrary, since it has not yet been possible to accurately determine its age. It is also believed that the pyramid was built for about 20 years - almost all the years of the reign of Pharaoh Khufu.
Today, the height of the pyramid is 137,3 m, but at the time of construction it had a top that was lost over the centuries, and the height was 146,7 m. bases from 232,4 m to 230,4 m. The construction of the pyramid of Cheops took about 2,5 million blocks, many of which are missing due to its use as a quarry during the Arab conquest.
Inside the pyramid there are three chambers of different sizes and located at different heights:
1. "Tomb of the King" - 10,4x5,2x5,8 m - the largest chamber. 42,3 m above the base of the pyramid. It is also the only completed chamber lined with carefully polished and fitted granite slabs. A presumably granite sarcophagus was also found in this chamber.
2. "Tomb of the Queen" - 5,7x5,2x6,7 m - the smallest chamber is located exactly under the top, 20 m above the base. Has a vaulted ceiling.
3. A chamber with dimensions of 8x4x3,5 m is located 30 m under the base of the pyramid. Scientists have not come to a consensus about its purpose. Although the idea of using the rest of the chambers as tombs is highly controversial, there is no evidence that the pyramid was built specifically for this purpose.
Several narrow tunnels (shafts) go out from each chamber. You can get into the pyramid itself through the entrance located in the center of the northern face (each side of the pyramid is oriented to its own side of the world). This entrance was cut through by robbers in ancient times, now it is equipped for a convenient visit to the pyramid by tourists. Although initially, during construction, the entrance was at a height of about 15 m. Galleries lead from the entrance to all the chambers - this is another of the features of the Cheops pyramid.
Whatever the purpose of the architects who erected the Great Pyramid, it is the most imposing structure, striking the imagination even in our time of high technology.
Great Sphinx
Majestic Guardian of the Giza Plateau - Great Sphinx - mysteriously looks towards the desert, meeting the dawn. For many centuries, he guards the pyramids and the entire necropolis in the east - a huge lion with a human head. In this regard, the Sphinx has long been identified with the God of the sun.
The age of the Sphinx is equated to the age of the pyramids, but new research shows that it is much older. Be that as it may, classical Egyptology attributes the appearance of the Sphinx to the sculptors of Pharaoh Khafre (Khefren), and has a portrait resemblance to this king.
The Sphinx was carved from a monolithic limestone rock. Its dimensions are impressive: the length (from the front paws to the tip of the tail) is 72 m, the height is 20 m. During the conquest of Egypt by various peoples, the Sphinx was repeatedly vandalized, and now the statue is badly damaged, especially the face. Also, it was very often completely covered with sand, and only at the beginning of the 20th century was it possible to clear the statue. Now a fence has been built around the Sphinx to protect it from sand, and its reconstruction is underway.
Also in the 20th century, the ruins of the Sphinx temple were discovered and excavated, the entrance to which was located between the paws. Presumably the temple was dedicated to the Sun, and its 24 columns symbolize 24 hours in a day. The temple is divided into two symmetrical sanctuaries. Like the pyramids and the Sphinx itself, the temple was built from local limestone, but was lined with well-worked granite, and the floor was covered with alabaster. Under the floor of the temple, a statue of the pharaoh Khafre, seated on a throne, was found, now it is in the Cairo Museum.
Probably, the Great Sphinx complex causes the greatest number of mysteries: the real age of the building, who built it, for what purpose. Scientists around the world are looking for answers.
Whoever the builders of the Great Pyramids and the great Sphinx were, they are worthy of the greatest admiration, as are their buildings. There is no place on Earth more mysterious and giving rise to so many hypotheses, versions and conjectures, as well as myths and legends, than the Giza plateau. It deserves the highest attention of all mankind.
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