Giza Pyramids

The Great Pyramid (or the pyramid of Cheops), the largest of the three Giza pyramids, was completed in 2600 B.C. The pyramid was built by King Khufu and it clearly represented the culmination of the efforts of the ancient Egyptians. This, in many respects, is due to the perfection of its architecture, and planning.

It is quite astonishing that we do not know a lot about Khufu, who ordered building that pyramid to be the eternal settlement for his body. The Great Pyramid once stood at 146m but is now 137m tall. The length of each side of its square base was originally 230m, but now it has become 227m as a result of the erosion of many surface stones. Estimations concluded that it took about 100,000 men to build this pyramid using approximately 2.5 million stone blocks each weighing from 2.5 to 15 tons.

The three sides of the pyramid used to be smooth and made of polished stone. Now, as a result of weather erosion, this smooth surface no longer exists. Instead, the surface now appears to have a rough texture.

The original entrance of the pyramid (not used nowadays) is in the middle of the northern side, about 20m above the ground. The present entrance lies below and to the west of the original one. This entrance leads to different passages and corridors leading to the main room which is called “The King's Room". The ceiling and the floor of this room (which is 5.2mx10.8m) are made of red granite. It has a straight ceiling made up of 9 huge blocks, each weighing nearly 50 tons. Furthermore, in the western part of the room, we can find a huge granite coffin without a lid and void of inscriptions.

Although originally a few meters shorter than the great pyramid, Cephren's pyramid appears greater than that of Cheops primarily because it stands on higher ground. This pyramid was built by Khafraa, King Khufu's son.

The smooth stone finish that encased this pyramid remains intact only towards its peak but has otherwise completely eroded. This top part gives the viewer an idea of how the pyramids looked before erosion. While its inclination angle is about 53 degrees, its original height is 143.5m and the length of each of its four sides is 215.5m.

In its northern facade there are two entrances; one is 11m above the ground, while the other is cut out in the rocks at the ground level. Both these entrances lead to a room called "the burial room". In the western side of this room one may find the king's coffin, which is made quite skilfully of polished granite. The length of that coffin is 2.6m, its width is 1.5m and its height is nearly one meter.

The three Giza pyramids and the Sphinx are Egypt's number one tourist attraction.