Pyramid of Cheops - wonder of the world from Giza (Egypt). The Great Pyramids of Giza (Egyptian Pyramids) and the Great Sphinx - the heritage of the Old Kingdom Pyramids of Giza opening hours and cost of visiting

Pyramids of Giza are among the oldest tourist attractions of our planet and symbols of the ancient Egyptian civilization. The largest of them is the Great Pyramid, which consists of 2.3 million stone blocks.

Until now, no one knows for sure how the multi-ton blocks were installed in their places, but it is known that it was the tallest building in the world for more than 3800 years, until the Lincoln Cathedral was built (1300).

Also, the Great Pyramid is the only surviving seven wonders of the world of the ancient world. It is considered the most massive structure built in the history of mankind.

great pyramid

The largest of all the pyramids of ancient Egypt is the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. In Greek Khufu is translated as Cheops. He was the pharaoh of the 4th dynasty and reigned for 23 years, from 2589 to 2566 BC. e. The Great Pyramid impresses with its size and mathematical precision, and personifies the apogee of the construction of the famous monuments of Ancient Egypt.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is made up of 2.3 million stone blocks. The average weight of one block is 2.5 tons, and the maximum is 15 tons. Each block fit so tightly together that the entire monument was built without the use of any mortar. If we divide the construction time (20 years) by the number of blocks (2.3 million), we can conclude that a new block was installed every five minutes.

When completed, the Great Pyramid of Giza looked very different than it does today. On the entire surface of the structure there were white polished slabs, which are no longer there today. At the top stood a pyramidal stone, which is also no longer there. Having lost the lining and stone, the height of the pyramid became 138.75 meters (it was 146.5), and the length at the base was reduced to 225 meters (it was 230.33).

In order to get to the center of Khufu's pyramid, you need to go through a poorly lit narrow corridor. Halfway through, you will enter a gallery 8.5 m high and 47 m long. The gallery leads to the tomb of the pharaoh, in which only the Cheops sarcophagus remains. The walls in the tomb are made of red granite, and the pharaoh's chamber was isolated from thieves with the help of shifted granite blocks. But, nevertheless, this did not save her from looting.

Near the pyramid of Khufu, archaeologists discovered two underground vaults in which solar boats were stored. According to legend, after death, the pharaoh on this solar boat should go on a journey along the heavenly Nile together with the sun god Ra. Archaeologists have discovered one solar boat, which consisted of 1224 separate parts. It took 14 years to reconstruct it, and now it stands in the Solar Boat Museum near the Great Pyramid itself. The size of the boat is impressive: 43 meters long and 6 meters wide.

Pyramid of Khafre at Giza

Khafre was the son of Khufu and ruled for 27 years, from 2558 to 2532 BC. Khafre tried to make his burial complex more majestic than that of his father. And to some extent it succeeded. Despite the fact that his pyramid is shorter by 3 meters and 15% smaller in volume, due to the fact that it is built on a high embankment, it looks significantly higher than that of his father.

But inside the Khafre pyramid is much simpler. Inside, two entrances are connected: one goes a little higher, and the other goes down below the base of the pyramid. A long corridor leads directly to the burial chamber, where there is nothing else besides a black granite sarcophagus. The lower passage leads to another chamber, which may have been intended for the queen.

Not far from the Pyramid of Khafre are two sanctuaries: the Welcome Temple and the Mortuary Temple.

Between themselves they are connected by a laid embankment about 500 meters long. Both sanctuaries are built from megalithic blocks covered with red granite. The meeting temple was preserved in good condition, and only ruins remained from the Mortuary.

Pyramid of Menkaure at Giza

The rest of the pyramids of Giza are already much smaller. For example, the pyramid of Menkaure is 10 times smaller than the Khafre monument. For its construction, high-quality granite and stone were used. This distinguishes it from other pyramids, which were built from low quality limestone. At the end of the 12th century, Sultan Osman ibn Yusuf was convinced of the strength of the walls of this pyramid, who tried to destroy the structure for 8 months, but eventually retreated.

Inside the pyramid of Menkaur, it’s rather uninteresting: if traces of decoration are still visible in the first chamber, then only stone walls further down. There is no sarcophagus in the burial chamber of Menkaure. It sank along with the Beatrice, which was carrying it, in 1838 on its way to England.

After the death of Pharaoh Menkaur, the construction of the pyramids continued, but on a smaller scale, and the center of construction moved from Giza to Abusir and Saqqara.

The Great Sphinx is depicted with the body of a lion and the head of a man. With a length of 73.5 m, a width of 6 m and a height of 20.2 m, it is the largest monolithic statue in the world.

