Cairo, Luxor and the Mysteries of Egypt

Egypt is absolutely unique; it is the only country to offer a monument that has survived, in our terms, from pre-history. The pyramids of Giza, overlooking their enigmatic sphinx have stood guard since ancient times. Eons before it became a modern wonder it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the only one to survive the ravages of time.

Mythology, mystery, monumental forces, ancient pharaohs who live on in the name of Ramses the Great and the boy king Tutankhamun, the enigmatic sphinx waiting to reveal her secret, no tale of Egypt is complete without them. For over millennium the Nile has coursed through Egypt influencing more than its geography and geology in its confluence.

It has irrigated and cut through the desert creating a series of oasis's that has made Egypt the country it is today. An ancient Arab proverb sums up the archaeological aspect of Egypt
" Insults should be written in sand, compliments should be carved in stone," another says
"Man fears Time, yet Time fears the Pyramids". What else can be said of monuments begun 4,500 years ago?

Today, the Great Pyramid, and two other large pyramids which house the tombs of Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura, together with the Sphinx and six smaller pyramids, temples, and other tombs are referred to as the Giza Plateau. Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura were grandfather, son, and grandson, whilst the other six pyramids are the burial place of their Queens. Within the complex each pyramid has its own mortuary and temple. There are also Mastabas or rectangular tombs dotted around the site, and it is supposed that they belonged to members of the family with a lesser rank than King and Queen.

The museum of the Sun boat flanks the South side, this beautiful wooden boat was discovered fifty years ago, at the base of the pyramid, buried in a pit. It has been lovingly restored as the vehicle believed to have been used to carry the body of Khufu to his resting place inside the pyramid. Little is known of Khufu the ruler for whom the Great Pyramid is built, but he must have been a man capable of coordinating a kingdom and utilizing a system that mobilized men to build the pyramids.

When the great pyramid was built its mathematical precision was extraordinary, it was 481 feet high, and the sloping angle of each side is precisely 51 degrees and 51 minutes. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at every level, and side measures 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between the side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%, and that has been measured with the benefit of modern instruments. It has been built so well that it not possible even today to fit a piece of card between the crevices of the interior walls. Few building today will measure up to those exacting mathematical standards.

To put the size into a visual concept is difficult, but the context of over 2 million building bricks each over two tons in weight may be meaningless. Hypothetically historians have suggested that if the pyramids were to be demolished the resultant blocks of stone could be used to construct a wall approaching the height of two men and a foot thick around the country of France.

The purpose of the pyramids has become one of life's great modern mysteries, but the fact remains that their purpose has been lost in the annals of time. Five hundred years before the birth of Christ the Greek historian, Herodotus visited the pyramids, and he surmised that over a 100,000 people were involved in their construction. Though we will never know modern scientists believe that 20,000 would be a truer estimate.

What is incredible that a work force of that size must have meant an enormous social structure? Where did those workers live, they would have needed houses, shops, cemeteries, they could not have commuted to work. One of the ideas about the construction of the pyramids was that they were constructed by slave labour.

Modern archaeologists now think that it was built by workers who were paid for their labour, probably in fiscal terms, but if not then they had a over riding belief in an after life. The discovery of a town where the artisans lived in 2003 has shown that many of them had their own hearth, and therefore lived in a family unit. Both facts as well as the precision of the buildings suggest that the labour was not carried out by slaves.

The finds that are still being discovered means that the ancient world is as relevant today as in the past. Modern discoveries may not be as exciting as Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, but they can shed a lot of light as to how people lived nearly five thousand years ago. There have been many theories as to the purpose of the pyramids but without straying into an esoteric argument as to whether God was an Astronaut, we will for the moment have to assume the simple truth that the pyramids were tombs for their Royal users to travel to an afterlife. The pyramids at Giza are not the oldest but they are the only ones left standing and it remains to be seen whether or not Sahara will ever yield the rest of her secrets?

The riddle of the sphinx refers to the enigma of whose cameo was used? The face of the Great Sphinx is believed to be that of Chephren, the pharaoh who built the second-largest pyramid in the Giza triad. It is carved out of natural limestone and it towers sixty-five feet high and is two hundred and forty feet in length.

