SPEAKING STONES
Anita Limaye was astounded by the sheer size and mystery of the pyramids
THANKS TO MY HUSBAND’S POSTing on a peacekeeping mission in West Asia, I finally got to see one of the best known (and the only existing) wonder of the ancient world: the Great Pyramid at Giza. And the surprises began even before we saw the famed cones: for, contrary to popular belief the pyramids are not way off in the middle of the desert. In fact they were so accessible that they were visible from our room and just a stone’s throw away from our hotel!
I was rather thrilled at my own resourcefulness as I’d arranged our trip through a Cairo-based travel agency via e-mail with Suzanne Aziz. As it turned out, their service was excellent and we even had an Englishspeaking guide Mahmoud throughout our stay in Egypt as well as comfortable SUV all to ourselves!
We reached the Great Pyramid after the preliminary formalities of buying tickets and security and could not believe its enormity. A bare mention of its height — now 137 metres but originally 148 metres — doesn’t at all convey its true size! Some loose blocks have given way over time and as a result, the height has decreased although work is on to rectify the damage.
Our guide filled in more numbers: it took 35 years to build the Great Pyramid, and a staggering 2.5 million blocks of limestone, each weighing between 2-9 tonnes were used! The Great Pyramid is the only one included in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, by the way, not all pyramids in general.
This pyramid was built as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) who ruled during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The construction of the pyramid was completed in 2560 BC — whew, that’s when the Rig Vedic Age was still playing out in India! — and it still stands as the tallest man-made structure for over 3,800 years!
Two more pyramids make up the Giza pyramid complex — one that was for Khafre or Cephren (Khufu’s son and successor) which lies to the south west of the Great Pyramid and that of Menkaure or Mycerinus, who in turn was Khafre’s son and heir.
There are also more than 300 ‘mastabas’ or raised platforms around the pyramid complex, which are tombs, where the nobles of the court of the king are laid to rest. All of which make for a spectacular, timeless vista...
As Mahmoud inundated us with information, we could not but stare at the huge pyramid and wonder how it came up. The surprising fact is that till date, no one really knows how the pyramids were physically built. Though the general theory is that countless slaves were involved in their construction, some experts differ.
Given that these were built when even pulleys hadn’t been invented and yet huge boulders were hauled hundreds of feet up even gives credence to a way-out theory that the pyramids were built by aliens! Another theory suggests that ramps of mud/sand were made to cart the blocks up, to make the pyramid layer by layer. A third theory suggests that huge stones were simply lifted by the brute force of thousands to their designated nook...
The original entrance to the Great Pyramid is now sealed and archaeologists and tourists alike use the tunnel made by the grave diggers on the side. We could have entered the pyramid to see the underground chambers, but Mahmoud cautioned us that we would have to go all the way inside in a bent position and remain like this till we got out! Thanks to my lower back problem, I opted out of it and my soldier husband had to reluctantly follow suit as our four-year old son would have felt claustrophobic inside.
The Great Pyramid is the only pyramid known to have both ascending and descending passageways. There are three known chambers inside it, the lowest being unfinished. The Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber lie above the lowest one. We also learnt that all the three pyramids were originally covered with a layer of highly polished white limestone but these were stolen by the locals over the years to build their houses! A cap of white limestone can clearly be seen on top of Cephren’s pyramid and the base of the Great Pyramid.
Our next stop was the Panoramic Viewpoint from where all three pyramids could be seen. On our way, we passed close the two smaller pyramids. Mahmoud told us that Mycerinus wanted to build his pyramid of pure granite and indeed the base is made of that stone. Unfortunately, though, he died before it could be completed. That’s sort of reminiscent of Shahjehan’s unfulfilled plans for a black Taj....
Amusingly, though, there were three pyramids next to that of Mycerinus for his three wives, which were much smaller than his. Not like Shahjehan’s equal-butopposite vision for the twin Tajs a few millennia later... Clearly even in that era it was a male dominated society!
The vantage point turned out to be a large expanse of desert overlooking the pyramids. On one side was a small brick wall on which one could stand and take interesting trick photographs like holding the pyramids, touching the apex etc and on the other side were a row of hawkers selling memorabilia. Ahhhh, the fate of all tourist destinations!
There were also camel rides on offer across the desert, but I thought we had enough chances to do that in Rajasthan — we Indians didn’t need to go to Egypt or that! But I did buy some good souvenirs
from the hawkers at unbelievably low prices — albeit after haggling!
We bought miniature pyramids and some beautifully painted magnetic ceramic plates, small enough to fit into the palm of the hand. These had coloured motifs on them such as the face of Tutankhamun, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut (the earliest and richest Egyptian queen) and other scenes from ancient Egypt depicting rites and rituals. Good thing too that we picked up the souvenirs at that spot as we didn’t find any similar or more beautiful ones elsewhere — not even in the renowned Khan-el-Khalili market in Cairo.