The Sphinx is the most interesting monument of ancient Egyptian civilization. First of all, because no one can say what was the purpose of building such a huge sculpture. The most likely theory is that the Sphinx served as a defense for the two great pyramids of Cheops and Khafre.

Over time, the pharaohs began to view the Sphinx as the holder of royal power, so the rulers of ancient Egypt constantly presented him with donations. It all started with Prince Thutmose IV, who dreamed that he would become a pharaoh if he cleared the Sphinx of sand. When this happened, he built a stele in front of the Sphinx for donations.

Over the past few thousand years, the Sphinx has been covered in sand several times. In 1905, the statue was finally cleared of sand. To date, the monument is in need of constant repair. The sandstone from which the Sphinx is carved is quite soft and is destroyed by time. Plus, it's rotting from the inside, in all likelihood due to the rising water table. There is a popular theory that the nose of the Sphinx was beaten off by Napoleon's soldiers, but it is not true: it was lost long before the birth of the famous commander.

Looting the pyramids

Even at the design stage, Egyptian architects tried to protect the pyramids of Giza from thieves. To do this, the passages were blocked by large granite blocks, and false entrances and chambers were also created. But, the robbers turned out to be smarter and all the tombs were looted.

Pyramids of Giza: useful information

Almost every hotel in the city of Giza has the opportunity to purchase tickets for tours to the pyramids.
To buy tickets near the pyramids, there are two ticket offices: one next to the main entrance, and the second near the Sphinx.
In order to enter the pyramids, you will need an additional ticket. Also, the number of visits inside the pyramids of Khafre and Cheops is limited to 300 tickets: 150 of them at 8:30 in the morning and 150 after 13:00.
Inside the pyramids it is very humid and hot, the corridors are dusty, and it is not easy to move. Therefore, for those who have problems with the lungs or heart, it is not advisable to enter. Well, for those who are not afraid of such conditions, visiting the pyramids will become very informative and interesting.
Photography inside the pyramids is prohibited.
Most best time to visit - in the morning at the time of opening. Later, crowds of tourists begin to arrive, and it gets very hot during the day.
The pyramids of Giza attract not only millions of tourists, but also a large number of scammers. Even on the approach, people may come up to you and say that they won’t let you in without a guide (don’t worry, they will let you in), or that you need a camel or a horse, which you can’t do without (you can easily get by).
The prices for a trip around the pyramid on a camel are very high, similar tours in other places in Egypt will cost you much less.
Before taking a camel or horse ride, agree on a price, and don't pay in advance until you get what you agreed on. if you pay in advance, your horse will "lame" after a few meters and you will be offered another, but for a fee. Discuss all the details of the trip in detail. The arrogance of pet owners knows no bounds. For example, after a trip, you may be asked to pay extra to help you get off your camel.
Theft is also not uncommon. For example, if you give your camera to a stranger, there is a chance they will lose it.
Due to safety reasons, climbing the pyramids of Giza is currently officially prohibited, but in some places, guards for tips turn a blind eye to this.

The "calling card" of Egypt is rightfully considered the pyramids. There are about a hundred of them - large and small, stepped and smooth. They are located along the western bank of the Nile in small groups, not far from the place where the capital of the country, Memphis, was located in the era of the Old Kingdom. The most famous of the pyramids are located on the outskirts of Cairo, on the edge of the desert plateau of Giza, hanging over the green valley of the Nile. These are the Great Pyramids of Giza - Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure. The Three Great Pyramids, guarded by the Great Sphinx, are just part of the huge Giza necropolis. The Great Pyramids of Giza were recognized in 2007 as an honorary candidate for the title of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)

Cross section of the pyramid of Cheops:

The Great Pyramid of Cheops (circa 2590-2568 BC), the last remaining wonder from the ancient list of the seven wonders of the world, is a fantastic masterpiece of engineering. For more than three thousand years, until 1311 (when Lincoln Cathedral was built in England), the Cheops pyramid remained the tallest building on Earth. Its original height is 146.6 meters. Some archaeologists believe that it may have taken 20 years for 14,000 people to build the great pyramid. It was created from over 2 million stone blocks, each of which weighed at least 2.5 tons. Workers dragged them into place using ramps, pulleys and levers and then pushed them together without mortar. In the 13th century, an earthquake loosened some of the shell stones and the Arabs began to use the lining for the construction and restoration of Cairo palaces and mosques, including the Sultan Hassan Mosque), and as a result, today the pyramid of Cheops consists of 203 rows of masonry and has a height of 138 m.

