Giza – I Was Just Sphinxing About You

July 9, 2023 by admin

Located on the west bank of the Nile River, the city of Giza is best known for its world famous necropolis complex, considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and one of the most monumental structures ever put into being. It is also in some ways the first tourist site being commented on by foreigners as far back as Herodotus on his famous 7 Wonder of the Ancient World List and the Roman Pliny the Elder on the possible methods of its construction. The oldest of these wonders, it monumental scale is such that it is talked about glowingly to this day.

This post should be read in conjunction with that of nearby Cairo.

The Great Pyramid of Giza rising above the ticket office!

Geography
Exploring Giza
Accommodations
Exploring the Necropolis
Conclusion

Geography

The location of this necropolis, the Giza Plateau is a rocky desert mound. The dusty lands, rises above the Nile in the western part of the city, where the lush arable Nile plain turns to desert dust. The once important funerary complex of the pharaohs was located near the capital of Lower Egypt, the great city of Memphis, now gobbled up by the Islamic creation of Cairo, once called Fustat.

The site was built close enough to the Nile so that stone, such as the granite used to clad Menkaure pyramid among the general purpose limestone had to be shipped from quarries such as those of the southern city of Aswan by barge.

The Great Pyramyd and the Mastaba Della Regina.

Exploring Giza

Heading out from Cairo we spilled out onto the busy streets, all kinds of traffic jutting in an out fighting for every inch of asphalt roadway. With a metropolitan area of over 20 million people it is no surprise that things were a little crazy. As you can imagine it was a hectic drive through Giza!

Something that I found funny on the drive in was this “Let sleeping dogs lie” moment below with a mutt sleeping on a car!

The city of Giza like Cairo is spread out in every direction, sprawling and growing ever bigger. As we approached I could see the pyramids pairing over out of cheaply built apartments. Giza is a modern city and there is little to see. For history lover check out the main hall of Cairo University, completed in 1908 it is one of the few heritage buildings in this part of the city.

It is weird to think of the pyramids as “urban” but today they are. At their base are a series of well located and affordable hotels with rooftop terraces that can be worth staying for the evening sound and light show of departing from the Spinx airport (Yes! it is even located by Cairo’s second airport!).

The previously mentioned sound and light show happens at the Sphinx and was featured in such movies as the James Bond flick “The Spy Who Loved Me”.

A Quick Note: At the time of my visit a New Egyptian Museum was under construction in Giza near the Pyramids. I cannot give a review of it as I have visited to old museum in Cairo but I want to let you that it exists!

Accommodations

There are a variety of Budget hotels with terrace views of the Pyramids in Giza, stone’s throw . These are perfect if you wish to walk over to the light show in the evening. If you wish to splurge try the Mena House, a historic hotel opened in 1886 with views of the Pyramids. It was constructed in 1869 as a hunting lodge for the Khedive (Sultan) of Egypt Isma’il Pasha, later being sold as a hotel due to the kingdom’s financial difficulties. The building holds the distinction of hosting Egypt’s first swimming pool (1890) and has welcomed luminaries such as Prince Albert Victor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, King George V, Queen Mary, Winston Churchill, King Farouk, Richard Nixon, Agatha Christie, Roger Moore (while filming The Spy Who Loved Me), Cecil B. DeMille, Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra, David Lean, Evelyn Waugh and Charlie Chaplin.

Exploring the Necropolis

At the ticket office you can get a pass to visit just the site or an admission for the site plus a pass to enter the inside of the great pyramid! You can also purchase passes to visit the Giza Solar Boat Museum (recommended!).

The complex of Giza includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Pyramid of Menkaure, their respective subsidiary pyramids, the sphinx and a workers village. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. This period is considered the “Golden Age” of the old kingdom but also a period of great despotism on behalf of the Pharoes of Egypt. These pyramids are considered to be the largest in Egypt and symbol the power of the Old Kingdom run from Memphis.The power center of Egypt shifted to Thebes (Luxor) in Upper Egypt during the new kingdom and the Valley of the Kings would become the preferred funerary site.

The Great Pyramid of Giza (Khufu, Cheops)

You will start your visit at the Great Pyramid, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Word, it is obviously the largest in the complex. This structure also goes by the name of the Pyramid of Khufu. Although the pyramids consists of blocks that could’ve been designed by a kid in Minecraft it is thought that at the time of its construction that the outside was clad in a smooth stone with the possibility of a golden tip. It was originally 146.6 meters (481.0 ft) tall, but with the pillaging and erosion of its outer casing its present height is 137 meters (449.5 ft).

