Perfect Pyramids!

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We were so excited to continue our hunt to see as many Wonders of the World as we could. So far, we have seen 5 of the man made wonders of the world: the Colosseum in Italy, Petra in Jordan, The Taj Mahal in India, The Great Wall of China, and Machu Piccu in Peru.  Finally, we were able to visit the only remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, the Pyramids!

Our next wonder of the world

Anybody who has seen the pyramids in person knows that no picture can show how magnificent these structures are.  Some of the rocks used to build them are as tall as I am!

The stones were the same height as me!


We visited the six most famous pyramids in Egypt.  The most well-known is the Great Pyramid of Giza along with the two other giant pyramids beside it.  The three giant pyramids are tombs for three pharaohs, the father Khufu, his son Khafre, and his grandson Menkaure.


The largest pyramid belonged to Khufu. Tradition dictated that Khafre and Menkaure honor their fathers by building their own pyramids slightly smaller.

One interesting thing we learned was that Khafre built his pyramid on higher ground than his father’s to make his own pyramid look bigger, but still be respectful. They were all built sometime between 2550 and 2490 B.C., around 4,500 years ago.

The ancient Egyptian pharaohs built their pyramids as tombs for themselves to contain all of the things they would need in the afterlife such as jewelry, pottery, furniture, and other valuables.

This reminded me of the Terracotta Warriors found in China because Emperor Qin created a whole army of clay warrior statues for him to take to the afterlife so that he would be protected.


What many people don’t know is that there are also three smaller pyramids located around the base of the three main ones.  The three smaller pyramids were built for Khufu’s wives.

Look to see the three smaller pyramids on the right

Nobody really knows how the pyramids were built, but we learned a couple theories.

The first theory is the ancient Egyptians could have built a giant ramp to haul the stones up so they could build the pyramid one level at a time. (This ramp is similar to the ramp the Romans built to attack Masada). The problem with this theory is the ramps would have to be several kilometers long so the stones could be easily moved along.

The second theory is that they built the pyramids using a spiral ramp going around the pyramid as they were building.

I don’t know which theory is true, but let me know what you think in the comments and share any other theories you may have heard.

It is also likely that the pyramids were not built by slaves as most people think, since the work is so precise, it was more likely built by educated laborers and engineers.  This is similar to the building of the Acropolis in Greece.

There also used to be a limestone casing on all three pyramids, but most of it has fallen off from past earthquakes.  Now there is barely any evidence that the limestone was even there.  The limestone which fell from the pyramids was then used by local people to build their homes and other buildings nearby.


Inside the Pyramid


We also had the opportunity to go inside the largest pyramid.  There are four sections inside leading up to the burial chamber which held the sarcophagus: the first section was cave-like and rocky, and was easy to go through.

The cave-like section


The second section was the most difficult part to go through for all of us. It was a ramp we had to climb up, but it was such a narrow space, we couldn’t stretch our arms out, and the ceilings were so short, even I had to crouch down in order to climb up.

Mikhaila crouching to get through the second section of the pyramid


The third section was the same kind of ramp, but it was less narrow, and the ceilings were nice and high, so we felt less trapped.

The third section

The last section we had to go through was the crawl space, where it was so narrow and the ceilings were so low that we had to crawl for about 5 meters.  Can you imagine how my 6′ 4” dad must have felt?!

Finally we arrived at the burial chamber, which was incredible to see.  All of the stones were carefully shaped to fit together like a puzzle. We could only spend a couple minutes inside the room, as it was extremely hot inside and more people were coming in.


It turned out there was only one exit from the pyramid, and it was the same way we came in. The narrow ramps and crawl space that were already small seemed to become even smaller when people were trying to go up to the burial chamber while we were trying to go down at the same time. In the end we exited the pyramid with another Wonder of the World to check off the list, and a great story to tell.  What an amazing experience we had!


The pyramids reminded me very much of Machu Piccu in Peru because both structures had giant, heavy stones fitted perfectly together to create a great building without the use of modern technologies.