The base of the pyramid is an almost perfect square (northern - 230.25, western 230.35, eastern - 230.38, southern - 230.4). The sides are ideally precisely oriented to the cardinal points. The error is negligible - 0.015 percent! The ratio of the length of the base of the pyramid to its height, divided in half, gives the famous number "pi" to the sixth digit! there are other encrypted mathematical numbers. Coincidence or did the ancient builders really try to preserve secret knowledge? Only they know about it.

In ancient times, the pyramid of Cheops was surrounded by a wall. South of this wall are two sacred boat docks, discovered in 1954. The boats were dismantled and covered with large limestone blocks weighing about 16 tons. One boat has been restored and exhibited in a special glass pavilion next to the Pyramid (Solar Barke Museum). The boat has a length of 43.6 m, a width of 9. Built from Lebanese cedar and some local woods, it ends with a cabin covered with mats. The graffiti on it contain the name of Khufu's son, Djedefra. It took 16 years to extract and dock hundreds of perfectly preserved fragments of the boat.

On the eastern side of the Great Pyramid of Cheops are the pyramids of his spouses and the tombs of his family members. Here, at the eastern slope of the pyramid, the foundations of the mortuary temple of Khufu are located. The processional road (825 m) goes north from it and hides under the village of Nazlet el-Samman. At the beginning of this road once stood the valley temple of Khufu.

There are no inscriptions or decorations inside the Cheops pyramid. There are three burial chambers. The burial chamber of the pharaoh is a room about 11 meters long, five meters wide and almost six meters high. The walls of the tomb are finished with granite slabs. The red granite sarcophagus is empty. Neither the pharaoh's mummy nor grave goods have been found. It is believed that the pyramid was plundered in ancient times.

Is it true why the Egyptian pyramids are considered the first of the 7 wonders of the world? To begin with, it is important to clarify that not all pyramids are included in the list of 7 wonders of the world, but only one, the most majestic Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). Researchers still cannot fully understand how people could build it in such an ancient time. Even now there is an opinion that it was erected not at all by human hands, but by some incomprehensible external force. But since these are only guesses, there is no point in writing a lot about it.

Why is the pyramid of Cheops called a miracle?

There is no exact definition here, but there are many facts that make us agree that it is simply impossible not to call this building a miracle.

The first is the dimensions of the pyramid. For more than three thousand years in a row, the structure was the tallest on Earth. The size of the base was originally 227.5, height - 146 meters. Over time, the structure collapsed a little, as a result of which the pyramid is now 9 meters lower.
The second is the materials used for the construction. In total, the pyramid took 2.3 million stone blocks. The weight of one such block is not less than two and a half tons. In addition, it is important to pay attention to the density of the pyramid. The stones are so well fitted to each other that even the thinnest blade cannot slip between them.
The third is appearance. Initially, the pyramid was covered with such facing material as white limestone. During the day, when the sun illuminated the pyramid, it shone with a bright peach color, which looked like a real miracle, "to which, it seemed, the sun god Ra himself gave his rays." Unfortunately, now it is no longer possible to see this beauty, because after the attack of the Arabs on (1168), the locals used the cladding to restore their houses.

Having studied all the facts about the pyramid, evaluating its appearance, the correctness of geometric shapes, etc., it is difficult to disagree with the opinion that it is actually a miracle. After all, this is a building that was created in 2584-2561 BC and has retained its integrity to this day. That is why the Egyptian pyramids are considered the first of the 7 wonders of the world: because of their age, their grandeur and the number of mysteries that it hides.

The pyramids at Giza have long been recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Colossal structures keep centuries-old secrets. The secrets of millennia are kept under the gigantic stone massif, which are incomprehensible to our consciousness to this day. These are the greatest monuments of world history.

The three main pyramids - Khufu (Pyramid of Cheops), Khafri (Pyramid of Khafre) and Menkaure (Pyramid of Menkaure) are best preserved and have become famous all over the world. The majestic tombs of the ancient pharaohs inspire respect. Egypt is the land of the pyramids. A total of 118 structures were found, most of which are in ruins. Some have survived a little better, and thanks to them we will learn more and more historical details of the kingdom of Ancient Egypt.

The word "pyramid" comes from the ancient Greek "pyuramis" - fire, because the Greeks believed that the pyramid was shaped like a tongue of flame. Even in geometry textbooks for the 16th century, the pyramid was called the "fiery body". There are versions that the prototype of the pyramid is a mountain of wheat. The ancient Egyptians had a funeral cake that had pyramidal shape, and a number of scientists refer to the fact that the pyramids, being a symbol of death, could be identified with this pie. The Egyptians themselves called the pyramids "Purama".