This pyramid dates from the reign of the pharaoh Khufu (or the Hellenized Cheops) and was completed around the year 2560 BC (Yes! that long ago!). Although he reigned for a long period of years, little is known about him but for the fact that later scribes have ascribed some information pertaining to him for his bad character. You can climb its side for a picture as well as for a view of the City of Giza at the base of the plateau. Climb up to the entrance of the necropolis so that you may enter the emperor’s tomb!

The inside of the pyramid is cramped, dark but with surprisingly high ceilings cut into the rock. Don’t come in if you are claustrophobic. The corridor calls for a long and arduous climb to the top.

The inner tomb is a rather spacious but square room cut into the rock. At its enter is the rock tomb. Don’t expect to find any treasure here! grave robbers pillaged the pyramids long before westerners ever got a chance. Thus it came to be that the sarcophagus itself was smashed. In fact it is these roberies, due to the non-conspicuous nature of the pyramids, that led to a more secretive burial in the Valley of the Kings.

Giza West Cemetery (Mastaba of Heminu & Other Tombs)

Mastaba is a word used to describe a flat mud brick tomb. Just west of the Great pyramids where an asphalt road weaves it way into the complex you will find the Mastaba of Hemiunu, thus the tomb of the architect of the Great pyramid of Giza. Like his master, the architect also has his grave robbed and his statue smashed for its gold details. He was also the Vizier, the highest official in ancient Egypt. This whole area is littered with tombs so have fun exploring!

As a sidenote I’m pretty sure bond from the Spy Who Loved Me fought Jaws played by Richard Kiel after he killed the former’s contact in one of these tombs (on second thought it may be on the east side closer to the Sphinx itself)!

Giza East Cemetary, Sub-Pyramyd of Hetaphres, Pyramid G1-c and the Kufu Ship

Just east of the Great Pyramid you will find an iconic collection of three sub-pyramids belonging to an unknown occupant and two Egyptian queens Queen Henutsen (Pyramid G1-c) and Hetepheres.

This site is also also home to a massive cemetery called the Eastern Field where you will find similar tombs to the mastaba’s on the western side.

They seem to again date from the Fourth Dynasty but much has been speculated at the used of these substructures.

The real gem of this section is the the Solar Boat complex, housing the reconstructed Khufu solar ship.

The Solar Ship was sound on the south side of the Great Pyramid buried in a limestone rock pit discovered by Egyptian Civil Engineer Mohamed Zaky Nour, a man charged with cleaning the great pyramid.

The dismantled boat was then rearranged and is housed in a climate controlled facility

Quite frankly this is ancient wood and it is a wonder that it is still intact and in the pristine condition it is in!

The Pyramid of Khafre

The second largest pyramid on the site, it is known for its distinctive smooth outer casing that still adorns its top and allows you to see what the structure could have looked like it its glory days. The sphinx is part of this mortuary complex but I have gone ahead and given it its own section at the end of this post. It was completed in 2570 BC.

Khafre was Khufu’s son. Like his father his is described as despotic. Herodotus gathering sources 2,000 years after his life describes him as a cruel ruler who kept the Egyptian temples closed after Khufu had sealed them.

On the south side of the complex Funerary Temple of Khafre as well as the above mentioned Sphinx.

Pyramid of Menkaure, the Queen Pyramids and the Panorama

The smallest of the pyramids and the one located in the most isolated part of the necropolis. It was also the last one built, completed in 2510 BC for Pharaoh Menkaure. Again little is known of this man. You will see that at the Base of pyramid, adjacent to the northern entrance, that the bottom courses of granite are unfinished, probably due to the death of the pharaoh. Off to the side you will find three smaller pyramids attributed to queens of Egypt.

Strangely the pyramid has a large hole on its northern face. In AD 1196, Al-Aziz Uthman, Saladin’s son and the Sultan of Egypt tried unsuccessfully to demolish the pyramids, starting at that of Menkaure. Not a brilliant man by any stretch of the imagination he nevertheless got some poor bastard had to try for eight months. Some tones were thrown down but then they struggled to get these out of the sand do to the sinking. Honestly an episode best forgotten about!