The Sphinx


Next, we visited the Sphinx which, for those of you who don’t know, it’s a giant statue of a lion with the head of an Egyptian Pharaoh.  The Sphinx was built as the guardian of the pyramids.

The Sphinx

The Sphinx is one of the most impressive and largest statues in Egypt.  It was carved out of a single piece of limestone and there is evidence that it was painted, but the colour has worn away.  Nobody knows for sure who built the Sphinx, but many people believe it was built for Khafre (who was buried in the second of the three pyramids).

Posing with the Pyramids and the Sphinx
A profile view of the Sphinx

We also found out why the Sphinx is missing its nose:

Mikhaila is the reason the sphinx is missing its nose!

The Pyramids and the Sphinx were incredible to see and we are so lucky we got the chance to visit these ancient works of art. One more wonder checked off the list!


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Comments

16 responses to “Perfect Pyramids!”

  1. Ravi Puliani Avatar
    Ravi Puliani

    Hi all, it seems, I have also visited the Pyramids and the Sphinx with you all. The narration by Zoe was simply perfect and very well illustrated. I have also learnt why the Spinx does not have a nose.
    Eqypt is on our list too, let’s see when we can do it.
    Mikhaila and Zoe, how does it feel to be on a short 10 days vacation after a whopping 400 days World Tour?

    1. Hi!

      I am so glad you enjoyed this post!

      It felt very different to go on such a short trip compared to our World Tour. At the end of the 10 days, we were sad to leave Egypt because we knew that we were just retuning home, and not going to visit another country.

      Zoe

  2. Ingrid Stevens Avatar
    Ingrid Stevens

    What a great report about an amazing adventure. Always nice to read your stories !
    Happy New Year ! And remember, always welcome in Loenhout to visit more of Belgium 🙂
    Friendly greetings,
    Ingrid

    1. Hi!

      Happy New Year! I am so glad you like reading about our adventures! There are more to come. 🙂

  3. What an awesome experience you’re all having!

    As for how the great pyramids were built, there’s a third theory you forgot to mention. Extraterrestrial beings! Seems quite plausible given the sheer magnitude and precision. 🙂

    Safe travels!

    1. Hi!

      Thats very true! The pyramids could have been built by aliens, we never really know because none of us were there! 🙂

  4. Hi, Zoe and dear family, what a great report! Opa and I enjoyed it very much and of course the photos are super and made the report complete. It is an amazing trip and I can understand how exciting it would be to see it all. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy the last few days and have a great trip home – you will be in for quite a surprise weather wise. Love and hugs from Oma and Opa☺️

    1. Hi!

      Im so glad you enjoyed this post! Coming back home was definitely a shock! In Egypt it was between 18 and 22 degrees, but when we returned home, it was -23!

  5. Hi Zoe.
    WOW! Well Done! This was an excellent blog! I felt that I was in the Pyramids with you. I did find the crawling difficult so I decided to sit that one out! Have more fun and learning for the rest of the trip! Give our love to everyone! Love, Baba and Papou

    1. Hi!

      So happy you enjoyed the post! The crawling was very difficult because of the small spaces, but we are all glad we did it! 🙂

  6. Annie Slater Avatar
    Annie Slater

    Amazing experience and thank you for such an informative post! I would love to visit the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx one day, but I don’t know if I would be able to do those narrow tunnels to get inside!
    Safe travels!
    Annie

    1. Hi!

      If you get the chance to visit them, I would highly recommend it! My mom also struggles with small spaces, but in the end she was glad she did it. 🙂

  7. LOL @ that picture of Mikhaila 😉
    Lots of great info in this post 🙂 An informative read!

    1. Hi!

      Yes, I love that picture of Mikhaila too! 🙂

  8. Great report Zoe. I felt like I was right there with you. What an awesome experience!

    1. Hi!

      It was an awesome experience! Thank you for commenting! 🙂

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