Pyramid Day!

The Pyramids at Giza were spectacular! That said, the experience of visiting the pyramids was quite different than most of us expected. It is a myth that the pyramids are in the middle of the dessert. Sure, in all of the photos you've ever seen the Sahara "looks" like it is surrounding the pyramids, but I assure you, it's not. The urban sprawl of Cairo and the suburb of Giza reach all the way to the pyramids now. I am hopeful that the building will stop and the city won't soon encircle the pyramids.

As you can see from the photos above and below, the Great Pyramid of Giza (aka Pyramid of Khufu) is built from limestone blocks, about 2.3 million of them! The pyramid use to be covered by a highly polished white limestone but most of that is gone now. This pyramid is the oldest and largest of the pyramids at Giza and it is the only wonder of the ancient world still left largely intact.

In the photo below, the Great Pyramid is actually at the far left. The second pyramid is that of Khufu's son, Khafre and it looks taller because it was built on higher ground. The third pyramid from the left is Menkaure’s pyramid and we actually went inside of that one!

Everybody loves camels! Consider this a preview of what's to come...