Exploring Jordan and Egypt

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Tuesday, 8 March 2022 - Visited the Pyramids of Giza including the Great Pyramid, Pyramid of Khafre, and Pyramid of Menkaure with panoramic views and a camel photo stop, saw the Great Sphinx up close, then continued on to the open-air museum at Memphis with giant statues and an alabaster sphinx, and finished the day at Saqqara photographing the Step Pyramid of Djoser and surrounding ruins.

A day expected from the start of the tour - the Pyramids of Giza!! This is the Great Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu (the smallest statue in the Egyptian Museum which we saw on our first day in Cairo). It took 27 years to build this pyramid in 2600 BC. This pyramid was the tallest man-made structure for over 3,800 years.

egypt2022 — The weather was cloudy, so it was difficult to get good pictures.

egypt2022 — The Great Pyramid consists of an estimated 2.3 million blocks. Approximately 5.5 million tons of limestone, 8,000 tons of granite, and 500,000 tons of mortar were used in the construction.

Most of the blocks were quarried at Giza just south of the pyramid, an area now known as the Central Field.

egypt2022 — The block height and weight tends to get progressively smaller towards the top. The lowest layer is about 5 feet high, and the layers towards the summit decrease to only 1.5 feet.

egypt2022 — The second of the Giza Pyramids, Pyramid of Khafre, from the corner of the Great Pyramid. Khafre is the son of pharaoh Khufu in the Great Pyramid.

egypt2022 — The second and third of the Giza Pyramids. The third pyramid, Pyramid of Menkaure, is the grandson of pharaoh Khufu in the Great Pyramid.

egypt2022 — A temple at the beginning of the West Field Cemetery where royals and high officials were buried.

egypt2022 — A vertical gash along the face of the Great Pyramid where looters tried to gain access to the treasures within the pyramid. It is suspected that the pyramid was looted prior to 1,500 BC.

egypt2022 — We drove to a point in the park where you can ride a camel and see all the Giza Pyramids in one view.

This is a panorama for the pyramids - from the left - the Great Pyramid, Pyramid of Khafre, and Pyramid of Menkaure. You can also see the queen pyramids to the far right. These are smaller pyramids for the queens of the pharaoh.

egypt2022 — Cal and Virginia Ann - who is bravely holding the reins of a camel. In the background are the Giza Pyramids. The camel was really there for tourists to ride - we paid a lot less for a photo opp.

egypt2022 — Virginia Ann and Cal in front of the Giza Pyramids.

egypt2022 — The Pyramid of Khafre - the second-largest pyramid. It is easy to spot due to the bit of limestone still covering the top of the pyramid. Originally all the pyramids were covered by a smooth layer of limestone.

egypt2022 — A closer view of the limestone casing stones at the top of Khafre's pyramid.

egypt2022 — The Great Pyramid from the south side - another hole created by looters trying to get into the pyramid.

egypt2022 — The smaller Pyramid of Menkaure from the corner of Khafre's pyramid.

egypt2022 — The Pyramid of Menkaure and just behind the bigger pyramid is a smaller one - one of three queen's pyramids.

egypt2022 — The Great Pyramid with ruins of the various burial temples in the foreground.

egypt2022 — The Great Sphinx of Giza, a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre.

Behind the Great Sphinx is Khafre's pyramid - there is a landing from the Sphinx to the pyramid. It was built around 2,500 BC.

egypt2022 — Virginia Ann and Cal at the Great Sphinx of Giza.

egypt2022 — The Great Pyramid over the back of the Great Sphinx. They are working on the restoration of the sphinx They are still finding new things about the famous sculpture.

It measures 240 feet long from paw to tail, 66 feet high from the base to the top of the head and 62 feet wide at its rear haunches.

egypt2022 — The Great Sphinx's nose was broken off for unknown reasons between the 3rd and 10th centuries AD. The original color is still evident on the statue.

egypt2022 — The Great Pyramid over the back of the Great Sphinx.

egypt2022 — While the rest of the tour headed back through the shops ("the gauntlet") Cal scampered around to the other side of the sphinx to take pictures from another angle leveraging Khafre's pyramid.

egypt2022 — As Cal was moving about an Egyptian came up and announced he was a tour guide and would show me the best camera positions - we were in a very limited space so a guide was not necessary.

This picture aligned the sphinx and the pyramid.

egypt2022 — After Giza we traveled to the ancient site of Memphis where there is an open air museum.

A giant alabaster Sphinx, weighing more than 80 tons, which once stood outside the massive temple of the god Ptah. They are not sure who the statue represents. It was found in the exact place it is displayed in the museum.

egypt2022 — A sculpture of Ramesses II in granite.

egypt2022 — Giant statue of Ramesses II carved limestone, about 32 feet in length. The feet are missing, so it is displayed on its back. Unavailable detail in the massive sculpture.

The colossus was one of a pair that historically adorned the eastern entrance to the temple of Ptah. The other was restored in the 1950s to its full standing height. It is in the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).

egypt2022 — Ramesses II cartouches carved into the statue.

egypt2022 — Then we drove to Saqqara to visit the Pyramid of Djoser. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser.

This pyramid is also known as the Step Pyramid due to its construction.

egypt2022 — The Pyramid of Djoser from the courts of the temples built along one side of the complex.

egypt2022 — Excavation to the south of the Pyramid of Djoser showing buildings used for burial and early pyramid.

egypt2022 — Cobras representing Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet on a wall with the Step Pyramid in the background.

Wadjet was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and was often depicted as a cobra, as she is the serpent goddess.

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