These pyramids are across the River Nile from Cairo. The Giza Plateau extends to Memphis, Abusir and Saqqara, and most of the pyramids were built in this area. The Step Pyramid of Doser is located at Saqqara and the Red and Bent pyramids of Senefru are located at Abusir. All these latter pyramids are older than the Giza triad, but they have not weathered time as well. The bend pyramid was intended to be larger than the Giza pyramids, but the bedrock would not hold the weight. None of the pyramids have been built on sand they all have a bedrock base.

Memphis founded and named after Menes the first dynasty ruler was the capitol of the old kingdom for most of the times of the Pharaohs. Originally known as inbw-hdj, or "white walls, was thought to have been named after a fort near the modern town of Abusir, which is situated in the valley to the east of the Saqqara necropolis. As Memphis was built next to the riverbed, on low-lying land, the changing patters of the riverbed the rising water table, and time have all ravaged the city, and little of ancient times remain. Memphis exists today less that twenty miles South of Cairo, but in ancient times it was one of the most important cities of the ancient world, by the fifth Century BC it would have been a cosmopolitan city with a population from all over the Mediterranean basin.

Nothing remains from the old kingdom but the remains of the Temple of Ptah can be seen, though in nothing like their former glory, as in its time it was probably one of the major temples of Egypt. Few tombs are in this area as burial grounds were situated at the nearby necropolis at Saqqara, Dashur, Giza, Abusir, Abu Roash and Zawiyet el-Aryan, In fact we do not know why later dynasties chose to move the capitol to Thebes, but the city of Memphis retained its importance as a religious city.

Aswan offers a different world; the Nile here is at its most picturesque. There are many islands and the traditional Arab feluccas can be seen gliding along the water in front of the backdrop of date palms. Feluccas have navigated the waters of the Nile for Centuries and as they only have sails the rate of progression can be brisk or very slow depending on the wind.

The temples at Abu Simbel are a visual reminder to most as to how they perceive Egypt to be. During the construction of the Aswan dam in the 1960's these massive temples were moved 200 feet higher and 600 feet West. Unesco assisted Egypt in the dismantling of the temple and the cliff rock out of which it was carved and the relocation to higher ground across Lake Nasser. Thus ensuring future management of the mighty Nile and a permanent resting place for Ramesses, in exactly the same relation to the sun as they had been carved.
The two temples are that of Ramesses II primarily dedicated to Re-Harakhte, and that of his wife, Nefertari dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty.

Another archaeological monuments are two statues of Amenhotep III at Thebes, the ancient capital know known as Luxor, or more correctly El-Aksur, it is also known as the City of the Palaces. Modern Luxor actually comprises of three sites, the city of Luxor which is on the East banks of the Nile, the town of Karnak, just North of Luxor and Thebes, and the region which ancient Egyptians named Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from the city of Luxor.

A Nile cruise without visiting Luxor is inconceivable the area was a major tourist attraction in Roman times! On the East Bank, is the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III, and is regarded as one of the most buildings in Thebes. The temple was known to the Egyptians as Apet Amunresyet, or the "Southern Harem of Amun", dedicated to Amun, his consort Mut and their son the moon god Khons. In common with the design of most temples it has a chapel for the deities, with vestibules and a subsidiary chambers, a large hall and an open court, which was approached from the north by an enormous colonnade.

Amenhotep III built his mortuary temple here in Luxor, but all that has survived are his seventy-five foot statues, one with his wife and a daughter and the other with his mother. Adorning the sides of the statues is a relief showing the Nile Gods twining two plants, which symbolizes the fusion of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. They are known historically as the statues of Memnon, son of Eos and Tithonus, who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War, because the Greek visitors three thousand years ago mistook them for Memnon the statues are known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat

The Temples of Karnak are a huge complex of temples, the construction was begun in the Middle kingdom, but for the next two millennium, until the Roman era, they would be embellished enlarged demolished, and restored in a demonic cycle of creation and destruction. It is a sort of an expo Theme park depicting all aspects of Egyptian religion and beliefs. Whether you view the complete complex or just the Hypostile Hall in the Great Temple of Amun this is one of the jewels in the Egyptian antiquarie's crown.

It was the largest temple complex in history, housing at least thirteen temples, named in ancient times the most hallowed of places. The temple of Amon dominates the complex and because of its size it is often erroneously referred to as the temple of Karnak. The complete complex is 1500 x 800 meters, if you cannot summon the energy to explore all of it then don't miss the Hypostile Hall in the Great Temple of Amun.