WHISPERING WINDS
How could we go all the way there and return without seeing the Great Sphinx? Egypt’s 3rd century BC ‘Narasimha’ with the face of a human and body of a lion rears up from the surrounding limestone some 65 ft high, 241 ft long and 20 ft across. Its dimensions makes it the world’s largest monolith in the world, and it stands guard at the Pyramid of Khafre along with a small adjoining temple.
But the origins of the Sphinx — like the eternal enigma its visage symbolises — are unclear. It may have been built by Khufu or Khafre or someone else. As we learnt from Mahmoud, “sphinx” is a Greek word; its Arabic name is Abul Hol or ‘Father of Terror’! The lion’s body symbolises power while the human head signifies intellect. The Great Sphinx was supposedly the living image of God on earth for the ancient Egyptians.
Even so, mystery shrouds this statue. No one knows how its nose was damaged, for instance. Some say that it was caused a cannonball fired by Napoleon’s army while some attribute it to a 14th century Syrian fanatic called Muhammad Saim al-Dahr. It’s said that when he saw Egyptians making offerings to the statue, he destroyed the nose, for which he was hanged!
A story about the temple at the base of the sphinx enthralled us. It was here that “mummification” was carried out, that took 40 days. For the first 30 days the body was exposed to the sun with a lot of sal, to draw out all the moisture. Then came the embalming, during which organs were removed and placing in “canopic jars” and the body was encased in linen bandages. An elaborate ceremony followed in which the mummified body was taken to the pyramid and buried. The canopic jars were placed separately and connected by an underground tunnel to the tomb. Mahmoud’s evocative anecdotes vividly showed us the ancient Egyptians’ belief in the afterlife.
The highlight of the day, however, came in the evening: the sound and light show. We returned to the pyramids at 7:30 to realise that at dusk, they looked even more beautiful. The cool breeze blowing in from the Nile made for a very pleasant atmosphere
for the hour-long show. We chose the English version (Spanish, Italian and Arabic variants were also there!) and sat down in the centre of the aisle as there were not too many people.
The rather strange beginning was with bagpipers — all elderly men dressed in the traditional Arab robes! The actual show was truly marvellous, as the history behind each pyramid as brought out along with stories of the ancient past. All this was accompanied by the pyramids being bathed in colourful laser lights. We sat mesmerised
for an hour.... Only the strains of the bagpipers finale brought us back to the present!
Seeing the three iconic pyramids in their final silvery cloak was a “never before and never again” moment for all three of us...
I was rather thrilled at my own resourcefulness as I’d arranged our trip through a Cairo-based travel agency via e-mail with Suzanne Aziz. As it turned out, their service was excellent and we even had an Englishspeaking guide Mahmoud throughout our stay in Egypt as well as comfortable SUV all to ourselves!
We reached the Great Pyramid after the preliminary formalities of buying tickets and security and could not believe its enormity. A bare mention of its height — now 137 metres but originally 148 metres — doesn’t at all convey its true size! Some loose blocks have given way over time and as a result, the height has decreased although work is on to rectify the damage.
Our guide filled in more numbers: it took 35 years to build the Great Pyramid, and a staggering 2.5 million blocks of limestone, each weighing between 2-9 tonnes were used! The Great Pyramid is the only one included in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, by the way, not all pyramids in general.
This pyramid was built as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) who ruled during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The construction of the pyramid was completed in 2560 BC — whew, that’s when the Rig Vedic Age was still playing out in India! — and it still stands as the tallest man-made structure for over 3,800 years!
Two more pyramids make up the Giza pyramid complex — one that was for Khafre or Cephren (Khufu’s son and successor) which lies to the south west of the Great Pyramid and that of Menkaure or Mycerinus, who in turn was Khafre’s son and heir.
There are also more than 300 ‘mastabas’ or raised platforms around the pyramid complex, which are tombs, where the nobles of the court of the king are laid to rest. All of which make for a spectacular, timeless vista...
As Mahmoud inundated us with information, we could not but stare at the huge pyramid and wonder how it came up. The surprising fact is that till date, no one really knows how the pyramids were physically built. Though the general theory is that countless slaves were involved in their construction, some experts differ.
Given that these were built when even pulleys hadn’t been invented and yet huge boulders were hauled hundreds of feet up even gives credence to a way-out theory that the pyramids were built by aliens! Another theory suggests that ramps of mud/sand were made to cart the blocks up, to make the pyramid layer by layer. A third theory suggests that huge stones were simply lifted by the brute force of thousands to their designated nook...
