Description: I don’t think anything really prepares you for that first glimpse of the Pyramids at Giza. Mine was through an airplane window as we banked towards Cairo. I’m surprised that the plane didn’t tilt off its axis with everyone rushing to one side to see them. On our second visit we stayed at the Mena House Hotel where not only are you close to them physically but you also seem to feel their proximity emotionally. Particularly so at night when, though unlit, you are aware of their immutable presence out in the dark. To say that the three Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus are impressive is rather an understatement. They are awe-inspiring. Not only because of their size and of how and why they were built (and all the different theories attendant on those two points) but also because of their age. They have stood as mute witness to thousands of years of changing history and they represent a bond, a connection through those years linking us with the past. Perhaps it’s also their age that makes them so mysterious, they look like they should hold secrets. Maybe that’s one reason why they hold such a fascination for people and have led to so many near, far and furthest fetched ideas as to how and who built them. The Great Pyramid now stands 137.5m high with a triangle of metal at the top to represent the final 9m of height which have been lost over the years from its original height of 146.5m. The second pyramid, built by Chephren, is 136.4m high but, because it stands on slightly higher ground, can give the impression of being taller than the Great Pyramid. The top of Chephren’s pyramid retains some of the original white limestone cladding that once covered all three. With the sunlight flashing off the limestone the three pyramids must have looked extraordinary, like lazar cut diamonds. The last and smallest of the pyramids is that of Mycerinus which stands 62m (originally 66.4m). The stones from which the Great Pyramid are built are huge, the size of small trucks, weighing an average of 2.5 tones each. The feat of engineering it took to move, lift and place such blocks is astounding. As is the resolve to build such a structure and the manpower it took to do so. The pyramids are not only monuments to the Pharaoh’s who envisaged them but also the architects, masons and laborers who built them. Take your time (if you can) when looking at the pyramids, view them from far away and close up, walk round them, touch them and feel their attraction. Also you can, depending on which is open, go inside them although if you are in anyway claustrophobic, don’t! There are problems with visiting the Giza plateau which I have written about in another entry "Pyramids of Giza: Be Prepared", however, don’t let anything dissuade you from going. They really are Wonders of the World.
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