Many people try to circumvent the the desert for a view of the full complex unencumbered by the modern city. This has gotten harder and harder as new settlements such as the 6th of October City continue to wrap around! For the best view you have to move north east though the desert of the plateau. To this task many locals will try to offer you camel rides, I refused as you will see them working the poor animals to death. Desert ridden and malnourished most of these camels have had a poor life and will soon be terminated and turned into meat. Despite this, I will not lecture you on what to do any further, it can be a fun experience to ride and I know a friend that got a great Instagram shot from this but if you are heading to Jordan in the near future I would hold off for Wadi Rum where they treat the animals a lot better.

Note: There are many scams involving camel rides. Negotiate a price first. If someone offers you a “free” ride on a camel, they aren’t lying but it is hard to get down from and they will charge you to help you get off the beast, least you be stranded!

The further north-est you go the better and more unobstructed the view is. Here is a comparison from the first lookout to the further extent near the cafe.

The Tomb of Queen Kentkawes, the Valley of the Temple and the Great Sphinx of Giza

*Note this should really be a subsection of Khafre’s Pyramid but the Sphinx is so iconic that I believe it deserves it own section.

While walking towards your last stop, the famous Sphinx of Giza from the east, where the chairs for the Sound and light show are set up, you will see a cluster of reined structures to the left of the Sphinx the largest of which is the Tomb of Queen Khentkawes. She was the wife of pharaoh Neferefre but little remains how her funerary complex but for the stone foundation. The site was cleared by Egyptian archaeologist Selim Hassan starting in 1932. You will also find the Temple Valley of Menkaure leading to the pyramid of the same name. The South-Eastern site of Khentkawes is surrounded with what seems to be an ancient workers village, one of the first signs of town planning in the world.

The road past the Sphinx leads to Khafre pyramid and the Kafre funeral complex. This makes sense as the Sphinx was placed to guard the Pharaohs tomb.

In front of the Sphinx itself you will find a temple with 16 granite pillars called the Valley Temple of Khafre. It once housed many statues of the king!

There was once a time where the iconic guardian cat was buried under a mound of sand. Interestingly enough the missing nose and beard is ascribed to an act of iconoclasm where it was defaced by a sufi Muslims angered that the peasants were leaving offerings to the great beast in the hopes of increasing their harvests. It is told that the increased the Giza plateau that covered the Sphinx was the revenge of the cat. Others ascribe the Alexandrian Crusade as a revenge of the Sphinx. It was rediscovered by It was rediscovered in 1818 by Giovanni Battista Caviglia when he cleared the area around the Sphinx of sand.

One of my favourite stories about the Sphinx, also involves it being covered with sand. The story comes from the Dream Stele, an epigraph held between the paws of the cat. It tells the story of a young man Thutmose IV who falls asleep under the sphinx, almost entirely covered in sand. The cat speaks to him and tells him that if he liberates him from the sand he will make him king.

I have attached an expert from the Stele below:

One of those days it came to pass that the King’s Son Thothmes came, coursing at the time of mid-day, and he rested in the shadow of this Great God. Sleep seized him at the hour when the sun was in its zenith, and he found the Majesty of this Revered God speaking with his own mouth, as a father speaks with his son, saying: ‘Behold thou me, my son, Thothmes. I am thy father, Hor-em-akhet-Kheperi-Ra-Atum; I will give to thee my Kingdom upon earth at the head of the living. Thou shalt wear the White Crown and the Red Crown upon the Throne of Geb, the Hereditary Prince. The land shall be thine, in its length and in its breath, that which the eye of the All-Lord shines upon. The food of the Two Lands shall be thine, the great tribute of all countries, the duration of a long period of years. My face is directed to you, my heart is to you; Thou shalt be to me the protector of my affairs, because I am ailing in all my limbs. The sands of the Sanctuary, upon which I am, have reached me; turn to me in order to do what I desire. I know that thou art my son, my protector; behold; I am with thee, I am thy leader.’
The Dream Stele

Continue past the Sphinx towards the pyramids to see the remains of the Funerary Temple of Khafre.

Conclusion

A visit to the Giza Plateau is a must for any traveller in Egypt, steeped in history it is a wonder to behold. Beyond the pyramids Giza holds of variety of museums as well as evening attractions such as the sound and light show at the pyramids. I’m sure you can find enough to occupy yourself with!