The original entrance to the Great Pyramid is now sealed and archaeologists and tourists alike use the tunnel made by the grave diggers on the side. We could have entered the pyramid to see the underground chambers, but Mahmoud cautioned us that we would have to go all the way inside in a bent position and remain like this till we got out! Thanks to my lower back problem, I opted out of it and my soldier husband had to reluctantly follow suit as our four-year old son would have felt claustrophobic inside.
The Great Pyramid is the only pyramid known to have both ascending and descending passageways. There are three known chambers inside it, the lowest being unfinished. The Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber lie above the lowest one. We also learnt that all the three pyramids were originally covered with a layer of highly polished white limestone but these were stolen by the locals over the years to build their houses! A cap of white limestone can clearly be seen on top of Cephren’s pyramid and the base of the Great Pyramid.
Our next stop was the Panoramic Viewpoint from where all three pyramids could be seen. On our way, we passed close the two smaller pyramids. Mahmoud told us that Mycerinus wanted to build his pyramid of pure granite and indeed the base is made of that stone. Unfortunately, though, he died before it could be completed. That’s sort of reminiscent of Shahjehan’s unfulfilled plans for a black Taj....
Amusingly, though, there were three pyramids next to that of Mycerinus for his three wives, which were much smaller than his. Not like Shahjehan’s equal-butopposite vision for the twin Tajs a few millennia later... Clearly even in that era it was a male dominated society!
The vantage point turned out to be a large expanse of desert overlooking the pyramids. On one side was a small brick wall on which one could stand and take interesting trick photographs like holding the pyramids, touching the apex etc and on the other side were a row of hawkers selling memorabilia. Ahhhh, the fate of all tourist destinations!
There were also camel rides on offer across the desert, but I thought we had enough chances to do that in Rajasthan — we Indians didn’t need to go to Egypt or that! But I did buy some good souvenirs
from the hawkers at unbelievably low prices — albeit after haggling!
We bought miniature pyramids and some beautifully painted magnetic ceramic plates, small enough to fit into the palm of the hand. These had coloured motifs on them such as the face of Tutankhamun, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut (the earliest and richest Egyptian queen) and other scenes from ancient Egypt depicting rites and rituals. Good thing too that we picked up the souvenirs at that spot as we didn’t find any similar or more beautiful ones elsewhere — not even in the renowned Khan-el-Khalili market in Cairo.
WHISPERING WINDS
How could we go all the way there and return without seeing the Great Sphinx? Egypt’s 3rd century BC ‘Narasimha’ with the face of a human and body of a lion rears up from the surrounding limestone some 65 ft high, 241 ft long and 20 ft across. Its dimensions makes it the world’s largest monolith in the world, and it stands guard at the Pyramid of Khafre along with a small adjoining temple.
But the origins of the Sphinx — like the eternal enigma its visage symbolises — are unclear. It may have been built by Khufu or Khafre or someone else. As we learnt from Mahmoud, “sphinx” is a Greek word; its Arabic name is Abul Hol or ‘Father of Terror’! The lion’s body symbolises power while the human head signifies intellect. The Great Sphinx was supposedly the living image of God on earth for the ancient Egyptians.
Even so, mystery shrouds this statue. No one knows how its nose was damaged, for instance. Some say that it was caused a cannonball fired by Napoleon’s army while some attribute it to a 14th century Syrian fanatic called Muhammad Saim al-Dahr. It’s said that when he saw Egyptians making offerings to the statue, he destroyed the nose, for which he was hanged!
A story about the temple at the base of the sphinx enthralled us. It was here that “mummification” was carried out, that took 40 days. For the first 30 days the body was exposed to the sun with a lot of sal, to draw out all the moisture. Then came the embalming, during which organs were removed and placing in “canopic jars” and the body was encased in linen bandages. An elaborate ceremony followed in which the mummified body was taken to the pyramid and buried. The canopic jars were placed separately and connected by an underground tunnel to the tomb. Mahmoud’s evocative anecdotes vividly showed us the ancient Egyptians’ belief in the afterlife.
The highlight of the day, however, came in the evening: the sound and light show. We returned to the pyramids at 7:30 to realise that at dusk, they looked even more beautiful. The cool breeze blowing in from the Nile made for a very pleasant atmosphere
for the hour-long show. We chose the English version (Spanish, Italian and Arabic variants were also there!) and sat down in the centre of the aisle as there were not too many people.
The rather strange beginning was with bagpipers — all elderly men dressed in the traditional Arab robes! The actual show was truly marvellous, as the history behind each pyramid as brought out along with stories of the ancient past. All this was accompanied by the pyramids being bathed in colourful laser lights. We sat mesmerised
for an hour.... Only the strains of the bagpipers finale brought us back to the present!
Seeing the three iconic pyramids in their final silvery cloak was a “never before and never again” moment for all three of us...
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