Egypt & The Nile River
Spring 2007
From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you.
***
Napoleon Bonaparte to his soldiers before the Battle of Giza, 1798
The Nile, forever new and old,
Among the living and the dead,
Its mighty, mystic stream has rolled.
***
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Once again I was off with my amigas buenas, Heidi and
One day, much too soon, the end will come to each of our precious, brief lifetimes; knowing this, live fearlessly; leave unchallenged not a single obstacle between yourself and the realization of your most precious dreams.
Many thanks to our guide, Heba, who
helped make this a spectacular trip. Her
knowledge is unfathomable. She made
sure we not only saw the obvious - but
immersed us in the everyday lives and culture
of the Egyptians.
the Great Pyramids of Giza
Cairo, Egypt.
The Giza Pyramids could be the most famous ancient
monuments in the world. I certainly dreamed of them
as a child. The largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Khofu (Cheops) and was the first to be built (2500 B.C.) and is the largest. 480 feet tall, it contains 6.8 million tons of limestone. Three smaller pyramids around the base were constructed for Khufu's queens.
The second largest belonged to Khufu's son, Khafre (Chephren). The smallest is the Pyramid of Menkaure (Mykerinos) at 203 feet.
A long, cramped trek into Khufu's pyramid was great - a step back in time; not for the claustrophobic.
View from my hotel in Cairo
Hotel Mena Oberoi
Five large boat pits sit at the base of Khufu's pyramid. Two of them contained preserved remains of royal barges. One has been removed from its pit and reconstructed and placed in the Solar Barque Museum located right next to the pyramid. The 144 foot boat had been carefully buried in 1,224 pieces. It was discovered in 1954 by Kamal Mallak.
the Sphinx
The Sphinx
The body of a lion and head of a king or god (241 feet long, 65 feet high) make up the mysterious Sphinx. Much speculation abounds regarding its age. Originally thought to be built by the 4th Dynasty Pharaoh Kahfre around 2500 B.C. (one of the sons of Khofu/Cheops), today geologists studying the rock of the body (believed to be affected by water erosion) date the building of the Sphinx thousands of years before 2500 B.C.
evening light show at Giza
Heidi, Robin & Sharrie
click below to travel through Egypt...
my traveling friends: Heidi, Sharrie,
Jeannie, Robert & Michael
 | ||||
Good Read:
River in the Desert
Paul William Roberts
Concerning Egypt I will now speak at length, because nowhere are there so many marvelous things, not in the whole world beside are there to be seen so many things of unspeakable greatness. Herodorus
There is something curious about them, these famous pyramids, the more one looks at them,the bigger they become.
Gustave Falubert 1849
For it is no easy task to realise, however imperfectly, the duration of six or seven thousand years; and the Great Pyramid, which is supposed to have been some four thousand two hundred and odd years old at the time of the birth of Christ, is now in its seventh millennary... It was as if one had been snatched up for an instant to some vast height overlooking the plains of Time, and had seen the centuries mapped out beneath one's feet.
Amelia B. Edwards, 1877
Heidi, Sharrie, Jeannie, Michael, Robert and I had a grand adventure in Egypt. It will be hard to top this trip. Thanks again to Michael who rescued me (literally) from a mean guard in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