The ancient pyramids are unique in that they have an ideal geometric shape. How the architects of the IV dynasty of the Egyptian pharaohs (2613-2439 BC) achieved this is still unclear. The angle of the walls with respect to the horizon is 53°, and the edges are perfectly aligned with respect to the cardinal points.

The pyramid of Cheops is the largest. Its original height was 146 meters. However, they began to build on a 9-meter rock, which is now at its base. Over time, the facing plates of the pyramid crumbled (this happened as a result of a strong earthquake) and the "growth" of the pyramid dropped to 138 meters. The length of each side is exactly 230 meters. According to mathematicians, the pyramid of Cheops consists of approximately 2.5 million stone blocks, each of which weighs 2.5 tons. Another mystery of the builders is how they managed to achieve such a perfect fit of each block. Incredible measurement accuracy comes to the point that the error in the size of the side of the pyramid is thousandths of a centimeter. Even modern technology can't do that. Unfortunately, facing slabs, which were polished pieces of fine-grained sandstone, did not reach us.

Initially, the entrance to the pyramid was on the north side, at the level of the thirteenth step. However, over time it was walled up. Now, in order to get inside, they use a manhole, which was made by ancient marauders.

In the view of many Egyptologists, the pyramid is a monolith, in which there are several large chambers and an extensive system of corridors. But this opinion is refuted by many scientists, who quite reasonably assume the presence of many other rooms, since only 1% of the entire structure is available for research. In addition, the Egyptian authorities themselves are not inclined to reveal all the secrets and mysteries of the great structures of antiquity. All finds pass first of all through their hands, and only then the world community becomes aware of them.

According to Herodotus, more than 100,000 slaves were gathered for the construction of the pyramids. However, having conducted more detailed historical research, modern Egyptologists tend to assume that the people who participated in the construction of the structure were simply serving a kind of "labor service" to the sovereign. This conclusion was made after a detailed study of the camp in which the builders lived. It was located a few kilometers from Giza, it had several bakeries, a smokehouse and even a brewery.

Massive burials of cattle bones were found in the vicinity, which indicates that the builders did not starve, they were taken care of and even monitored their health. The skeletons found indicate that almost every worker during construction received one or another work injury, which was well healed. This speaks of the high level of medicine that existed in Egypt even then. There is an assumption that groups of builders even had a certain competition among themselves.

The mechanism by which the pyramids were built remains a mystery to this day. The most common version was about the systems of blocks and counterweights, with the help of which huge pieces of stone were lifted up. However, it has been proven that such a system really existed, but it began to work after the construction of the main structure, when facing slabs were delivered upstairs.

There is another version that the builders created an embankment along which they lifted the blocks up. However, the version does not stand up to scrutiny. After all, in order for the embankment to be used effectively, its angle of inclination should be no more than 7 degrees. Consequently, the embankment itself had to stretch for two or three kilometers. It would take several years to build such a "ramp". And then it needed to be removed.

The French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin suggested that inside the pyramid itself there was a spiral ramp along which the blocks were pushed up. An ultrasound examination of the structure showed that there are indeed voids inside. Perhaps the inner ramp still exists today. But in order to find it, you will need to drill through the wall of the structure, which, of course, no one will allow an architect to do.

In 2006, a number of scientists, after discovering a human hair in the thickness of one of the blocks, leaned towards the version that the stone blocks were man-made. Perhaps this is an ancient type of concrete, which consists of limestone with salt, ash and lime. In this case, it becomes clear why the blocks fit so well together.

However, the main mystery is the purpose of the pyramids. Maybe these are just huge tombs for conceited pharaohs? Or messages to descendants, where the secret knowledge of ancestors is encrypted?

It is also known that the pyramids were built not only in ancient Egypt. The Tibetan pyramids, for example, are ten times larger than the Egyptian ones. Mayan pyramids are not inferior to them in age. And at the bottom bermuda triangle found another pyramid. Thus, it can be assumed that this is just part of a planetary plan that will soon come to fruition.

The word "pyramid" comes from the ancient Greek "pyuramis" - fire, because the Greeks believed that the pyramid was shaped like a tongue of flame. Even in geometry textbooks for the 16th century, the pyramid was called the "fiery body". There are versions that the prototype of the pyramid is a mountain of wheat. The ancient Egyptians had a funeral cake that had a pyramidal shape, and a number of scholars refer to the fact that the pyramids, being a symbol of death, could be identified with this cake. The Egyptians themselves called the pyramids "Purama".